The Outsider: In Loving Memory Of...
"Sometimes I can't believe it. I'm moving past the feeling again." - Arcade Fire.
"How's your boy feeling?" I asked Martin Potter early this morning.
"Much better, hey. He was rattled yesterday, he didn't want to surf that re-surf heat. I had to whip his arse to get him out there." Pottz responded about his young charge, Travis Logie.
There wasn't a trace of hesitation in The Log's game this morning as he out tube-rode Teahupoo over-achiever, Brett Simpson.
I'd swum over to the caddy spot to talk to Pottz. Owen Wright was there, preparing to surf against Raoni Monteiro. There's been a kind of cold, mechanical fury in Owen's aura this event. He's been training hard at home and considers himself a genuine title contender. He's been taking losses as a personal insult and this event has seemed one big occasion to remedy the disrespect.
The South Pacific was breathing gently this morning, with smooth swells sliding silkily into the faintest zephyr of offshore breeze coming out of the mountains. Packets of energy were still rearing up and throwing on the reef, but for the first time in a few days it looked seductive instead of treacherous.
Owen took care of business in the brutally efficient, fearless and super-skilled way he'd been employing since the start of the contest and in all the free surfs. By his semi-final bout with The Log his supremacy was becoming so apparent he started to relax and show some joy and flamboyance in his surfing. He was feeling it.
But of course you can feel all you want against Slater at Teahupoo and still get beaten. All were wondering this morning if it was going to be one of those Slater days when that spiritual connection he listens to becomes a roar and it seems no mortal can stand in his way. The day started disastrously for him. A broken board first wave, then a trip over the reef and a lap of the lagoon while Wilko sat and stared, looking around for the champ...you could almost hear the mental process: "Where is he? What the hell is he doing?"
Wilko must strike now or he's cooked, I thought. Remarkably, Slater got back in the line-up and put a huge score on Wilko without priority. Wilko had the champ on the ropes and couldn't lay a glove on him.
That's it, I thought...it is going to be one of those days.
Josh Kerr's emotional intensity seemed to wane with the swell which was becoming listless and moribund. Despite a dominant display all week, Kerr too, couldn't make a mark on the champ. You could see Kelly relaxing in the boat between heats with Raimana, paddling out with a minute before the start. Completely in the moment.
If anyone could threaten him it was Owen. That was the general consensus in the channel. His Semi against Trav was perfect. Maybe too perfect: how can you replicate a performance like that when it comes to the biggest heat of the comp?
I spoke to Slater just before the Final. "You said yesterday there was a spiritual component in your relationship to the ocean. Where do you feel that?"
"Spirituality is not really a physical thing...it comes down to the feeling you have from something and that comes down to where your mind's at. Even if something goes wrong and your minds in the right place I find that I can look at things without judging them. If it goes good or bad it's still good. Bad things aren't bad because you can still learn a good lesson from it."
"So it's a learning process?" I asked.
"Last thing you want to do is consider a surfing contest as a spiritual thing but you get the feedback from your actions, reactions and your results and that guides me in a way. In a heat it would guide me in which waves to catch and where to paddle."
"One of the things you do which distinguishes you from your peers is the ability you have to come back from making wrong decisions and put yourself back in that right frame of mind."
"Sometimes everything is off and you just have to figure out how to get back in that flow of where you should be."
"Speaking of flow, all the title contenders in front of you have fallen, same as last year. That really seemed to coalesce your title campaign last year. Do you have any feeling about that right now?"
"Umm (long pause). I don't feel super fired up for the bigger world title picture...I'm just trying to....people would probably be surprised to know my confidence wanes too, you know. I'm not doing terrible this year but I'm not having the best year. It started out great and I've fallen back six spots. I didn't feel like I surfed very well at Bells. I felt so-so in Brazil, but I wasn't really into it. And when J-Bay was on I didn't feel super motivated either, but for this one...it felt good from the start for this one. Now I'm in the Final and that's where Andy won so I've got to go see whether he's going to give me a blessing or take me out."
"Well, it's an honour to come and watch you surf today. All the best."
"Thank you."
The Final was far from the anti-climax it was shaping up to be. A flurry of sets from a resurgent Pacific saw Owen take command as it had done against Raoni and Travis. He threaded tubes, he hacked the end section, he faded as he came from deep. He had the champ on the ropes in the opening exchanges. Kelly answered back with a deep, long highline tube that had an extremely difficult entry point. It was a masterful ride, perfectly executed and he gave the judges a subtle body English claim to show he was happy with the ride. That it was something special.
