• by Amy Corr , Staff Writer @MediaPostOTL, October 20, 2008

New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks appreciates their fans. And vice versa. Later this month Team Captain Richie McCaw will be presented with jerseys that have the names of 100,000 fans engraved onto a single thread used to make the jerseys.

The engraving process is made possible by Fibre Imprinting Nanotechnology, which was developed by Professor Richard Blaikie of the University of Canterbury and the MacDiarmid Institute of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology.

Dubbed "AdiThread," the concept was promoted this summer through print, online, outdoor and viral components that encouraged fans to go online and submit their names onto the thread.

This technology takes getting closer to your favorite sports team and players to another level.

The Web site, created by TBWA/WHYBIN New Zealand, houses a video that illustrates how thousands of names can be etched onto a lone piece of thread.

Also online is an enlarged piece of thread containing the names of All Blacks' fans. By double clicking on a person's name, visitors can read copy submitted by fans. Each statement begins with "This is not a jersey," the campaign name, and fan submissions. One fan wrote, "This is not a jersey. This is men against boys." Another fan added, "This is not a jersey. This is pure commitment to our nation."