Some people wait a long time for their five minutes of fame.
In Mary Cutler's case, hers didn't come until age 98. Not that anyone who saw the viral video of her boogieing with Olympic weightlifter David Liti would think she'd be anywhere near that age.
Neither would those who saw her walk through North Harbor Stadium to deliver the ball before the Black Ferns tested victory over Australia on Saturday.
So how did Mary Cutler – Aunt Mary to me – become an overnight social media sensation and then go on to star in the O'Reilly Cup Test match?
Those of us in her extended family always knew There's something about Mary. Something wonderful. Now it looks like we're not the only ones who know.
Video credits: Tara Handa, Akari Studios
Last week started like any other week for Mary. She was thrilled that the Olympic weightlifting selection announcement would take place in her Ryman village in the Auckland suburb of Greenlane.
Mary, an avid sports fan, joined the assembled media and fellow residents at the event last Wednesday to name Liti in the New Zealand Olympic team.
“I was one of the last to arrive,” says Mary. “But there was still a spot in the front row, so I took it.”
Everyone watched in awe as Liti demonstrated three clean and jerk lifts, the third going up to 300 lbs. Not afraid to go out of her way, Mary joined in as the villagers imitated Liti's skills, albeit with bamboo sticks.
When they all gathered for a group photo, Mary gave Liti a hug.
“I told him, 'I can't put my arms around you,'” Mary recalls. 'But he said He could be. So he put his arm around me.”
It was media gold – the tiny 143cm great-grandmother versus the enormous 185kg Liti – captured by 1News and the NZ Olympic Team photographer.
The Olympic communications team recognized Mary's star quality and quickly asked if she would like to do a TikTok. The subsequent video of Mary and David Liti dancing (with moves like Jagger) has been viewed over 70,000 times on social media, much to Mary's surprise.
“Oh no – really? For God's sake,” she exclaimed upon hearing how many views it has had so far.
But Mary's big week wasn't over yet. Knowing her star power had spread, she was asked to 'runout' the ball during Saturday's Black Ferns match (Ryman Healthcare has a partnership with the team).
It's an honor usually reserved for a child, but this time Mary was considered the ideal woman for the job. The Black Ferns later called her “the best ball runner ever”.
“I had a great time,” says Mary. 'The announcer came over the loudspeaker: 'We have something that hasn't happened before. We've got Mary Cutler and she's 98 and she's going to carry the ball outside'.
'I've never heard such cheering. They screamed with every step I took. So I put the ball under my arm and waved at the people. The [Black Ferns] girls were all standing on the line and we were pumping our fists. I still can't believe it.”
Unaccustomed to the spotlight, it was all beyond the wildest dreams of the mother of two, grandmother of four and great-grandmother of seven.
Having outlived her beloved husband Roy and daughter Barbara McGreevy – as well as all her siblings and most of her friends – she has experienced unimaginable change over the course of her 98 years.
Mary grew up in the 1930s and would have liked more opportunities to participate in sports. The youngest of eight children, Mary's brothers were cycling champions, but girls couldn't race, she says. Her only chance to excel was at the annual Manukau Cycling Club picnic.
“I have always been very sporty,” she says. “I would win races at the club picnics. And at school we played rounders.”
When she left Kowhai Junior High School and went to work in a jacket factory in Auckland's Wakefield Street, she joined the work netball team – then known as basketball.
“I loved it; it's a great old game,” she says. “The team was called Shamrock and we were pretty good. I was chosen for the Auckland representatives. I still have my badge somewhere.”
She started playing tennis in her 40s and enjoyed it so much that she wished she had started sooner. Although opportunities for sports were much more limited for women at the time, Mary never missed an opportunity to participate in sports.
She was born in 1926 and entered a world where sports and recreation were booming. The advent of radio broadcasts made it possible to bring the atmosphere and excitement of sporting events into living rooms. Understandably, sports became very important to Mary and her siblings.
She particularly enjoyed following the Olympics and Commonwealth Games throughout her life and attended the 1950 Empire Games in Auckland, remembering the opening ceremony at Eden Park and cycling at Western Springs.
And she will never forget, she says, attending the opening ceremony of the 1990 Commonwealth Games at Mt Smart Stadium, or the gymnastics at Barfoot Stadium, which I attended.
“I really loved it,” she says. “Someone said to me, 'It's a miracle you didn't have a heart attack from the way you were screaming and ranting.' It was amazing.”
She will cheer on Liti in the men's +102 kg division at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
“I always watch the Games when they happen and I will definitely watch David. It's his personality; he is sweet.”
Despite knowing Mary all my life, even I was surprised by her online dancing spirit. Where did she learn to groove like that?
“When we were young, we had a big living room where we would push back the table, pull up the carpet, turn on the gramophone and dance. And we all danced and danced,” she says.
“My friend Nola, who is now 99, taught me ballroom dancing in the back room of the factory. And we went dancing two or three times a week. Then came the jitterbug during the war and we all learned that.”
Eager to emulate my inspiring aunt's zest for life, I ask what her secret is.
“Don't worry about anything,” she says. “I've learned that this usually doesn't happen.
“I have always enjoyed life; I always laughed. If you want to grow old, you have to laugh.”