Black Sox captain Nathan Nukunuku is content with the amount of coverage received by Softball New Zealand after media outlets were criticised for not televising the World Softball Championships in Canada.
It's a familiar feeling for Nukunuku - a champion for the fourth time.
“It's been sinking in over the last little day, or so. We've had a long travel to get back here.”
Coach Mark Sorenson told Te Kāea, “To see the welcome we got here this morning is really satisfying."
Unfortunately, their fans weren't able to celebrate their World success due to the lack of television coverage, many of them sharing their frustration through social media.
Nukunuku says, “That's not for me to moan and groan about, it is what it is. I know there's a wider New Zealand community that when we are on TV, they like to watch us. There are not enough competitions for us where we can be televised."
Winning the world title for the seventh year didn't come easy for the New Zealand side. With only one month to prepare the 17-man side used their experience to be match-ready.
“We had a rough build-up, but then we identified a few things that we needed to do, especially discipline.”
Sorenson says, “What we needed to do was take our eyes off the scoreboard, and just follow our processes."
Today fans were able to celebrate their softball hero’s success. While they basked in their glory, the captain had one thing on his mind.
“I'll relax, and go have a Mince & Cheese Pie, I've been waiting to have one of those for a month.”
The cup will remain here for another two years and Nukunuku says he's not ruling himself out of the next World Championship either.