Who’s the home team?

When it comes to the America’s Cup, who exactly does one cheer for?

There are the Swiss, the current champs, but who has the time to read Swiss newspapers or is in the area (Switzerland) to catch up on team gossip? They're a non-entity for foreigners. Neutrals, bankers, watch-makers, whose Army has great knives, but no nukes.

There are the USA guys, winners from times gone by, but how does one cheer them on? Most of these Top Guns for Hire already are racing on other boats, happily supporting the teams of other countries (Traitors? Turncoats? ExPats?). Who cares a rats-part about them?

And, there’s everybody else. New Zealanders? The Aussie’s? They’re so far away, it’s hard to relate, somehow. The Brits? How jolly, but boring. The Spanish or Italians? One can support them, but when the fighting gets rough, you have to translate everything they say and write into English before universal understanding, perhaps.

Who’s that leave: Individual team owners or presidents, one supposes. And, exactly how does one relate to someone who can buy a new Ferrari every darned day of the year and still have buckets and barrels and trainloads of money left over to spend?

So, let’s hear it for the sailmakers, the designers, the boat builders (who?), and the riggers and the hoards of little guys who create and keep these monster boats going. Three cheers!!! Now there’s someone authentic to cheer on without holding back.

2007 AC33 Helm-to-Lee's Sailing “Achievement” Awards

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Spoilsport of the Year: Larry Ellison & BMW/Oracle who, despite losing in the early rounds of the past America’s Cup, initiated a (winning) legal challenge in New York City that even yet has failed to resolve much of ANYTHING. Close second: Ernesto Bertarelli et al, who are going on to “appeal” this negative New York verdict. (It’s still a USA court folks. Is it a shock its rulings favor US teams every time?)

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Yachtsperson of the Year: Ernesto Bertarelli, who has honestly tried (at his own expense) to reach out to all Challengers and thereby orchestrate a better, more exciting and more interesting America’s Cup event in 2008 or 2009.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Wimpiest Sailing Advertiser of the Year: France’s Louis Vuitton, which pulled the plug on its long-standing support of the AC Challenger Series of elimination rounds leading up to the next America’s Cup. What else could they possibly want besides an audience of millions and millions of viewers with money to burn? Wimpy, wimpy, wimpy!

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Worst America’s Cup Web Site: BMW/Oracle, whose site features “old-hat” information and buries news of substance several levels down. It also receives a booby prize for one of the most difficult to navigate sites in the sailing community.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Worst News Media Coverage: All the major wire services (like the Associated Press) and major newspapers (starting with The New York Times), whose sailing coverage is just awful, minimal and simplistic for such an exciting sport. Shame.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Most Unexciting Sailing Organization: America’s Cup Management committee, which appears not to have even “scratched the surface” on trying to promote AC33, using readily available public relations tools and promotional concepts, in a consistent, ongoing, organized and formal way. It's going to take a lot more than "situation normal" to "launch" this event in the years ahead, certainly in the United States. Let's pick up the pace and run with the ball, so to speak. You're up against some powerful lobbyists for news space, from football teams to the Olympic events. Think millions, not thousands, of dollars to get noticed and level the media field.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Most Boring America’s Cup Teams and Skippers: All Challengers please take a bow to each other and say: "We suck. We promise not to hide in 2008." Where are the exciting personalities, the rock-star images, the excitement of the chase and the sex/drugs/rock & roll associated with every other sporting event in the world? Let’s not be bashful, please. We’re trying to build interest and excitement. No Melba milk-toasters need apply for these jobs. This sport requires racing AND promotional skills.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee's Worst Photos and Videotapes: All participants. For an event that was viewed by millions and offered prime seating to thousands, where are all the photos and the videotape? You can't tell your Blogster that the few hundred photos and few snippets of videotape on various web sites are ALL THERE IS? Where's the rest and who's keeping it off the market? This sport requires constant reinforcement of the "excitement" and "special nature" of the sport. Photos and videotapes are worth a thousands words in today's Information Age. Let's get them out there and build a following. They can't all have been "sold" to one news media organization or be "owned" by one photographer. That's crazy.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee’s Most Confused Sporting Event: AC33, the next America’s Cup. Right now it’s still a non-starter, five months after AC32. We can all do better in 2008.

AC33 Helm-to-Lee's Best AC32 Book: alinghi, from Swiss publisher Favre. It's thin on text but rich on colorful photos and the "thrill of the chase." Keep 'em coming in 2008! This has to be the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

Blogster's New Year’s Resolutions:

• Continue to report and comment about America’s Cup 33 activities, providing substantive and relevant information with an eye toward contributing to the fun and joy of sailing.
• Analyze each activity in the context of common sense and practicality, then comment accordingly on an ongoing basis.
• Help to build a global audience for this splendid, somewhat misunderstood, sailboat racing, especially in the US market, where the America’s Cup event coverage in the news media has virtually stopped, for a variety of reasons.
• Offer a selection of quality advertisers to the sailing community at large.
  

- Your Blogster