Owen answered back with a long threaded tube-ride. It was the heat fans had hoped for - a shoot-out with plenty of opportunity. Kelly bagged some bizarre rides and wipe-outs which would have rattled anyone of normal mental constitution. But as we just learned, the champ laughed them off and got back in the flow of where he should be.
When he rode the foamball on a square sucking bending west bowl and gained the lead it was up to Owen to do something remarkable. The wave came to him. A solid set with an entry ramp. Like he's done all event Owen skilfully negotiated the drop and launched an enormous pump and drive into the barrel. If he came out it was a ten-pointer and the comp was his.
But like it has done all event the wave itself dictated the proceedings and avalanched him in an explosion of spray. The game was effectively over, despite the best efforts of Owen to sneak one from the champ which resulted in the unedifying spectacle of Slater going over the falls backwards. He came up laughing.
Andy did bless him and one gets the feeling that Slater's declaration of love for Andy in their famously vitriolic Title campaign of 2004 was heartfelt and mutual...even if the return affection comes from beyond the grave.
Thank-you linesman. The scaffolding is being pulled down. The beers are flowing in the carpark. Please excuse me while I go surf Teahupoo.
Comments
Thanks for the articles Steve (& Swellnet for putting you in the thick of it).
If this event doesn't straighten the 'bums on seats' deviation the tour bus has taken, then nothing will. Epic from start to finish and a reminder why these men get paid to surf, and we don't. I can't remember ever setting an alarm to get up hours before work to watch an ASP event. Rounds 3,4,5 were mind blowing. Owen was RIPPING all event, and my concerns about an early peak in the semi were justified it seems. Also a shame the swell didnt hang around for Bruce's expression session...
So off to NY with the bald eagle leading the race, even after doing a tricky no-show at J-Bay. Thats got to have left a few of the Top 5 smarting in my books.....
Good one Steve ... was a pleasure reading you all throughout this epic event.
Thanks again Shep.
Wonder what Swellnet's newfound friend The Roller thinks of NYC Quiky Pro getting cancelled tonight at the last minute. His shining moment of hapiness after all this Chopes crap.
Awesome coverage Steve - always great reading!
Are you going to New York? Or has it officially been cancelled?? I thought they just cancelled the festival stuff and were still going to do the surfing??
Oh well I guess they save $1 mill in prize money if they dont run..
Pundits should stop referring to Slater as ...the King... and start calling him ...the guru... he's teaching a lot more than surfing there.
Thanks Steve - bloody awesome.
i dont get how you call yourself the outsider
Whaddya mean, thunderwood?
wow great stuff Steve!
So I wanna know a bit more about Owen Wrights massive first coupla pumps that he does on his take offs out there especially when he is super deep -it almost looks as though he completely unweights and lets his board just fly loose and then he re weights again- to me it fully looks like he is almost going to fall off at first
but then he re gains control and flies through the barrell- it looks incredible ! whats your take on his style out there? and are you just getting mesmorised by how many barrels are being ridden out there?
I'm not up to speed on who's doing what and who's who in the ASP zoo, but Owen Wright's effort has enhanced his rep no end.
Overall, I think he was the standout surfer by a good margin. He picked the best waves, rode them so well that even I could sense the technical perfection and only Slater plus a lack of a solid opportunity for a backup wave stopped him from getting the major prize. A fair dinkum masterful event for him. Even Slater didn't show him up, and I think even Slater knew that Owen was going to get him if he got any sort of chance.
Given the surf and the difficulty of it, that was one for him to remember into his dotage.
Well done big fella. Congrats to Slats, too. Whether it's cool or not, I like him.
Great work, Steve. Best of any contest yet.
If you need any help getting that pay rise....
I fell asleep at the keyboard watching tube after tube - not really.
Great contest conditions - gotta wonder how NY can compete?
Go over to Billabong Pro dot com and rewind the whole final heat. There is no way old baldy one that final.
While Owie was fully and freely ripping, BKS- Bob Kelly Slater was getting overscored for holding on with both hands.
Even though he's trying to brush it off, it will stick to his psyche.... BKS's over the falls kook-out in front of the heaps of people in the channel and the millions of those tuned on the web, may be the embarrassing thing that won't vacate his mind for a long, long time. Something that may flip mode the ju-ju. (Unless he was fashioning a lucky coral bracelet on his trip around the reef).
As to the next ASP event on the schedule, it sure looks like even in the mists of a twister clean-up, a test match will be held in NYC.
And Quik, take a clue from the Billabong Tahiti event and hires Artie Lange to do the post heat interviews. 'Cause that overbearing douchenozzle GT was the ONLY shite stain of the whole Teahupoo contest.
