There’s not a lot of love for the fact that Team New Zealand has cancelled any chance of a winner’s parade if they take the America’s Cup. 

Normally we have parades after America’s Cup wins. We’ve even done it after losses.

We had one after San Francisco and the 9-8 horror loss. We had one after Bermuda. Who can forget the images of Sir Peter Blake on parade in the 90s? 

But this time, no. And that’s because team New Zealand has asked Auckland not to host one.

Their reasoning is that it’s been a tough year, and ratepayers don’t need that cost. 

The move is not popular, especially on social media, but then when is anything popular on social media.

To some extent I can understand the gripes, mostly over the fact that New Zealand has sunk $250 million plus into this event and a little parade would be a nice thank you gesture.

I get that.  This is obviously in the context of some resentment over the fact that Grant Dalton is planning on possible taking the next event offshore to somewhere like the UK even though taxpayers have spent so much on this event. 

But come on, let’s be rational. A parade? We don’t need a parade. It’s not the 1930s.  We’re a bit more sophisticated than that now. 

Parades work best when you’re welcoming home a winning team from offshore. But these boys are here; we can see them every day at the viaduct, so I’m not sure how good turnout would necessarily be. 

Also, money’s tight.  We could well be in a technical recession at the moment, and Auckland City Council’s had a massive fall in income post Covid. Now’s not the time for the city to be throwing cash at something like a parade. 

So I totally get if you feel a bit grumpy at a perceived lack of gratitude over all the money we’ve invested, but throwing more money at the same thing is probably not the way to get bang for your buck.