Dalton right to spray Spithill
OPINION: Grant Dalton had every right to have a celebratory spray at Jimmy Spithill and all things Oracle as he savoured the champagne of an America’s Cup victory.
Dalton, the hard-nosed Team New Zealand CEO, is copping some flak for revealing a bitter side to a sweet victory.
He had a flick at Spithill, a laugh at the expense of Sir Russell Coutts and a subtle dig at Oracle’s ‘‘beach regatta’’ operation of sport’s oldest contest.
In truth, the ‘‘Americans’’ got off lightly.
Don’t be surprised if more comes out of this.
Dalton could fill a worthy book with the tortured path he has had to negotiate against Oracle from the moment they got hold of the Auld Mug, but particularly in this latest cycle leading up to Bermuda where the Kiwis were happy to operate as a ‘‘lone wolf’’.
Perhaps he will. It could prove to be a best-seller. In a game where the politics are as fast and dangerous as a foiling catamaran, there are all the makings of an enthralling thriller.
Yes Spithill offered an uncharacteristically gracious side to his character in defeat.
He had no option. He’d just been humiliated. What bad could Spithill have said? His threats throughout the final had a hollow feel to them, a pantomime villain running out of lines as he ran out of opportunities.
He came across as a good loser, but he himself, hasn’t exactly been a good winner in the past.
Don’t get me wrong, Spithill is good value for the sport. A man who screams headlines and more often than not backs them up with performance.
Dalton is his equal in administrative terms, a battler who refuses to quit and has now finally beaten the considerable might of Oracle Team USA.
Team New Zealand have suffered mercilessly at the tongue of Spithill for four long years.
A chance to give a bit of quick lip back was too good an opportunity to miss, even in the glory of victory.
Especially for Dalton who had been muzzled by an Oracle outfit who feared his honesty and had a hefty fine waiting for any hint of criticism for their organisational work around the regatta. That muzzle has been lifted. In a game where winners are grinners, in a tournament whose motto is ‘‘there is no second’’, it is Dalton who now holds all the cards. He can do – and say – what he likes.
As he plots the way forward for the contest, we may hear more references to some of the strange ways of the past regime.
Dalton is a forthright character, a man who speaks his mind, a man who operates in black and white, not the murky gray that often tainted the tropical blue waters of Bermuda.
Dalton is now under pressure to provide an interested public something better.
It will be fascinating to see how he and his organisation responds.
But, like Spithill, he has shown he reacts well to pressure and doesn’t mind letting off a bit of steam in victory.