So, Old Rotty?... G'wan mate. Slurp down your prescription meds with another quart or three of the hard sauce... And realize, it's only a brain disease you're suffering from.
Quote from Kelly in the lineup at Chopes: "I don't care if NY gets cancelled, I'll go surf Barbados or something..."
I can't remember the last time I've really looked forward to watching a whole event, let alone the free surfs (be it live or via the net).
Its going to be hard to top that event, but it sure has stirred a renewed interest for me. It had everything and was freakin awesome.
Thanks Freeride and Ben for the coverage and an insight behind the scenes.
Cheers
Hats off to swellnet and especially the Outsider for such brilliant coverage of the event. Death Mask Pt. 1 was a seriously good piece of sports journalism.
Looking forward to the epilogue.
Hope Willian Munny can make some other comps.
Rotty me boy,
Bob Kelly Slater also said on Surfline that he's telling his GF that he'll "some point I'll have a proper home and family and kids and stuff"...
Surf girlfriends, (like most of his competition excluding Owen Wilson, who was clearly ripped off in the Grand Final), are gullible like that.
And, everyone who actually surfs knows Barbados breaks best in the winter.
Question,... Rottmouth, have you "gone over the falls" with your chosen combination of booze and prescription meds?....
Again.
Planet Earth to Rottmouth,
The NYC surf comp is not "cancelled".
Now, back to your bottle, mate
I too thought that Death Mask Pt 1 was a fantastic read. Thanks.
I also agree that KS was overscored with his 9.5. O Well. It would have been nice to see Owen get one up on Kelly as he seems to have his measure. I think they are now 2 a piece in man on man heats surfed against each other. (i could be way off on this).
I don't know the exact record either Green Iguana, but I know Owen had his number for a while. Xlater's gotten him back the last couple couple if I recall. Owen's got a future Chopes trophy with his name on it.. bank it.
thermalben i just mean he doesnt sound like an outsider he sounds like any other reporter from any other online site or surf mag. Its same same not an outsiders view.
Thunderwood, I'm not sure how you think The Outsider "sounds like any other reporter from any other online site or surf mag". What mags or websites are you reading?
His moniker reflects the notion that he's not a part of the in-crowd, unlike the vast majority of other surf writers (some of whom are often good friends with the pros).
Kelly didn't go to JBay and copped flack from a lot of people for showing 'disrespect' to the tour. Next event he shows up and wins and now they say he was 'overscored'. Thats disrespect to him I beleive. He played the game fair and won. What else is he supposed to do?
Great accounts by the 'outsider' hanging in the channel.
I thought GT did an epic job. He is witty and amusing and his history in the surf industry has obviously helped him build relationships with most of those pros.
@ sunbay: for the record, I agree with you about GT. A tough job that he (usually) pulled off with a fair bit of grace and reasonable intelligence, given the circumstances and the job description. To say otherwise is churlish.
The whole event was bloody good. And the webcast and associated features about a 1000% better than last year.
Ummmmmm..... who are you Steve Shearer?
Tomlinson in the Teahupoo channel, togged up in a jacket, Top Siders, and captains hat, throwing down the interviews like he's Thurston Howell lll? Then getting upset when the winner spills a bit of beer on his sport coat?
More like Thurston Howell the turd!
Who does he think he is? Back-up dancer in The Style Council circa 1987?
thermalben
"how's your boy feeling" "joel you seen bruce" sound like friends talking to me.
valid point thunderlips, a reporter hangin close to the pros writing embedded journalism from within the lip (almost), is bound to form a few close relationships and get subjective - shearer admitted this when CJ called him into a good one. however, i don't think these quotes you cited mean he's their mates. its conversational. wandering around and talking to people rather than lining up in a tent with a press pass. you gotta admit treating them this way is more likely to get an honest response than being all formalised and shit. kick the phonies to kingdom come!
... "Surf girlfriends, (like most of his competition excluding Owen Wilson, who was clearly ripped off in the Grand Final), are gullible like that".....
:-)
That's beautiful roller. I'm sure you are now going to say that you intentionally called him Owen Wilson as a mocking reference to GT's(?) referring to him as Owen Wilson, but I don't think so.
That one totally slipped out didn't it. Go on, 'fess up. :-)
I have to say that roller has a point about RKS being over-scored in the final.
Their two best waves each - man, close as. I thought Owen's was the better wave and he surfed it perfectly, Slater's made more of a lesser wave. Maybe on a par, but certainly could have come out in slight favour of Owen (Wright, not Wilson) instead of in Kelly's favour.
