By ALAN PERROTT
Russell Coutts hopes he has been forgiven for abandoning our America's Cup team, but he will have to parade up Queen St in a New Zealand flag to win over Steven Brunt.
Skipper Coutts told CNN the country now understands and accepts his and tactician Brad Butterworth's reasons for joining the Swiss Alinghi syndicate shortly after they retained the cup in 2000.
But the Mt Eden resident won't have a bar of that kind of talk.
"Nah, it's about loyalty," said Mr Brunt yesterday, as he nursed a pint.
He had been fooled by the spin about Kiwi battlers who had to sell socks to survive ... that had just been about making money.
"If Coutts and Butterworth want forgiveness, they can walk down Queen St wearing New Zealand flags.
"Then I might start thinking about it."
Clare Allington, of Napier, cast doubt on Coutts' parentage as she perused Viaduct Basin menus.
"Like everyone else, I thought it was a rotten thing that he did and, if he comes back here and beats us he'll be even more of a bastard."
The money was obviously attractive, she said, but this small country had a long memory.
Hamiltonian Jack van den Nakken regretted we didn't use brainwashing technology before they jumped ship.
"It's the same with everything we're good at - these people go and teach everyone else how to play and then we wonder why we don't win any more.
"Coutts wasn't just a sailor, he knows all our secrets and ideas."
He predicted the outrage voiced when Butterworth and Coutts left would be nothing compared to the vitriol if Switzerland wins.
"It wouldn't go down well at all, but I'd like to see his boat go down because he just might win it. Switzerland wouldn't be far enough away for him then."
Eric Dyason, a yachting fan from Papakura, said if you're not with us, you're against us.
The America's Cup was us versus the world. "What would we say if Mehrtens went to play for South Africa at the next World Cup?"
But rumours of multimillion-dollar salaries has others questioning patriotism.
Queen St shopper Jenny Doyle said the yachtsmen sailed for New Zealand for 10 years and it was time they got the pay-off.
"We have them to thank for having the cup here in the first place."
New Zealand slow to forgive stars who jumped ship
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