Dear David F.,

We have to take things in context.

At the time of Alan Bond's team winning the
America's Cup - sailing's greatest trophy -
it was a pretty big deal - both in the United
States and across the Pacific.

However, things changed since then as the following
website explains:

http://thediplomat.com/2013/09/americas-cup-what-happened-to-sailings-greatest-trophy/

As far as sports fans are concerned?

Forbes Magazine tells us that some people take being sports
fans to the extreme. They attend games, they buy apparel, they
live and die with each pitch, pass, shot. English soccer fans
travel with their teams. They sing at the top of their lungs,
and sometimes cause mayhem on the streets and in stadiums.

American sports fans are just as enthusiastic. Lighting up
internet fan sites, travelling huge distances to see games,
buying merchandise, and even brawling at the ballpark.

Just look at the fans all over the country who follow every
pitch of their Boston Red Sox.

No matter what Bondy did - and was charged with - he will
be remembered by many - for the America's Cup win!

This is yacht racing,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsJewTrY5v0&list=RDTsJewTrY5v0#t=47

Dear Foxy,

Although I am old and crotchety I am not an athletic supporter.

david f, "I am not an athletic supporter"

Heh, heh, there are some who are and strapping fellows, all.

As an ex-pat American I was in Fiji when Australia won the Cup. I wasn't aware the event was being held and upon meeting some Australians, they all began to tease me about beating the Yanks and now Australia had the Cup.

I honestly never even heard of the Americas Cup before that day. And I believe at the time not many Americans really cared. You see, the word yacht in America means a lot more than a sail boat. Yachts and yachting are the domain of the very rich, the snobbishly rich, and the average American can't stand these people. Like myself, most Americans were probably happy for Australia. For me the name Alan Bond just resonates another rich crook with so much money (in this case other people's money) he could blow multi-millions on essentially a party. The sailors deserve the praise, not Alan Bond.

Dear ConservativeHippie,

Of course the sailors and the keel designer all deserve
the praise. But if it hadn't been for Alan Bond
helping to bank-roll Australia's bid to break the
US stranglehold on the America's Cup - Australia would
never have had the chance to even compete let alone win.
Sailing has always been the sport of the rich. So -
you've got to give credit where credit is due.
Plus as stated earlier - the vitory transcended sailing,
becoming the symbol of a time when Australia came of age
and made its mark on the international stage.