America’s Cup: Pull out the smelling salts

The America’s Cup is relevant because of its history, but maybe nobody noticed how recent chapters have been rewriting the book. Notably how teams have been representing a club of their country, which remains a requirement of the event. Functionally, however, clubs have become nearly irrelevant.

Where once clubs were in charge of their team, the tail has been wagging the dog for some time, with teams now fully in control of their destiny, and while each team may still promote their country, that is only when convenient, required, or has a purpose.

And now, as the world comes to grips with the New Zealand defender taking the trophy to Spain for the 37th edition, Kiwi commentator Andrew Dickens of NewstalkZB pulls out the smelling salts:

I can’t believe the shock at Team New Zealand’s departure for Barcelona. It’s not our team. It’s Grant Dalton’s.

Oracle was never America’s team. It was Larry Ellison’s. That’s why they ended out defending it in Bermuda, a British territory.

Prada is not Italy’s side it’s Patrizio Bertelli’s.

And INEOS Britania is not the British team. It’s Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s team.

How long have critics complained that it’s a rich man’s sport? That’s because it is.

Take Jim Ratcliffe. The man’s worth 18 billion dollars. He has a global brand that needs promoting and considering it’s based on petrol and chemicals it’s a hard one to promote. So, he owns a Tour De France team, he sponsors the Mercedes Formula 1 team and football teams in France and Switzerland. He even sponsors the All Blacks. You’ll see INEOS on the ABs shorts for the next 6 years.

This is the guy who when he learnt that Land Rover would no longer build the Defender decided to build his own, the INEOs Grenadier.

He’s loaded and he’ll stop at nothing.

And here’s little old Team New Zealand. Who managed to bring a nation and a handful of corporate sponsors with them to fund the challenges and defences and what a glorious ride.

But for the next event, Team New Zealand needs every cent it can get. The boat design is no longer a surprise and the billionaires are frustrated and they’ll spend anything.

Dalton has been honest about this all along.

The government and Council’s offer was inflated by including urban infrastructure but at the end of the day there was just not enough cash to fund a very expensive sport.

And there was never going to be because the government knows that a large part of the population resents the fact that it’s a rich man’s sport and has no desire to see taxpayer money thrown at it at all.

It’s short sighted and petty but it is what it is. All we needed to do was find our own crazy rich person to throw cash at the thing.

I would much rather win than lose horrifically at home.

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021, the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022. The entry period opened December 1, 2021 and runs until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup may be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the venue reveal, confirming it would be Barcelona on by March 30, 2022.