But the backup wave scores - I thought RKS was scored high and Owen (Wright, not Wilson) was low-balled.
Sure, there's room for opinion, and others are more expert than me, but I see what I see.
Would be interested in other's opinions, particularly you freeride. What you say, mon?
Food for thought regarding Batfink's Comment:
"The question is not whether Kelly gets over-scored but whether virtually all of his competitors do when their performances are contrasted against Slater's. Watch each of Kelly's Teahupoo rides carefully: in every case he does something to up the degree of difficulty. A very dramatic stall, redirection in the tube, finishing the wave not with the typical flop-off but with a stylish, on-edge cutback. At Teahupoo, at least, Kelly's competitors received high scores for making the waves, while Kelly received slightly higher scores for actually surfing the waves." - Sam George
Also, you are NEVER going to beat a Kelly Slater, Michael Jordan, Sandy Koufax, Joe Montana, etc... by just playing him nose to nose. The refs / judges / umpires will always give the edge to the established guy who has performed countless times in similar circumstances.
To beat a champion of that caliber, you have to kick his fucking ass and leave not a shred of doubt. "Eat the heart of the grey hair," as Magua would say.
That's what Andy would do. That's what Mick has done on occassion. Owen's got his name on a future Chopes trophy in my opinion. He just came a cunt's hair short of slaying the dragon this time.
Gotta say, I loved Owen's mid-face gouge every time he came out of a barrel (usually when he was highlining it). Just showed how bloody comfortable he was with the wave by the time the finals came around.
Earth to rottie, this is not baseball, football, or basketball. Nor is it not boxing.... So your comparisons are pure brainless barney shite, mate.
This an entertainment/sporting event that relies on judgement. Unbiased judges...
Humans judging humans who in this day and age should be replaced by non biased software programs already.
And batfink? Owen will for now on be tainted, teased, and known as Wilson....
That arse kissing, unbiased well dressed mental giant GT said so.
@ the-roller: they weren't comparisons; they were each the paramount champions of their chosen fields, you pillock. Frankly speaking, your love-in with b-r is getting tiresome. Find a private room.
@ batfink: http://www.theinertia.com/surf/does-kelly-get-over-scored-maybe/
whatty,
to quote the drunken pilled up freak,
"Michael Jordan, Sandy Koufax, Joe Montana, etc... The refs / judges / umpires will always give the edge to the established guy who has performed countless times in similar circumstances".
competitive surfing is not football, baseball, or basketball. sporting/entertainment events played on a filed or court with definitive lines and a scoreboard, baby....
any and all professional judges of competitive surfing would tell you that that no one gets extra points, "given the edge", over another for the silly reason of previous wins.
umpires don't call free kicks because one team or one guy has won more Grand Finals than the other side.
Strike zones, fouls, penalties are all judgement calls made by humans.
Judges are human beings. Human beings are emotional creatures.......latest developments in neuro-science prove that.
Surfing is a subjectively judged performance.......the emotional impact of Slater's performances which include all the extra flourishes he adds to the mastery of the ride produce a clear impression that he has won.
Sometimes, this is done to up the degreee of difficulty as George alluded to.....sometimes it is something more esoteric and purely theatrical.
Owen's mid face carving cut-downs as he came out of the barrell were approaching this degree of performance impact but in the end anyone who saw the Final agreed that Slater won it.
Just as an experiment I asked everyone I could see who was in the channel and they all agreed. Slater won.
Not my much. But clearly.
Now if Owen had have come out of that miraculous tube he would have got a ten and won.
That seems perfectly fair to me.
..."Judges are human beings. Human beings are emotional creatures"
I read that as a justification for Parko, Adriano and every other Brazo to claim their guts out. Not right or wrong, mind you, just an acknowledgement that if Slater can do his Merlin hand gestures - which don't add any degree of difficulty to the ride - then others can also appeal to the judges emotional leanings.
Put your hands up in the air!
Well a claim is a very unsubtle and ineffective method of influencing a judges emotional reaction to a ride.
Slater's bag of tricks is far more artistic.
But he did employ a whole arsenal of different claims at teahupoo, which to a greater or lesser degree were designed to show the judges his own emotional reaction to a ride and hence cause them to give the ride more deliberation than they might have otherwise done.\
Davo too did some beautiful stylish claiming.
Fair enough, here's a question for you: Do you think that Michel Bourez - who I think does some of the most technically precise and powerfully on-edge surfing, yet doesn't have a great style - will ever make a run at a Title?
