Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
The 37th America’s Cup Challenger Race is finally underway. If you’re like me (I live in the US) and subscribed to ESPN+, you probably paid $10.99/month for it because it was your only option to watch the live races. Why the US is the only team in the competition that has to pay is a complaint for another day.
I had planned to quit the service once the games finished in late October, but when I found out this week that the subscription price would increase to $11.99 per month on October 22nd, in the middle of game 37, I couldn’t wait any longer. Well done, Disney!
At the risk of sounding cranky, I’m tired of the term “America’s Cup” being overused. The 37th America’s Cup race hasn’t even happened yet, but you’d never know it from how it’s used to attract attention and drive online traffic. Even youth and women’s events are overused. The first race is October 12th, folks. Everything else is fake.
Speaking of the Youth and Women’s events, I hope this isn’t a wasted effort. The entry and campaign costs are pretty high for 4 people riding AC40s, and the winds in Barcelona are already limiting practice and competition. Plus, there are breakdowns at each race. Hmm…
With just two matches remaining in the selection series to determine the five challengers, Great Britain’s win over a weak Swiss team leaves questions open as to whether they made a mistake in their opponent selection. Italy survived a very close semi-final against the USA, but can they repeat their win over Great Britain in the 2021 challenger match?
“I’ve said before that whoever wins this semi-final will beat Ineos,” U.S. helmsman Tom Slingsby said. “No disrespect to Ineos. I think urgency is very important in this series and all our races were very close. Luna Rossa could have learned a lot from them.”
Parallel to all the fuss in Barcelona, the America’s Cup e-Series begins on September 28th. The eight gamer finalists have been announced, raising hopes that the event will be widely watched. I’ve seen e-sailing before and don’t need to see it again, and I also shook my head when I was only provided with the screen names of the finalists. Nothing is more amusing than trying not to pique your interest. At all!