AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- On the eve of the America's Cup races here, the waterfront is buzzing with excitement. Local fans view challenging skipper Russell Coutts as a villain who defected from Team New Zealand.

Thousands of people are expected along the waterfront Saturday morning (7 p.m. ET, Fri., ESPN2) when the boats go to battle for Race 1. One has the feeling that Switzerland's Alinghi and Coutts will feel like the Dallas Cowboys running into the Redskin's FedEx Field.

Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker will enjoy being the hometown favorite, but the immense pressure on Barker and his team to keep the Cup in New Zealand could have an adverse effect. The fascinating thing about all America's Cups -- this one in particular -- is that no one really knows which of the two boats is fastest. The designs are remarkably different.

Team New Zealand features a hull appendage, a thin cup of fiberglass extending aft of the keel to well beyond the rudder that gives the boat extra waterline length. A thin layer of water passes between the hull and the appendage. In light wind this turbulence could be a disadvantage. Team New Zealand also has a long keel torpedo with a flat bottom that effectively lowers the center of gravity. TNZ will certainly be fast in a straight line.

Alinghi has a stubby, short keel bulb that will be advantageous for maneuvering. Alinghi's rudder is narrow and deep while TNZ's is shorter and wider. Both crews will surely sail their boats to peak efficiency. It could come down to the tactical decisions by the afterguard and the weather conditions.

The challengers, as a group, agreed months ago not to race or test against TNZ in any form. But ESPN has learned that the Italian boat, Prada, was recently sailing in close proximity to Team New Zealand breaking this promise. Even worse, Prada's starting helmsman and tactician, Rod Davis, has been sailing with Team New Zealand for the past three weeks. In 2000, Team New Zealand protested when sailors tried to change teams after they were eliminated. The information Davis has on Alinghi is invaluable to TNZ.

In 2000, Peter Gilmour, the skipper of Nippon, also reneged on the oath not to tune-up against the defender. TNZ's tactician at the time, Brad Butterworth, later told me that the session against Nippon demonstrated that TNZ was off the pace in light wind and they reformatted their measurement package. It is interesting that while the Prada syndicate was the Challenger of Record organizing the Louis Vuitton Cup, they allowed their own sailors to tune-up with Team New Zealand.

Another issue around the waterfront is the potential bias of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Race Committee. In 2000, Principal Race Officer Harold Bennett dramatically varied the length of the starting line depending on which side Team New Zealand was entering. When TNZ had the right of way on starboard, the line was shorter giving little room for the challenger, Prada, to maneuver. But when Team New Zealand was on port, the line was 100 yards longer.

Bennett also was criticized in 2000 for not starting races in light wind. This could happen again because TNZ is worried about their light wind performance. At a meeting on Wednesday in Auckland with the afterguards of both boats present, Bennett announced that he did not intend to start a race with winds under 10 mph. A person present said the Alinghi crew was stunned by this development. In the America's Cup match there are no upper or lower wind limits. The ACC boats sail well in 7 knots of breeze. Bennett will claim that in light wind the direction of the wind is too variable for starting a race. But the real goal will be to give TNZ an advantage by racing in heavier wind.

Also in 2000, Bennett rarely moved the marks of the next leg to keep the course square. The goal should be to allow the boats to sail an equal time jibing and tacking. When Team New Zealand was ahead, it was harder to pass if the course was not square.

Alinghi has its work cut out for them. The Swiss team is viewed as the villain here, and it may have the hometown race committee to deal with. But Russell Coutts and his veteran crew understand all this. It might make them sail even harder.

In 1977, Gary Jobson served as tactician to win the America's Cup for Ted Turner. ESPN's lead sailing analyst, Jobson will be providing ESPN.com with daily analysis throughout the America's Cup. E-mail him at garyjobson@cs.com or check out his Web site at jobsonsailing.com.