You may not agree with the premise in there, but I think he's the exemplar of substance over style yet he never seems to be rewarded. Any thoughts...?
Never rewarded? He's currently rated No 8 in the world??????
Thats close to being in a position to make a run for the Title.
I think he is powerful but occassionally his power causes him to lose some subtlety and technique in turns; I think that is what you mean by he doesn't have a great style.
Style in the simplest terms is the ability to make the very difficult look effortless and completely natural.
8th, is he? Okay...well, seems he doesn't have the reputation that someone of his skill level should have. You know, the ability to take down most anyone and be more of a threat than he is. How often has he made the semis of a contest?
And yeah, that's exactly what I mean, Bourez' surfing is a great example of the necessity to have substance AND style if you want to make it to the top - unfortunate as that requirement is. Some of the turns I've seen him do are as heavy and fast as anything I've ever seem laid down yet they don't have flair and hence don't appeal on a purely aesthetic level.
Why is style an unfortunate requirement though?
Isn't that what we want to see. Personally I don't get the whole Kelly is overscored argument. For the most part his surfing is simply at another level than anyone else out there.
Nick Carrol was going on at ASL about how his 9.5 in the final was an overscore and his 9.0 in his semi with Kerr was really a 7.7 and cost Josh any real chance in the heat. What a load of crap. Kelly was a clear winner in every heat he surfed.
Kelly's 9.5 in the final was backhand tube riding mastery. To highline that barrel like he did and come out at the top of the wave and driving down the face was just incredible. Catching and threading a wide open throaty barrel forehand is one thing but that was something else.
But agree with what Rotty says. If you wanna beat the champ you've gotta smash him and leave it beyond a doubt. Just ask Taj at HB.
Mick and Parko are hard to beat at Snapper. Jordy is hard to beat at J-Bay. Adriano in Brazil. There's always a hometown advantage, or in Kelly's case - the advantage of being the King.
People who CLAIM that all of the differing CLAIMS have effects on the judges scores is about as lame as it gets.
Ask any judge if this effects their scoring a ride, and they will put you straight.
The ones originally making a big deal over these meaningless attempts at influencing judges are the guys in the booth who are there strictly to enhance the entertainment product for the general public.
And by this reaction and parroting by the general public, the paid commentator are quite effective.
Isn't grabbing both rails, and dragging your ass on a wave about as stylish as a farking quazimoto?
What would the score be if this technique was done on the frontside?
So, Bob Slater is our King of the Bell Ringers....
Let us all sit back, one and all, and enjoy our Feast Of The Fools.
@lolo,
I said style is unfortunate because I think the ideal is for surfers to be judged on their skill and ability. That is, judged objectively. I'm aware that the individual subjectivity of the judges will always fall onto the scorecard and hence style will be acknowledged, but I think that will always be one of surfing's shortcomings.
Also, I don't buy into the overscoring argument.
But surfing's essential quality is as an aesthetic experience: it has way more in common with figure skating, diving, etc etc than say tennis or golf or whatever.
Aesthetic sports will always be judged according to the total impact of the visual experience.
That is enshrined in the judging criteria as "flow".
They tried objective judging: it was called points for manouevres.
It created some horrible surfing.
For masters of all art forms, style is inextricably entwined with substance. Form is function.
Yeah, clever use of language there, 'flow'. Avoided many debates/arguments/protests by using it rather than 'style'.
And I acknowledge that subjectivity will always be a part of judging. The judges can't detach themselves from their emotions so style will always make its way onto the scorecard. It's just, I don't know, I guess I find it a bit airy and loose. Guess I'll always have a beef with it...
In this day and age of mod con computer software programming, style, flow, size, and maneuvers can be broken down into a effective program.... Replacing judges... Doing what most every other sector of society is currently doing, Eating People....
So Stiv, there is no reason for these shortcomings you speak of.
This is the modern world.
But, considering how slow the ASP is to reacting and implementing change, don't expect any judges being replaced any time this century.
Yeah, but surfing is sport, Mr W, not art.
Or so we've been told.
Surfing is an art form, surely. It is primarily an expression of the self. It is not a utilitarian act.
And style is the ineffable something that separates great surfing/surfers from the rest of us plodders.
Like Picasso was to painting and sculpting. Or Hemingway to writing. So much more than just paint on a canvas, or words on a page.
What we're grappling with here is the incongruity of trying to explain art by way of a gradation of numbers.
ha ha shearer finally got to read all this, good work.
hey stunet, re Michel and how he's viewed, can assure you that among his peers he is seen as a very serious prospect and nobody wants to get him in a heat anywhere, ever.
that opinion and respect level may not yet have translated generally throughout the world's surfing populace...perhaps because he is not from California or Australia, and so is harder for many people in those places to identify with.
