Team New Zealand doing The Haka will fire you up
The All-Blacks, New Zealand's rugby team, is well known for doing The Haka before matches.
A traditional dance done by the Māori people before sporting events, it's almost like a call to battle -- a way to pump up fans and players. It is very intimidating. But it's not just the rugby team that does the dance before games.
On Friday, before Team New Zealand's first-round matchup against Team Brazil in the World Baseball Classic -- the Diamondblacks did their own version. And, well, just watch.
Team Brazil looked on from the dugout, maybe scared, maybe confused, definitely intrigued.
"This is something we do every game," New Zealand manager Scott Campbell said postgame. "It's one of those things that connects us to our people and reminds us of where we came from. It is supposed to be intimidating to an extent, but is also about our culture."
Unfortunately, the dance couldn't propel New Zealand to victory. They lost to Brazil, 12-7, and will play Sunday against the loser of tomorrow's Game 4.