The America’s Cup is New Zealand’s Cup | Sport

The myth became a legend in Barcelona. Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup this Saturday after beating Ineos Britain 7-2 in the final and entered the Olympus of sailing by lifting the world’s oldest sporting trophy, the Hundred Guineas Jug. No other team has achieved this feat in 173 years of competition. The triumph catapults the eternal Protector to the level of the schooner America, which in 1851 defeated an entire fleet of ships of the British Empire in the first edition; or Australia II, which ended in 1983 with 132 years of American rule. The America’s Cup, winner of four of the last eight editions and the flagship of the competition, is now also the New Zealand Team Cup.

Ineos Britannia fell honorably on the sixth day, which took some time due to lack of wind. The British had the champion on the ropes within moments of the regatta, but the day was over quickly: the first time was a charm, the best metaphor for what correspond final. Defensor excelled almost every day, with only the high waves on Wednesday of day four, which Ineos took advantage of to win the day’s two races, eclipsing the New Zealand show. Their dominance extends far beyond Barcelona to superb proportions, with 21 wins and just 6 defeats in their last three Copa America finals.

The New Zealand era is also the era of Peter Burling, the Kiwi captain and helmsman. A three-time competition champion, he is the tip of the iceberg of a true dream team. The four untouchable crew members (Burling and Nathan Outteridge, the two coxswains, and Andy Maloney and Blair Tuke, the two controllers) have won 20 gold medals between the Olympics and the World Championships. The rapport between Burling and Outridge, bitter rivals at the Games (they won gold and silver in 2012 and 2016) and this latest entrant in this campaign, was crucial in minimizing the talent of Ineos Britannia leader Ben Ainslie.

But if Barcelona becomes the “before” and “after” in the history of the New Zealand team and the America’s Cup, no one dares say what impact the competition will have in the city. Two and a half years ago, agencies and administrators announced with great fanfare that compliance with citizen demands was proving difficult. Despite the celebration at sea of ​​the numerous boats accompanying the sailing ships on the regatta field, and the numerous fans who came to the fan zones To follow the last regatta on what was clearly the best day, television audiences tended to be low (0.5 to 1% share on average in Teledeporte and Esport 3 approximately), and the presence of fans in the designated areas on competition days was mainly ensured by foreigners.

The insistence of the organization and political representatives repeating that the Catalan capital is hosting the third most important competition in the world after the World Cup and the Olympic Games does not seem to have helped; as if this were to guarantee social roots in a city experienced in both events, able to compare the value of major sporting events on all their scales.

With virtually no links between Barcelona and the Copa America other than proximity to the two Valencia tournaments (2007 and 2010), the sudden announcement in March 2022 of the choice of venue came just two and a half years after the competition began. did not provide an opportunity to pedagogically present the event of the great tradition in other territories. No one can dispute the legendary scope of the 173-year-old competition, but no one could guarantee that it was enough to get the city back on its feet.

Some Barcelona residents have reason to believe that the 2022 competition was presented with arguments from the 1990s: urban transformation, tourism and economic exploitation. And in the midst of debates about Barcelona’s relationship with tourism, with a generational crisis due to lack of access to housing and in a new political phase in Catalonia; The oldest sporting competition has become a weapon that goes beyond the sporting sphere.

Socialist city councilor Jaume Colboni called the celebration a sign of the city’s new dynamism, following the previous city council’s concerns about major sporting events. The Catalan bourgeoisie behind the organization has regained some of the space lost after its disintegration during processes. And much of society rejected the America’s Cup because of its links to elites and the tax incentives associated with it.

However, no one has achieved the most important thing: creating a host team capable of performing in the highest category. Without the Spanish team, which, according to the sociology of sport, is the key to public relations, local fans are missing out on a hero. It was only the spirit of Sail Team BCN, who finished an impressive third in the women’s category after training 99% of the time on the simulator, that lent shine to National Sailing in Barcelona. Silvia Mas herself, the team’s leader, wondered shortly after the semi-final defeat whether the lack of support was due to political or business reasons. “It’s strange that I didn’t have my own boat in Barcelona,” he lamented.

As a result, no one dares predict what the future of the Cup will be, following the flirtations on all sides in recent months. The city council publicly assures that it would like to keep him in Barcelona; But privately he says he doesn’t want to pay the same price once the planned work, which has changed the profile of Barcelona’s coastline, is completed. And Grant Dalton, the manager of the New Zealand team and the organizer of the next draw for winning this one, has already hinted in an interview with EL PAIS that some things could be improved, rating 6.5 out of 10, if he were to repeat the game in the city in the proper conditions identical . The New Zealand team raised a significant flag on their boat with the inscription: Thank you very much Barcelona although the most important thing is missing: until next time or forever.

Valencia and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) have expressed interest in hosting the next tournament (Dalton is already talking about 2026), although parts of the New Zealand political class are demanding a return to Auckland (New Zealand) to take over from Barcelona and host the team’s new cup. Zealand, the legendary sea team.