Saturday 11 January 2014

34th America's Cup, Gary Jobson interviews Jimmy Spithill of Oracle Team USA part 1 of 5

From the following interview posted on the ISAF website:
 
 
9 January 2014, 02:53 pm
 
Jobson Meets Spithill - Part 1
From an America's Cup winning tactician to a winning skipper. ISAF Vice-President Gary Jobson caught up with ORACLE TEAM USA skipper Jimmy Spithill at the end of 2013.
Offering a fascinating insight into the 2013 America's Cup, Jobson and Spithill analyse what went down in San Francisco, USA.

Enjoy part 1 of 5… Part 2 will follow on 10 January 2014.

Gary Jobson,

"All of us here love sailing and everybody is a sporting enthusiast and everybody likes an underdog and everybody likes a good contest, and when Jimmy walked into the press room the score was now 8-1, Emirates Team New Zealand had won their eighth race. One more race and it was over for your team. You walked in there and declared, "we can win races, we're not done. This could be the greatest comeback in sailing." And I was sitting there thinking well either you're going to be the next Joe Namath guaranteeing victory in the Super Bowl, or look like Y.A. Tittle in the end zone after losing the championship. You're the next Joe Namath. What was in your head that gave you the confidence to say that we could turn this around?"
Jimmy Spithill,

"I think it's the people around you that give you the confidence. The America's Cup, by no question, is by far the biggest team sport out there. It's huge team size. We're talking over 100 people. Obviously there's the sailors. There's the guys that are on the boat that go out and do the racing. But really you're nothing without all your other team members. The shore teams, what we call the pit crews, the designers, the engineers, the people in the office, the guys cleaning the base. Everyone is just as important as the other person. I think once you get out on the water, for me, it's looking next to the guy standing within the guys, that guy that you face on either side of you and knowing that he'll do anything for you. He is almost like you, in fear of letting your teammates down. It's that sort of dedication. You'll do anything. Whatever it takes for your teammate. And when you get that sort of synergy involved and where your teammates put the team number 1 and themselves #2, then that's the ultimate. That's team sport. When you look around even up to the Navy Seal level, that's something that is consistent in, almost like a family or brotherhood of guys that will just do anything for their teammates. That really is a really rewarding thing when you get that thing. It's hard to put words to it, I'm probably not doing a good job of it, but it's an amazing feeling."
 
read more here

No comments:

Post a Comment