“What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of how it is supposed to be.”

— Anonymous

We did it, Bermuda. We may not have got the result we wanted, owing to the utter and undeniable brilliance of Emirates Team New Zealand, but what was clear was that the island shone on the global stage as it has never done before.

We did this in the face of great resistance — some from overseas but most was rather embarrassingly self-inflicted in our own backyard — yet we pulled it off over the course of one month to deliver an experience that will last for some for the rest of their lives.

For the chance to host an event of the magnitude of the America’s Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We may not fully appreciate it until it is well and truly gone.

Our taxi drivers and many others in the hospitality business will be the first to face the immediate effects, as will the Great Sound, which has played a largely understated part in showing off Bermuda to the world.

For all the talk of legacy, little could replicate the free publicity that transported the best of Bermuda into the living rooms of millions of sailing fans around the world. But for every “best of Bermuda”, we’re afraid there is unfortunately another, darker side to this idyllic tourist destination.

In attempting to pull down the America’s Cup, the naysayers used every trick in the book, with the number 77 million trotted out with annoying frequency and every combination of elite, rich and white being used.

Little consideration or sentiment was afforded the many young Bermudians, of all races, who profited from the America’s Cup being held here, or to the many businesses that were doing a roaring trade, or to AC35’s prospects of paying it forward by way of new repeat visitors to further augment our resuscitated tourism industry and through new sponsorship arrangements.

Longstanding problems such as a failing education system and even worse building infrastructure are being dropped at the feet of the sitting government, as if they will miraculously disappear within the first two years of a new government being in place after July 18.

We did our best to take the air out of the political football, restricting those on either side of the fence to their own social-media outlets. Michael Dunkley and Grant Gibbons were rarely seen by us because, although they were largely responsible for getting the America’s Cup to Bermuda, once it started it had to be all about the sport. And, to a lesser extent, all about the Endeavour Programme.

And even when the assorted New Zealand-based media got into bed with locals who had an agenda to push and also with the ultra-mischievous Dennis Conner, we refused to take the bait. Because the bigger picture is less the unjustified animosity surrounding the event, more the world-class sport, bonhomie and eyeballs fixated on our 21 square miles in the middle of nowhere.

Dunkley has been roundly criticised as “the photo-op premier” since he succeeded Craig Cannonier as the leader of the country in the wake of the Jetgate fiasco, but to be fair to him, and to Gibbons, they stayed out of the AC35 limelight during the event, as our viewfinders, Steno Books and voice recorders have steered clear of them — until the Cup was won.

Publicly our guests have been very polite and patient, but behind closed doors you can imagine the hand-wringing going on as their existence on island and the many positives that they brought were being questioned.

They have entertained us on the water and they entertained us in the Village with a variety of top-quality acts — local and overseas.

When so consumed with bitterness and vitriol that you can be critical of the presence in Bermuda of Ne-Yo and Third World, while chastising as puppets those fellow Bermudians who simply wished to have a good time after the races, it speaks to a deep-seated penchant for division and a recalcitrance that reveals the “can’t we all just get along” line as a foolish whisper.

We will discover in the coming months and years whether this was a moneymaking enterprise or, indeed, if return on investment finishes south of the border. But what can never be disputed is whether this was a good thing for Bermuda and her people.

We loved it and we should be falling over ourselves to welcome Emirates Team New Zealand back to our shores should they, as chief executive Grant Dalton alluded, wish to return with a World Series event in the preliminaries to the 36th America’s Cup in 2021.

New government or not.