>> For the last 20 years until today racing for the America's Cup has
>> been a very one sided affair.


> Wikipedia doesn't show it as quite that dramatic, but okay... 
> there's
> a few close years and a lot of years of 5-0.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Cup
>
> 1983 was tight, and I remember watching those races, when the 
> Aussies
> and the K-III beat the Liberty.

"The last 20 years" was literal - ie about 1987 on.
That's about when the whole 'game' changed substantially.

Now it's a much cheaper and more accessible sport than it was before - 
it only costs about $100 million to mount a half decent campaign.

Along the way NZ introduced fibreglass hulls. Before that it was all 
alumin(i)um. People swore you couldn't do fibreglass accurately enough 
to meet the rules. When NZ surfaced (as it were) with a glass hull the 
Americans cried foul and said that they couldn't have a legal hull and 
couldn't prove that they had done so after the fact. NZ produced the 
Lloyds man who had been observing the process and demonstrated that 
they had the complete construction records needed as proof - including 
weighing in all glassing material at each point and weighing out any 
leftover and scrap material from each area to show what weight etc had 
gone where. NZ won the cup. Now I think they are all glass (or carbon 
or ...).

Re the question of " ... how much do you really identify ...". It 
varies greatly. I don't slavishly follow or identify with most NZ 
sports. I'm liable to not realise that the All Blacks are playing 
South Africa (we won). I'm pleased when our teams win. Very pleased in 
fact. And I think it's great that a country of about 4 million people 
can dominate international yacht racing and construction and ... . And 
that we periodically top the world in very small volume in various 
sporting events.

BUT

If we were the Brits' and this were 200 years ago the group of blokes 
standing on the rear of the Swiss usurper would all be in the tower 
for treason, or, if not, a gun boat / frigate / ... would be on the 
way right now ... :-). ie if we get beaten by a megamillion USA team 
or Italian team or whatever, that's life. But when "we" get beaten by 
the team that won the cup for NZ in the first place when they stood on 
the shoulders of NZ sailing heritage, and boat design heritage and 
national pride and national support, and then went out and sold 
themselves to the highest bidder (and yes, I know about all the 
arguments why it was OK for this to be so)

THEN

there is just a tiny wee bit of extra national pride and 
identification and cheering for the boys in black as they try very 
hard to get "our" :-) cup back from the, dare it be said, national 
traitors [[ :-) ]].

Not quite as a passionate feeling as the name "Rainbow Warrior" STILL 
engenders, but ... .

By such things are patriots formed :-).
Death to all patriots! Quickly. :-)





        Russell




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