The Australian netball team has been battling hate from sports fans after they put on a brilliant dance routine in Christchurch last week.
The Australian team, known as the Kelpies, got the crowd on their feet with their smart moves to NSync’s Bye Bye Bye.
But a torrent of nasty comments on social media has forced the team to “explain” their motivations for the performance.
Kelpie Liam Forcadilla appeared on The Project last Monday to share the story behind his sexy routine.
He said all teams playing in the Fast5 tournament were expected to perform a dance.
Comparing netball’s Fast5 to cricket’s T20, the center joked that the crowd was often “drunk” before games.
“It’s funny that the organizers like us to do the pre-match,” he added.
The Australian netball team has been battling hate from sports fans after they performed a brilliant dance routine in Christchurch, New Zealand, last week. The Australian team, known as the Kelpies, brought the crowd to their feet with their smartly organized moves to NSync’s Bye Bye Bye (pictured).
But a torrent of nasty comments on social media has forced the team to “explain” their motivations for the performance. Kelpie Liam Forcadilla appeared on The Project last Monday (pictured) to share the story behind the sexy routine.
‘All the other teams danced out there. It’s very fun. It’s not something we all feel comfortable doing, but there’s also a half of us that loves it.”
Forcadilla’s comments come after many fans criticized the performance.
“This is embarrassing,” one fan posted.
‘A big NO!!!!’ answered another.
“Why does Australia have to constantly embarrass me?” a third posted.
Others were quick to compare the dance moves to Australian breakdancing sensation Rachel ‘Raygun’ Gunn.
‘Those are Raygun levels of shame. Really embarrassing and I can’t believe they did it. I hope they smoked them,” one X user posted.
“Raygun was his trainer,” said another.
Comparing netball’s Fast5 to cricket’s T20, the center joked that the crowd was often “drunk” before games and that the routine was “just a bit of fun”. He said all teams playing in the Fast5 tournament were expected to perform a dance.
On Twitter, one fan complained: “Congratulations, literally no man will see the team play a single game.”
“No boy will ever want to be associated with men’s netball after this, how embarrassing,” another added.
However, there were also fans who thought the Kelpies stole the show.
‘Men’s netball is so iconic. “All the haters can go out,” one posted.
‘That was fun! I might even watch netball if they play as fun and well as they dance,” said another.
To top off the dance, the Aussies beat South Africa to open their Fast5 with a 42-27 victory.
Unlike regular netball, Fast5 has just five players on each team, six-minute quarters and two- and three-point shots.
Fast5 is a bit like netball’s Big Bash: the tournament features pyrotechnics, bright uniforms, loud music and choreographed team dances.