I’ve been thinking about the America’s Cup and redemption.

Us Kiwis have long memories when we feel hard done by. The underarm incident. Dirty Dennis. You know what I’m talking about.

So.

After this regatta, what of Coutts and Butterworth?

They’ve been held up as sell-outs. They still have interests/homes in New Zealand (I believe) and will someday want to return here.
But how will they avoid the daily scrutiny and angst that is still directed at them from afar?

My take is this:

Team New Zealand wins the America’s Cup from Team USA. (It hinges on this occurring).

Coutts and Butterworth et. al then are in a position to be able to take the moral high ground. “We worked on the inside to get the America’s Cup through a natural growth period of Billionaires and Bragging Rights. The America’s Cup will now have a chance to be Country Vs Country and accessible to all”.

It may be that history will remember them as sporting heroes, restoring the oldest trophy in the world to its rightful place.