The Cup, in green, white and red

By GIAN LUCA PASINI

La Gazzetta dello Sport

In Italy, for a joke, we say we are a people of sailor, saint and hero.

It is not really true: we can be hero (sometimes), we can be saint (depends), but for sure we aren't sailor. Until now.

We have 8000km of coast around the country, but not so many people love sailing and heading into the silence of the sea.

When Francesco De Angelis left Italy to come here he said: þ I will try to do my best in the America's Cup, but for sure I will try to change the idea in people: sailing is not a sport for the rich, like Italians think.þ

We don't know if Francesco is going to score one or two goals in this America's Cup, but for sure Italy is becoming mad for Luna Rossa.

As you know when the races are starting in our country it is deep in the night, about two in the morning.

It doesn't matter - there are more then two million (three for the very last final race against Paul Cayard) in front of national Rai TV, who have broadcast every matchrace live from the semifinals.

It doesn't matter if the race is stopped, or doesn't start - Italian people wait and many of them spend time before the race on a chat line on the Internet (on the Prada web site, or the Gazzetta one).

It is like a mania. The discotheques wait to let people in until the race start; in every bar, pub or restaurant there are big tv screens to see what is happening on the other side of the world.

In Punta Ala they try to make an event of it. Spaghetti & regatta, with red wine to warm people - outside in the night it is not more than zero degrees.

When Prada won the Louis Vuitton Cup final, it was mad. In Naples, De Angelis' city, people took cars and flags into the streets and made a lot of noise þ like in 1982 when we won the world soccer championship.

In Italy every morning before work, people go to the bar to drink coffee or cappuccino, and usually talk about soccer, the most famous sport in our country. The talk is of Inter, Juventus, Ronaldo and so on.

In the last few month they speak about mast, boom, spinnaker, gybe-set, tack and Luna Rossa's chances of beating Cayard and the Kiwis too.

May be most of us don't know what a boom vang is. But the feeling is the same - pride, like in the three-colour flag (green, white and red).

People who spend all night long in front of the tv are part of something: they are live.

It is very difficult to explain because for every New Zealander, man or woman, the Cup is something more. Luna Rossa is a fashion.