OPINION: When Emirates Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA resume their battle for the America's Cup on Sunday morning, there will be more than just the Auld Mug at stake. The future of both syndicates could be on the line and the future of one of the oldest competitions in sport.
While it's often a bone of contention for challengers, one of the most unique aspects of the America's Cup is allowing the holder to set the rules.
And regardless of who is presented with the trophy in Bermuda early next week, big changes look set for the next regatta.
Team NZ were the only syndicate not to sign up to a framework agreement laid out earlier this year by Oracle and the other challengers, an effort to set the rules for the next two Cup cycles.
The argument from Oracle backer Larry Ellison was the agreement would give clarity to teams before they enter the event, without the threat of the ground shifting underneath them.
There's more than a dash of irony to that statement from Ellison. The current edition has been marred by constant rule changes - including a change in boat mid-cycle that resulted in Italian syndicate Luna Rossa dropping out in protest.
The framework would move the event to a two year cycle, and use the America's Cup World Series as the qualifying rounds for the challenger semi finals.
It's a significant change from the current approach of a regatta every three or four years, with all racing (barring the odd bonus point) happening at the same location before the top challenger squaring off with the defender in the Match.
The occasional legal hiccups aside, it has generally been that way since the first challenge in 1870 with the current format largely in place since the introduction of the Louis Vuitton Cup in 1983.
Ellison and Sir Russell Coutts have pushed the modernisation of the Cup since Oracle's Deed of Gift win over Alinghi in 2010. The change to multihulls would make for exciting, television friendly sailing - and it certainly has - but it hasn't been the commercial success that drove the change.
Only three challengers lined up in San Francisco three years ago and five have made it to Bermuda. The path to each regatta is littered with failed syndicates - Korea, China, France and Great Britain sailed on the ACWS but failed to make it to San Francisco while Luna Rossa and the original Challenger of Record from Australia pulled out well before 2017.
In comparison eleven challengers lined up in Valencia in 2007, the last regatta sailed in monohulls, when Alinghi retained the Cup with a anything-but-boring one second win over Team NZ in the final race.
By not signing up to the framework agreement, Team NZ aren't necessarily indicating they'll take things back to those days if they win. The world of sailing is fast changing to multihulls, and it would be a brave decision that takes the Cup back to monohulls.
There's a good argument the technology has taken over the sailing, but Ellison and Coutts have given us a good spectacle. But it's the environment and running of the event by the current regime that doesn't appeal to everyone.
That's the fundamental difference between the two possible outcomes in Bermuda. The playing field is tilted very much in the defender's favour, and you would expect Team NZ to push it back towards a more even keel.
Commercially, Coutts has said holding a regatta in Auckland wouldn't work, but it would be a more popular event and that would help syndicates and the event sell itself to sponsors.
As for who would feature, Luna Rossa would almost certainly be Challenger of Record with Alinghi hotly tipped to return. The majority of the existing syndicates would also likely feature, and the proximity to Australia would improve the chances of an Aussie challenge, more so with the likes of Glenn Ashby, Jimmy Spithill and Nathan Outteridge featuring prominently.
And from a commercial point of view, the America's Cup has never meant to be about making money. Its history is filled with people pouring money into it, not getting rich from it. Auckland held two of the most successful regattas in 2000 and 2003, and there's no reason it wouldn't happen again.
Many in the sailing world are cheering on Team NZ to win in Bermuda. Many support the Kiwis but a number would prefer a New Zealand win than allowing the current holders to further change an event with 166 years of history. Team NZ may be the challengers to Oracle but from the point of view of the Cup itself, they are very much defending its virtues.
Greg Pearson is a Newshub sports producer and reporter.