But anyway I'd better run away before blasphemy starts expending his meds upon me.
Aww....please don't draw me into this Mr W.
What I will say is that Picasso and Big Ernie weren't creating their paintings and words to a pre-set criteria, as surfers are. How much of an expression of self is competitive surfing if the surfers are trying to appeal to others?
Hey NC!
Hope you got a few at Chopes, and also got to scare the crap out of yourself.
Mod con professional surfing is more like tennis. Or footie....
It take years of practice and experience perfecting and improving on one's craft. And when it's employed into contests, it's there to market and sell product.
Massive piles of product.
Measured in multiples of multi billions.
And it's all good!
Jeebus, Stu, I'm not trying to draw anyone in; a simple contrarian is all I am.
As much as we all enjoy watching, talking and phaffing about it, competitive surfing IS a paradox.
The problem, W, is that I can phaff for Australia. Ponder, ruminate, philosophise and chin stroke till the phaffing cows come home.
But on this Friday afternoon I've got work to do....
Ah, Stu, but what's the point of being self-employed if you can't enjoy this fine Spring arvo, eh?
Not to rub it in, but I've just had a quick splash in a nice little rising swell.
And no judging panel within 500kms....
PS.
Freeride, there is an epilogue coming, right??
Coming soon.
And a story on the Tow Day.
Thanks for the inertia link whaaaaat.
Re this;
..."The question is not whether Kelly gets over-scored but whether virtually all of his competitors do when their performances are contrasted against Slater's. Watch each of Kelly's Teahupoo rides carefully: in every case he does something to up the degree of difficulty. A very dramatic stall, redirection in the tube, finishing the wave not with the typical flop-off but with a stylish, on-edge cutback. At Teahupoo, at least, Kelly's competitors received high scores for making the waves, while Kelly received slightly higher scores for actually surfing the waves." - Sam George
I would say OK, that applies to everyone, but I disagree that it applied to his final with Owen. While RKS first wave certainly deserved a high score, I think it was really line ball and Owen's could have gone higher than Kelly's. My opinion. Sam George is a big enough bloke to withstand my withering criticism of his critique, I suspect.
Second wave scores I thought were moreso unevenly scored. That's me. I make no claims to being a surf judge extraordinaire. Finally, I'm not at all bummed about Owen losing, just thought it was closer than what was scored. He can hold his head high.
And that last wave of Owen's! He had been able to find those waves that just left enough open for him to get out, all comp. That this last wave shut down on him may have been the gods playing with him as flies to wanton boys. But if he had come out, which was looking likely for a long while, He would have been acknowledged as having smashed Slater, not just beaten him.
I do not subscribe to the view that you have to smash the champ to win. That is such an american attitude, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
I was a young boy and watch the bout where Ali was basically wupped by, I think, Frasier, and after the fight when everyone was booing the decision he used that line that "you have to wup the champ to get the decision."
That is BS, well and truly. Every ride, every final has to be judged on its merits.
..."I do not subscribe to the view that you have to smash the champ to win. That is such an american attitude, you should be ashamed of yourselves."
What are you... French? Some Americans should be ashamed because we don't speak pussy...? especially when it comes to sports? This is surfing, not feeding the hungry in Botswana or repairing amputee's in Ruwanda. It's sport. Competition. You eat the heart of your competitor. Sweep the fucking leg, Johnny! Finish him!! Gladiator pit. Man v beast. Sudden death. Hyperbole humping the leg of Don King.
If you want the pussification of mankind to continue stick to politics.
And using Ali as an example of any kind of athelete is treading on hallowed ground.
He's the greatest athlete that EVER lived... and it's not even close.
If you subjectively believe that blasphemy then fine.
But Ali is not the greatest athlete that ever lived. That is a statement that simply cannot be backed up with any credible objective 'proof'. How would you really know? How would anyone? He is amongst the greatest. That is as far as you can take such suggestive rhetoric. You simply can't compare the greatest athletes as better or worse than each other.
They compete in vastly different sports against vastly different levels of competition within vastly different sets of pressures... you don't know what each really had to face up to and beat. You can't gauge these things unless you could live each of their lives yourself one by one...
Name one athlete who has come close to dominating a world-reknown sport so physically during such a turbulent social time AND and at the same time made such a significant impact on social and civil rights.
There isn't one who comes close.
Not even in the same universe.
