Not so long ago, sailing results were worth no more than a side note in most daily newspapers. The only exception until then was the annual Kiel Week. But that changed with the 31st America's Cup.
An 18-million-euro partnership between BMW and the American syndicate Oracle caused the media in Germany to sit up and take notice.
ARD endeavoured to obtain the broadcasting rights, and the daily press provided race reports for all sailing fans who didn't want to or couldn't pull an all-nighter. Here is a press review from the day after the Cup win:
"Bargemen at the summit - Swiss victory in the America's Cup" - announces the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". On half a page, author Ingo Petz reports on the victory and the plans of the Swiss syndicate. In view of the hoped-for new sponsors and a relaxation of the nationality rule, Petz is already predicting races between Aldi and VW.
While "Alinghi" "made history" on Sunday night according to the "Hamburger Abendblatt", the online editors of the daily newspaper were in no hurry to write - the "Abendblatt" homepage was still reporting on Friday's 4:0 on Sunday evening. But radio listeners no longer needed to check the internet. Already on Sunday morning, "Radio Hamburg" informed the sailing enthusiasts of Hamburg about the outcome of the race.
"The Moët-et-Chandon corks hit the New Zealanders right in the heart. It seemed as if tourists were celebrating wild parties without any sensitivity on the local national day of mourning", is how "Die Welt" describes the time of the award ceremony in Auckland's Viaduct Harbour. Two pages of the Springer daily newspaper report on the "unbeatable debutants'" storm to the summit, which also made the front pages of German daily newspapers with their victory.
And the Alinghi sports director Jochen Schümann is mentioned again and again. "Schümann sails to the sporting Olympus" is the headline of a two-page article in the "Hamburger Morgenpost". In the "Kieler Nachrichten" it says: "Schümann crowns himself with America's Cup", and the "Tagesspiegel" is "Mit Schümi hart am Wind". In addition to a half-page race report, the "Berliner Morgenpost" devotes another half-page to the Berlin strategist. In an interview, Schümann's "mighty proud parents" open the family album and talk about their son's career, which began on Berlin's Müggelsee.
The only confusing thing is the different points of view on a possible German challenge that various newspapers have attributed to the Olympic and Cup winner Schümann. While the "Financial Times Deutschland", for example, says that he is firmly expecting a German challenger in 2007, Klaus Wolf ("Berliner Zeitung") quotes him as follows: "It's nice that there is so much enthusiasm at home now. But at the moment it doesn't look as if anything will be organised in Germany."
You can find out more about the America's Cup in these top current issues:
YACHT 6/2003 (available to subscribers from 7 March, in newsagents from 13 March)
- The big report from the decision before Auckland
- plus: Exclusive interview with Jochen Schümann
- plus: Technical analysis of the damage to NZL-82
- plus: Background report on the unsportsmanlike side of the Kiwi campaign
YACHT Special America's Cup 2003
A must for all regatta sailors, a pleasure for all sailing enthusiasts!
The unique special edition on the decision off Auckland. Everything about the world's most important sailing trophy and Alinghi's historic victory on approx. 120 pages in colour. Available in newsagents for 7.50 euros from 13 March.
- The most gripping background reports on technology, tactics and weather routing
- The most unforgettable photos of the decision
- The inside story of the 31st America's Cup
- The tactical mistakes of the New Zealanders
Plus: All teams, all facts, all regattas from Round Robin 1 to the Swiss 5:0 victory in the final at a glance
