Wednesday may mark the first time in decades the word "underdog" and Larry Ellison appear in the same sentence.
But
the Silicon Valley billionaire found himself in that position a few
days ago, when his multimillion-dollar Oracle Team USA boat was on the
verge of a humiliating loss to Emirates Team New Zealand in the
America's Cup.
UPDATE: Ellison brand a big winner, too
A
win in the decisive race today, though, would cap one of the greatest
comebacks in sports history, burnish the athletic resume of Ellison and
quite possibly put he and his team in the same conversation as the
Miracle on Ice U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1980.
Wait. Larry Ellison?
The
Chicago native, who co-founded Oracle and is its CEO, is arguably
high-tech's happy warrior, gleefully taking on rivals such as Google,
Microsoft and Hewlett Packard while quoting from The Art of War in
high-profile smackdowns. While others battle for market share with
rivals, Larry's Oracle simply bought PeopleSoft in a hostile takeover
several years ago.
His appetite for competition beyond bits and
bytes. There was an abortive attempt to buy the Golden State Warriors
recently and Ellison still harbors dreams of bringing the NFL back to
Los Angeles with a team he blissfully calls the Stars.
Ellison,
69, amassed a personal fortune of $41 billion by treating tech as a form
of sport – and the America's Cup is no different. The team got into hot
water before it touched San Francisco Bay's cold waters for illegally
altering boat parts, costing it valuable points and putting it in a
competitive hole.
The cavalier Ellison loves a challenge, however,
and his team has clawed back with seven straight wins in the
unlikeliest of comebacks.
And he was there to witness both races
yesterday: Ellison blew off a keynote speech at the annual Oracle
business conference, where some 60,000 people have gathered here this
week, to watch history.
The world's wealthiest underdog will have a front-row seat -- on a high-speed chase boat -- to soak it all in today.
Published on: USAtoday
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