And yes, that comment comes from the mindset of an American pig... so things like Civil Rights might weigh a little heavier on my consciousness than people in other developing countries. Since Civil Rights were a much bigger deal here than they obviously were in other countries like... say, Australia.
"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... No Vietcong ever called me nigger" - Cassius Clay
Ali was stripped of his Boxing title and sent to jail for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War.
That's fucking balls.
And that's just the starting point of his impact.
A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
If your strategy of "dominating" any given sporting/entertainment game was comprised of a strategy of taking so many "shots" to the dome resulting in severe head trauma that late in one's career you end up living life in a walking dead stupor comprised of serious brain damage,... Shane Herring and Michael Peterson would be living the life.... and Ms. Rottmouth would be queen of the world.
"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest".
-Muhammad Ali
Back to your "shots" from the bottle, Rottie... Which unsurprisingly lead to to being prescribed prescription meds, mate.
What old Rottie does not realize are the facts...
Six years ago, with Muhammad Ali being seriously incapacitated due to brain damage thru his style of boxing, Ali and his family sold the majority of the marketing rights to his name and image to the same corporation that purchased the rights to another aged celebrity..... Elvis Presly...
CKW inc.
http://www.targetmarketnews.com/storyid04140601.htm
Back to your bottle, mate. As the internet is the great equalizer of information, 'eh Stiv?
And Ali's "facts" that happened loooooong AFTER he retired has to do with WHAT again?
Again... gimme a name of someone even remotely close to Ali. Preferrably a name we don't have to Google or Wiki to find out supposed "facts" about.
NFL players take shots to the head day in and day out... the effects of concussions are starting to change the game. Same with Aussie Rules Football, Hockey, etc... That's sports.
If anything, that makes Ali more of a hero. He sacrificed his body for something he loved (beating the shit out of other people) and sacrificed a title, his reputation and many other important aspects beyond his physical frame for the good of mankind.
Jim Brown is the closest I can think of. Maybe there are some international futbol players that made a similar impact... but Time Magazine's Sportsman of the Century was well earned and really unchallenged in my book.
Jeezus christ. Too much idle time being sick and bored at home. Sorry to clog up your comments Stu. I'll waddle on home now...
Surfing is not boxing. And these continual comparisons to football, hockey, and Fottie, are pretty much invalid.
So go one and down that hard alcohol into oblivion, Ms. Rottmouth.... So much so, that the prescriptions drugs you are now being prescribed are only a stop gap measure to further troubles.
Because, at the end of the day, the guy who ends up with the most marbles in their dome are the true winners.
Just ask Joe Frazier.
Joe Frazier will be pushing the same number of daisies as Ali, regardless of marbles. Very soon.
But History will never forget Ali... Frazier will be one of the larger footnotes in Ali's giant book.
And no... the conversation was not comparing surfing to boxing. It was about the gratest athlete ever. Ali's book will be larger than anyone else's.
That is all.
Ps.
It's nice to someone still hasn't taken their reading comprehension classes...
When it comes down to it, dead is dead.... As the only thing that really matters to the living is what quality of life they end up living....
Ali vs Frazier.
And what did the living do?.. Sold the rights to Muhammad Ali's life to a corporation for 50 million cash,... homie.
http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/12/muhammad-ali-elvis-cx_gl_0412autofacesc...
GOAT.
..."What are you... French? Some Americans should be ashamed because we don't speak pussy...? especially when it comes to sports? This is surfing, not feeding the hungry in Botswana or repairing amputee's in Ruwanda. It's sport. Competition. You eat the heart of your competitor."....
A strange argument Blasphemy. You advocate real competition it seems, but your underlying argument is that the champ needs to be put on a pedestal and given a leg up before they enter the ring/paddle out.
Your a classic capitalist, privatising the profits and socialising the losses. Once you get to the top of the pile the authority is supposed to help you stay there, in this case the judges, by giving you a head start.
I'm just saying, your implied and stated argument suggesting that the champ has to be wupped is self-evident tosh, and you know it. You start even and are judged accordingly. If not, what you are doing is not sport, it's hero worship.
It's the Australian way to root for the underdog when you have no other interest. That's the facts, Jack.
Batfink.
You are a block wall.
Thanks for playing.
You know what Batfink... forget what I said. I would delete my comment if I could. I was working on a hangover after three hours of sleep and got worked up by Nick Carroll's inane blatherings.
I don't agree with your stretch from sports to politics... as I believe the two are profoundly separate at the root... as history would soundly suggest. And rooting for the underdog is not an Australian thing, mi amigo... it is a human thing.
We will disagree on this ultimately unimportant issue.
Cheers!
