Laureus Interview with Jimmy Spithill
by Laureus 7 Mar 2014 12:10 PST
7 March 2014
Jimmy Spithill lifts the America's Cup in San Francisco © Guilain Grenier / ORACLE TEAM USA
Jimmy Spithill is skipper of Oracle Team USA which won the America's Cup and who are nominated for the 2014 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award
Laureus Host: If we could just start with your memories of that amazing America's Cup win.
Jimmy Spithill: Well, you know, you spend four years of your life working extremely hard and sacrificing a lot to get there, and obviously to do it in the way we did it was something you wouldn't even dream of. But yeah, I mean, to ultimately do it the way we did and make what was the biggest comeback in sport, yeah, it was an incredible thing to be a part of. And to be honest, it's something that's hard to put into words. I mean, it really comes back to the fantastic team. If there's one thing that the team did well it was sticking together in the tough moments and that's what championship teams are all about.
Q: It seems unbelievable when you're 8 1 down, that you could actually believe you could come back?
JS: The thing about this team was we had been tested before. We had faced some real adversity. I'm sure there were a couple of guys that were thinking, okay, this could be it. But I truly believe that we had the team to do it. And you know, that's the great thing about sport and in life, that, you know, if it's not over, if they haven't handed the trophy over, you still have a shot. Every day we went out very hard and focused on each race each day and tried not to think too much about the end result. But obviously a competition that goes for a couple of weeks and you're that far behind, obviously your mind wanders a little bit. But I truly believed we had the team to do it.
Q: Was there one particular speech you gave your team as skipper that made a difference?
JS: You know, just the whole, a lot of things, but the one thing I said to the guys, actually before race one in the America's Cup, I didn't know where it was headed, but I said to the guys, I said, "Look, no matter what happens, whether we're winning or whether we're losing or no matter where we are, one thing we need to do is stick together. We can't let the media or anyone get between us. We have to just hang in there and sort of be there for each other, and, you know, hang tough." And that's exactly what the team did when we got into that situation. It was a whole combination. It wasn't the guys on the boat or the guys on the shore team, the engineers, the designers that that were trying to help us. It's just like Formula One. So it really required everyone, and also our ability to never stop trying to learn. I mean, from the start of the competition to the end, we trained every single day, for the last month, we worked every single day. So psychologically, you could see we were actually working hard and loved it.
Q: When you were 8-1 down, did you use any video to motivate your team or something special?
JS: I just believe that you never, ever give up. I have just seen different circumstances in my own life where if you fight to the end and as long as there's a glimmer of hope, you still have a chance, and you never, ever give up, and it's amazing what can happen. Look, this is a team that was very, very good. The more the pressure came on, the harder the situation. Then that's when this team tends to excel. It's like you grabbed each other and you pulled yourself tighter together, and you just refuse to back away. You know, I think for me, it was the key to any champion or any champion team, it's great when you're winning, everyone knows that. It's very easy, and the same in business, when things are going well, everyone gets happy and gets along in the company. But when you're losing and you're having a hard time and you're facing adversity, is when you see the champion then you see the champion teams, then you see the people you want standing around you. And I've seen this team in some tough situations, and you know, as the pressure came on more and more, you know, you almost relaxed more. For some reason, the team did very, very well when there was adversity or pressure.
Q: There was a lot of coverage of Ben Ainslie's role coming in halfway through, an Olympic champion?
JS: It's hard to single anyone out because it wasn't just one person. It wasn't just one person who made the result. No question, Ben did an amazing job. No question, Ben was an awesome, awesome guy to bring on board. He was just a very good team player. You know, he fit in, the guys took it on, and he brought some good energy on to the boat. He, along with a number of other guys, were big factors, but he was an important guy, no question.
Q: What's the reaction been like since San Francisco? Can you give me some examples of what it's meant, what people have said?
JS: It's been overwhelming. I mean, anywhere you go, people are talking about it, stopping you. The thing that's really blown me away is the amount of non sailors who have enjoyed it and really gotten into it now. I mean, afterwards, walking around San Francisco, obviously a lot of people got into it that never really associated with the bay or the water, came down because of the event and got involved with it. You know, we did a big sort of media tour afterwards, and I was just walking around in Manhattan with just plainclothes, no team clothes and people were coming up on the street, non sailors. So the fact that it's connected with a mainstream audience was amazing. It's incredibly exciting to see that. But probably the biggest impact it had for me was I obviously expected people who were interested in sport to follow it and to motivate them, but I actually had a couple of people come up to me with general illnesses that weren't into sailing and they were inspired by the comeback. They sort of came up and said look, knew nothing about sailing, and to be honest, don't know much about the sport, but there's been a couple of times that I've thought about packing it in, you know, sort of giving it up, and the story and what you did, it sort of inspired me to keep at it and hang on. So that sort of really blew me away, because I never really expected that. I expected people interested in sport to get a kick out of it. But yeah, that side was amazing.
Q: Did you have a pretty international crew?
JS: Yeah, it's professional sport, and you look at like a lot of the American sports, whether be the NFL or the baseball, hockey, most of the players are not from you look at the San Francisco Giants, the baseball team, they are not from San Francisco; a lot of the players aren't from America. In the America's Cup, it really is about getting the best people. So we had a multi-national team, with not only the sailing team but our design and our build team. And now, I guess our prerequisite was getting people with the right attitude and getting the very best, people that were team players. I've been involved with teams where there's been, say, the majority of one nationality, and because this game is so tough and there's so much sort of problem solving you've got to do, I've found you actually get to a better solution with a multi-national team, and the reason for that is you have a team that's fully one nationality, you have a sort of cultural way of solving problems and dealing with things. When you've got a mult-inational team, they approach things differently and from a different way. From what I've seen, that actually usually ends up being a much more positive result and you get to a better solution in the end.
