.....Gone

Adios OneWorld. You are going home, and you are going home about $80 million lighter. But that particular pile of money didn't really matter anyway, most of it is make-believe tele- communication and Microsoft funny money. Easy come, easy go.

OneWorld really has nobody to blame but themselves. They fucked around and got caught cheating, and that pretty substantial distraction hung over their heads for the entire LVC. Who knows what psychological damage starting one point in the hole to Oracle held for them, but we do know that much of the real damage was also self-inflicted. While James Spithill did a superb job steering (with the one very close over early), it is Peter Gilmour who really blew it. They gave away yesterday's race so completely as to be embarrassing. A gybe set at the next to last weather mark with a commanding lead? And then no gybe back to cover? What in the hell were they thinking? They had a chance to paste a good ass kicking on Oracle, and if not get back in the series, at least, like a heavyweight boxer who is likely about to get knocked out, get in one good shot before they went down.

They also gave race #1 away with another split (see The Big Split? in the archives) when they had a real chance of getting Oracle. These sort of fundamental errors are absolutely inexecusable at this level of the sport. As good as he is, Gilmour sailed very poorly in this round, and he has surely seen his stock drop, especially with the crop of young guns surrounding him, chomping at the bit. Like their designer Bruce Nelson, Gilly can now go home, shut out for the umpteenth time from the Big Show. They probably weren't going to beat Dickson and Oracle anyway, but they did their best to make damn sure that wasn't going to happen.

Should we feel sorry for them? Naw - theirs, like most, was a gross example of a bloated program funded by Fat Cat money. And all of it undercut by a culture of cheating. Tsk-tsk. Unless Paul Allen decides that is a good thing to print more money for the next time, I doubt we'll see OneWorld again.

Adios, OneWorld.