The local press are doing a happy dance. Our international sailing team, using Emirates money, has taken down the Yanks in Bermuda, and the America’s cup is returning to NZ. Unlike the Aussies, we’ve won it back. There will be changes in how things are done, The American sailors note this is a chance for new American teams, and some more innovation.
As someone who lived through the last cup defence — it was before I moved to Dunedin — I will be somewhere where the crowds are not.
The innovative and resilient Emirates Team New Zealand team accomplished one of the biggest comebacks in sports history, having won the 35th America’s Cup 7:1 following the heart-wrenching 34th America’s Cup 9:8 loss.
Sexy, fast, high-tech, competitive boats with smart, strong and sexy sailors on turquoise blue waters based on an island nation, the 35th America’s Cup was a feast for the eyes and the shot in the arm that the Cup needed. The Challenger Qualifiers, the Semifinals and the Finals provided high speed, adrenaline pumping, lead changes and a bit of drama. Refreshingly, it was sporting drama.
And now that Oracle Team USA’s grip on the America’s Cup has been wrested by the very deserving Emirates Team New Zealand, Americans have a window to reengage with the America’s Cup.
For all intents and purposes, the America’s Cup has been off limits to Americans and American teams since the 2007 America’s Cup, despite Oracle Team USA having won the Cup in 2010, defended it in 2013 and lost it now on June 26, 2017.
The Defender Selection Series was notably and noticeably missing from the 34th and 35th editions of the America’s Cup. We’ve missed the public clashes among skippers, backers, yacht clubs, and aspirant teams from different regions of the country.
By not having a Defender Selection Series, the Defender may not have had that extra push to keep its winning edge and the support it needed to carry through to the America’s Cup Finals while the Challengers battled until the bitter end to race in the America’s Cup.
The 36th edition of the America’s Cup is North America’s chance to get back into the America’s Cup.
Let’s open up the pathway for emerging athletic, sailing, engineering, design, data, and building talent. Let’s put a spotlight on S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education, sustainability and the maritime trades. Let’s generate economic impact.
Let’s build North American teams and give local, regional, national and international sponsors, partners, investors, backers, media, and fans a North American league. We can foster crosstown competition, cross country rivalries and plenty of events to generate interest, a fan base, and the best team to represent America and the challengers in the 36th edition of the America’s Cup.
Sport can be an idol. One of the problems with the crossfit pyramid is that sport is at the peak. It should not be. There is only one thing that is at the peak and that is Christ. We can spend hours watching sport, which does our diet no good: nor does it do our help us get fitter.
The Philistines thought they had triumphed when they took the ark of the covenant as plunder from the battlefield. However, the hand of the LORD lay heavy upon them during the seven months that they had the ark, and so they sent it back. Sometimes the example of virtue comes from your enemies, for the Philistines realized that their actions were leading to destruction, so they changed them.
1The ark of the LORD was in the country of the Philistines seven months. 2Then the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the LORD? Tell us what we should send with it to its place.” 3They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty, but by all means return him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and will be ransomed; will not his hand then turn from you?” 4And they said, “What is the guilt offering that we shall return to him?” They answered, “Five gold tumors and five gold mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for the same plague was upon all of you and upon your lords. 5So you must make images of your tumors and images of your mice that ravage the land, and give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps he will lighten his hand on you and your gods and your land. 6Why should you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he had made fools of them, did they not let the people go, and they departed? 7Now then, get ready a new cart and two milch cows that have never borne a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. 8Take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart, and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off, and let it go its way. 9And watch; if it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm; but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”
10The men did so; they took two milch cows and yoked them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. 11They put the ark of the LORD on the cart, and the box with the gold mice and the images of their tumors. 12The cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.
13Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they went with rejoicing to meet it. 14The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh, and stopped there. A large stone was there; so they split up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the LORD. 15The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was beside it, in which were the gold objects, and set them upon the large stone. Then the people of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and presented sacrifices on that day to the LORD. 16When the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.
The Israelites rejoiced (you can feel for the cows: they had lost their calves and were now sacrificed). But in this the Philistines had learned to fear the LORD. They had become a little better.
This is why we should pray for our enemies. We should not deceive ourselves: we have enemies, and at times they are not ouf our choosing.
The risk is that we will become as our enemies are. We will adopt their tactics: make things up, weaponize official information act requests, point and shriek, demand resignations, signal virtue, and never help those we are campaigning for, because we see the narrative as more important than reality. This too, is an idol.
Declaring a man as your enemy is the start of an intimate relationship that stems from three possible motivations: (1) you want to be more like him by having his power or wealth, (2) you want to gain more of your own power by hurting or crushing him, or (3) you want to relieve your inner guilt from already being like him, like in my case with feminists. The enemy will be present every single day of your life as you study him, interact with him, and probe him for weaknesses that you can exploit. At the end of many years of battle with your enemy, do not be shocked when you look him deep in the eyes and see a reflection of yourself.
Defend yourself against those who wish you harm, but understand the cost in having enemies. They are merely a mirror into your own demons and inner conflicts. Find out why you hate something before you start attacking what you’ll become more like with every passing day.
Our enemies hate us and will try to destroy us. We should have no quarter for them within the church. We should care for those of faith first.
We have an easy test: those who proclaim Jesus Christ is LORD are of us. Those who talk about tolerance, diversty, rights, ecology and social justice being the priorities are not. We are on this planet to say to the lost that Jesus is the only way to salvation.
And our enemies we pray for.
For ourselves, we pray that we do not become like them each time we pray that we are not to temptation led.