Q: What did you do to celebrate after the 9 8 win?
JS: Yeah, we celebrated for sure. It was just an awesome few nights. And then really, for me, I sort of kicked on with the media tour and did all the late night shows in America. So it was amazing how it really swept, not just America, but really internationally, as well. It was incredible afterwards. I think it was also a tough time for the guys, because you go from spending every day, long, long hours while working very hard and you're red-lining yourself and you're putting yourself out there every day. I mean, these guys are seriously racing. Every day you go through a few moments that almost ends in disaster. When you're red eye lining yourself like that with that amount of adrenaline and serious consequence, when it suddenly turns off and stops, it's kind of difficult. So I think that, too, was a tough transition for people.
Q: So what's next for Jimmy Spithill and the crew?
JS: The last three to six months, have been pretty critical in that it really starts again. You know, the teams what wins these sort of events is getting the right people. So there's obviously been quite a push from a lot of people to secure different people and get the right sailors, designers, engineers, boat builders, crew, etc. And now what's happening is obviously a lot of work's been done for the next event and the big decision now is where it will be held. But it's getting the core people together, the key guys. And for us, we are going to start training actually next month. So it will be good to get together again.
Q: So you'll be looking forward to being in the team that defends it?
JS: Yeah, yeah, I'm staying with the team. Yeah, I'm pushing for a three peat. It's been an incredible ride and to be involved and win the first one, and to win back to back merica's Cups, and now a shot at the third one is really, really exciting and going to take a lot of hard work, but something that I'm looking forward to. But also the people that we have assembled on the team, now there's always changes and mixing up. But I'm excited, it's a really, really good group and I'm looking forward to having a crack at No. 3.
Q: You talked about where you would defend the Cup. Do you have a favourite location?
JS: No, that's all being dealt with right now. We're looking at a few locations. But the key thing now is we have a product that works on TV and we have a product that young sailors can watch. It's exciting and people get it, the graphics that they use are very educational for people, and the boats are just so out there. I mean, they are extremely physical. It's just a completely other level that no one has ever seen and that's what's important, and really all the credit goes to [owner] Larry Ellison for having the vision to get it done.
Q: What did he say when you had actually won it?
JS: Oh, after the final race, he got on the boat and he just said, "Hey, you know what you guys have just done." And then he said, "Well, you've just won the America's Cup." It was awesome. I've had a great relationship with him. Over the years I've raced with him; I've raced against him. He's a very good sort of sportsman and competitor himself. He's like one of those people that's a natural athlete. Yeah, it was just great to share the experience with him and enjoyed being involved on the same team with him. I'm looking forward for the next one.
Q: Would it be better to move to mono-hull than catamarans? What's your response to that?
JS: My response would be, have a look at the race with the mono-hull in it, the America's Cup with the mono-hull and then have a look at the race with the catamaran. It's not even close. The great thing about it for me is that it's the oldest international sporting event in the world, 103 years before the Olympics, no one else can say that. However, you know, the old mono-hull America's Cup, while it may have been enjoyable for the guys on the boat and the construction and engineering, like Formula One frankly the boats were no faster than any boat in the marina. To be a sailor on the boat would not be great, and to try to watch that style of racing those boats on TV was like watching paint dry. So unless you're into that, it wasn't that great. So now, you really get the best of the best. I mean, with these boats you need exceptional athletes. You can't carry anyone on these boats. It just requires the best of the best. And there's some serious risk; if you make a mistake in the old mono-hulls you could make mistakes and it wouldn't really matter so much in the race. But you make a mistake on this boat and it's serious consequences. So now it's got everything. It really is something that non sailors can watch on TV. More importantly, kids love it. The amount of kids that want to get into sailing now who weren't into sailing and didn't come from sailing families, because it's a catamaran and flying in the air and it's exciting and it's physical. Yeah, it's the only way forwards.
Q: What was your reaction when you heard that you were one of the Nominees for the Laureus Award?
JS: Oh, it was really exciting. Obviously I knew about the Laureus Sports Awards and I mean, just to see the other great athletes there, I'm really excited for the night. I'm obviously attending representing the team, because that's what got us the result, the fact that everyone put themselves second and the team first. I'm very, very excited. It's going to be really, really cool to meet some of my heroes from the other sports. I can't wait.
Q: Have you ever imagined that you would be competing with the likes of Tiger Woods and Ronaldinho and Rafael Nadal for an Award?
JS: Yeah, I mean, look at that, who would have thought. I think, man, it just goes to show where the sport's come. It really is being recognised now. But then again, if you look at what the team pulled off, that come back, with the amount of pressure with what was on the line, I think the team and the sport deserves to be there.
Q: It's a fantastic story for a movie.
JS: Funny enough, I think the day after we won, they sold the movie rights or a book so, yeah, the movie rights are already sold. For us, I guess a lot of it has been just how cool and how many people connected with us outside of our world, outside of the sailing world. I mean to get mainstream America, middle America where there's just no sailing and no water and people were into it. It just blows your mind. I think the coolest thing about it is it's going to grow the sport and it's going to make the next generation a fantastic opportunity; the kids out there, the next generation that really want to get to the top and get involved in the game, I think it's going to provide a great platform for them.
www.laureus.com/awards2014