But, frankly, he doesn't care. However secretly Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI), Prince of Alinghi, may fear (or wonder about) the looming Supreme Court of New York hearing (October 22, 2007), he doesn't show it.
Despite the conversation reported last week between himself and Larry Ellison (USA), Chief of BMW Oracle, which they have both kept secret, anyone who thinks Ernesto will suddenly be gifted with generosity and kindness to all challengers, both those declared and those considering, well, they are sorely mistaken.
Ernesto is a man who will not surrender anything he thinks he owns, not a thing, nothing, unless it is ripped from his hands and his heart by the power of God. It would take God to move him. And then, you can be sure, he would resist it.
Right now, Ernesto owns everything that has to do with America's Cup 33.
Unless you mis-read that sentence, that's everything.
Everything.
And by own, we do mean own. America's Cup 33 is his property, nobody else's. Nobody else on the planet has a piece of it, or in Ernesto's mind, ever will. It's a grace-and-favor enterprise from beginning to end -- his grace, and his favor. And there's precious little of either in the make up of this extraordinary man.
What we are dealing with is a not-so-tiny piece of human pathology that transcends virtually anything anyone could ever possibly assume is 'normal'.
By any reasonable estimation, we are dealing with an individual above whom no-one else can exist, greater than whom no mortal can be, richer, more talented, more skilled, more intelligent, more insightful, smarter, cleverer, or more charming than whom, is something that simply cannot be imagined.
Ernesto has built a pedestal; no, a pinnacle. He sits atop it.
And there is only one person he allows to share the spotlight with him; his lovely wife, Kristy.
Meanwhile, back down here on planet earth, America's Cup, frankly, is no longer a famous sporting event, the oldest in organized sport, conducted with respect and goodwill among like-minded souls, an event that belongs to all the nations that compete.
Oh, no. Not at all. Not in any kind of way.
It's now a big, fat, crass, Euro-power event, totally owned, staged, conducted and administered, without a thought for the rest of the world, by one man.
Ernesto, Prince of Alinghi.
And Ernesto will, assuredly, call the shots, exactly as he sees them, whenever he feels like it, and to whatever degree he feels suits him, now and later, now and for the rest of time, unless stopped.
The fact is, there is only one thing that stands between Ernesto and the America's Cup as we know it. It's not Larry Ellison, or anyone else. It's the New York Supreme Court.
Who knows what will happen there?
Like you, we hope that objectivity, honor and integrity will prevail. Like you, we are watching, and waiting. So, too, you can be sure, is Ernesto.
Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco (GGYC) and its nominated team, Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle, are the only participants who have (1) publicly spoken the truth about AC33 and Ernesto's death grip on it; (2) had the guts and the b***s to do anything about it; and in so doing have actually (3) imperiled their own AC33 campaign in order to see that openness, honor, integrity and fairness prevail.
Where are the rest of you?
Literally, where are you?
Larry Ellison has been slammed by Ernesto, Alinghi and their minions. He takes flak from sailing writers around the world. When he reads the same columns all of us read, he sees himself described as a 'feuding billionaire'. Is that the best we can do? I don't think so.
In the interests of total disclosure, my primal allegiances aren't with this team. My passion is this event and all the teams, Alinghi included, who compete fairly for the greatest prize on earth.
But there is only one entity on the planet pushing for honor and integrity in America's Cup.
And it ain't the Prince of Alinghi.
Or any of you.
The noose will tighten October 22.
Or, amazingly, Ernesto will slip the knot and slip away.
Stay posted.
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