..."You are a block wall.".......
An immovable object, an unstoppable force, a terminal bore.......
Yep, all of them.
Been a pleasure.
Kelly v Ali?
No match, they're both champs.
Rasda,
No match?
Go to Ruwanda; go to Budapest; go to Amsterdam and ask them who Ali is and who Kelly Slater is...
Then you will know your champ.
Ask Kelly Slater.
I ask AnYONE here.
Give me a champion above ALI.
Just one.
And there is...
... none.
A Champion is not only a master within the ring... he is master without...
Gimme a champion better than Ali...
Anthony Mundine.
Just like Muhammad Ali only better.
Well, I just killed Wiki and Google... who is Anthony Mundine?
Is he a whitey I hope to Laird...
Yayyyyy! Whiteyyyy!
Top of the game in two sports, was Anthony Mundine.
Best five-eighth in the whole wide world.
LMFAO!
Awwweee Yeeaaahhhh.
See? Right thurr. The white mans back on tops. And tho I personally couldn't beat the fly off a sloth, I'd be right thurrr in Mundine's court cheering him onwards to vecteree! Looong live tha whuwauaate feller!!!
Genuine champion, of all time?
Honestly. In the interests of consistency, not that I value consistency that highly, but I nominated this sports great on another forum.
Heather McKay. Gave up the sport after not having been beaten in something like 17 years at the absolute elite level.
But I'm not here to argue, just adding my two bob's worth.
@Batfink:
What sport was she playing and what did she give up?
Deets, please...
When I enter "Heather McKay" into my "Google Search" I get Wedding photographer in Rochester New York, retired squash player from Australia(who I assume you refer to), Occupational Therapist, etc... and so forth.
Again.
Champion Above Ali.
Batfink.
You are an intelligent person. Prolly way more so much than me am I.
But come the fuck on mate. Ali.
Bring me meat or die.
Okay I die.
Night night.
I love you guys.
Even you Batfink...
In this world of entertainment we're discussing, opinions are not measurable. They are just opinions.
But revenues and profitability are.
So here we go!....
April 2006, the rights to Ali were sold for 50 mil.
2005, 85% of the marketing rights for Elvis changed hands for $100 million....
George Forman... Salton Inc bought the rights to the George Forman Grill for $187,000,000... in 1999.
"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest".
-Muhammad Ali
She played squash B-R. Australian lass. World Champion for at least 11 years and I think undefeated for 17 years. Contemporary of Alis.
Easily the most dominant individual sports person of all time.
Ask your grandpa about her.
@batfink,
Sweet. I learned something about a dominant female athlete. Unfortunately her extremely narrow credits were drowned out by the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE USA. Of which, Ali was the leading member, both physically (giving up a TITLE) and mental... Speaking his mind... "No Vietcong never called ne me no nigger."
Money FOLLOWED this. So the retarded financial numbers bear zero on history.
If money mattered, Mother Teresa would have no entry.
Yoo hoo, rottkamp,
Whether he went by Cassius Clay or Ali, he did not fight for free.
And The Nation of Islam? To this day has strict dress codes and subservient rules for their women.
Besides,.... Stick meets swill bucket, old rottkamp!
"It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up".
-Muhammad Ail
Ms. rottkamp,
Just like that fellow Kentuckian Colonel Sanders and his KFC corporation.... Just like anyone else who's in the business of marketing a religion. ...
Like Don Trump, Lady Gaga, or today's Bobo Martinez,
Cassisus Clay was a marketing genius.
I would like to recap
After the Quik Debacle:
The Roller has been unable to provide:
1. A SINGLE foe for Ali.
2. A makeup call for Bong (Yes WE were the ones who put Bruce in the Comp and WE were the ones asking for full heats on demand YEARS ago)
3. A valient attempt at understanding Nick Carroll's prose and writing a completely off-topic response.
That would be roller 0 - and intelligent people WINNING.
Yay!
Every company is looking to improve their product... Increase sales and profits. Every great company does this. And to think that you had anything to do with these improvements in the way the ASP conducts business is laughable.... And quite honestly plays right into the hands of the surf corporations you so loath.
BI in an expressions session? Or on the rope towing in in closed shop conditions?.... Marketing 101, fool.
As to Ali, he told you himself,
"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest".
-Muhammad Ali
Back to your visions of gram crackers, and the hard alcoholic haze, Rottkamp. Back to your prescription meds, mate. Even though they don't seem to be working too well.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rottkamp
Although we are light years apart in experience and ability,
the Kings philosophical approach is common love.
Great article and well captured Mr Shearer.