If we're talking strictly about television (which has to equal appealing to Joe Six-Pack), then we need to forget everything we know about how sailboat races are "typically" run.

The races MUST be short. The courses MUST be simple.

Most people won't stay with a sport that takes 7 years to figure out. For a TV audience, you probably have less than 7 minutes to keep their attention.

Granted, enough people saw the movie "Wind" and can probably figure out how a long race works, but in reality, no one sits in front of a TV to watch a long race, of any kind. No one watches running marathons, but they do watch sprints, relay races, etc.

Of course, by "no one" I am referring to the vast majority of people, not active sailors. We're crazy enough to stay up until 3 am to watch a two-hour AC race.

Now, this isn't to say that ALL racing needs to go in this direction, but if we really want to be on TV, we need to change the package.

Oh, did I mention, Team Racing already meets these criteria...

Mike