AMERICA’S CUP ’92 : Cayard, Il Moro Become Talk of Italy

Italy has given us Fermi, Marconi, Da Vinci and Sophia Loren.

We’ve given them Paul Cayard.

So far, it’s working out to be a pretty good trade.

With Cayard guiding Il Moro di Venezia into the America’s Cup finals, Italy has suddenly embraced him and yachting. Prime-time ratings are as high as a well-thrown pizza pie. America’s Cup headlines have pushed soccer and Alberto Tomba off the front pages.

In one Italian journalist’s words, “Italy has Il Moro mania. Everybody is going absolutely crazy.”

The result is that the Italian media, whose attitude was standoffish in the early rounds, have descended on San Diego en masse.

A handful of Italian writers and broadcasters have followed Il Moro from the early rounds.

When Il Moro became the first Italian boat to reach the finals--and the first European crew since 1964--about three-dozen more writers, broadcasters and camera crews quickly made their way here. There are five television stations alone.

They’re excited. They’re excitable. They whistle. They cheer. They moan. They hug crew members. They sport Il Moro logos and wear team shirts and jackets. They take it personally.

Il Moro syndicate chief Raul Gardini is always referred to in hushed tones as “Mr. Gardini.” The U.S. press axiom--”No cheering in the press box”--falls on deaf ears.

“Uncool? We do it,” said reporter Francesca Lodigiani of the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. “It’s an Italian attitude. Those (reporters) who’ve been here and in Fremantle are pretty close to the team.”

Luca Bontempelli, a writer for Gazzetta Sport, the country’s biggest sports daily, said with a laugh, “For sure, we’re involved. But the French guys were worse than us. They made a lot of noise. We just have the (reputation).”

Both those writers--who’ve been here from the start--have experience from past Cup competitions, as well as personal sailing knowledge, unlike many of the newcomers. However, they admit they’re caught up in Il Moro’s drive for the title, which has been characterized by a series of improbably close finishes.

The was Sunday, when Il Moro evened the best-of-seven series with Americac,63 at 1-1 with a three-second victory.

“It’s almost a miracle to be in the final,” Bontempelli said. “Many people in Italy would like to win but it would not be (a tragedy) if we can’t. It’s already the chance of a lifetime.”

Bontempelli said his stories are normally relegated to the middle of the sports daily, with soccer dominating pages one and three. But no more.

Lodigiani said, “Each important newspaper has been here. Now there are also many more--40 or 50 other media. Right now it is a great big event.”

The Italian media explosion has shocked Bontempelli, given sailing’s usually low profile.

“Because of (the time difference) it is on TV prime time,” he said. “It gets the best (ratings) for the network. It is amazing. Yachting is not popular at all, but they’re going crazy over Il Moro. We’ve never had yachting on the front page or page three.”

Lodigiani, a lawyer “in real life” who doubles as a sailing reporter because “this is my passion,” said, “Believe me, sailing is not such a popular sport in Italy but Il Moro is. We have (governmental chaos and unrest). Il Moro is a great relief.”

Thanks to the boat’s unexpected success, she said, Cayard and Gardini have become nationally popular. She said the hard-driving Cayard, a San Francisco native, has become known as “Paulino.”

Both reporters said Il Moro’s success reflects well on their nation, whatever Cayard’s nationality. Cayard, who also brought another American, Robert Hopkins, onto the Il Moro afterguard, has been called a sailing mercenary.

“Italy’s technology (in building the boat) is coming out good,” Lodigiani said. “The Montedison factory (which has built Gardini’s racing fleet) is all Italian. Don’t tell me (about) too many foreigners.”

Bontempelli said he thinks the underdog Il Moro crew has become the popular favorite, here as well as abroad.

“You really can’t say you want Bill Koch to win the America’s Cup,” he said with an impish smile. “A guy from Kansas? You want a farmer to win? The American media don’t really support Bill Koch. People (in Italy) are starting to know (Cayard). He speaks fluent Italian, with hardly any American accent. He’s on the front page of all the daily papers. This is amazing.”

Gardini has said his syndicate won’t settle for just making the finals, but the reporters said Cayard and crew will be remembered and chronicled fondly nonetheless.

“He and Gardini are heroes right now,” Lodigiani said. “Even if they lose, people will think they did something really great.”