Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

America’s Cup Win Wakes Up New Zealanders

Associated Press

New Zealand awoke with a happy hangover Monday, a day when its biggest city started to plan for the next America’s Cup regatta.

Team New Zealand won the oldest international trophy in sports off San Diego on Saturday, early Sunday New Zealand time. The Kiwi’s Black Magic I beat Dennis Conner’s defender Young America in a 5-0 clean sweep.

Normally stuffy New Zealanders sang and danced from morning to night. Queen Elizabeth II’s representative compared it to the conquering of Mount Everest. Some called for knighthoods for the crew and the winning yacht club ran out of champagne.

The victory is of staggering proportions for this small South Pacific country of 3.5 million people. It trounced the might of the United States’ team with high technology and superior seamanship.

“The Sweetest Victory!” crowed the front page of the New Zealand Herald.

“This little country of ours did it! It’s just fantastic,” said Lisa MacGibbon a resident of Auckland which will host the next cup competition, probably in 1999.

Daylong parties stretched into the night. Pubs and restaurants overflowed. Revellers sang and danced in the streets. Many did so proudly wearing red socks, the official lucky charm of the Kiwi campaign.

“Five-zip. That’s awesome!” gloated Mark Walker as he watched television coverage of the event, one of the highest-rated programs ever broadcast in New Zealand.

Governor-General Dame Cath Tizard, who represents the queen, said it was the nation’s proudest day since Mount Everest was climbed for the first time by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.

A radio station launched a campaign for challenge boss Peter Blake and skipper Russell Coutts to be knighted, just like Hillary.

A commemorative postage stamp has already been printed, and several cities plan ticker tape parades and red-carpet welcomes for the crew when it returns.

Sportscasters described it as New Zealand’s greatest sports victory, even surpassing anything achieved by its beloved national rugby side, the All Blacks.

Few tears were shed for the vanquished Conner, known in New Zealand as “Dirty Dennis” for his hard-nosed and abrasive tactics both on and off the water.