Why Mick Fanning Got The Bells Wildcard
Mick Fanning has been awarded a wildcard for Bells 2022 and the response from surf fans across the globe has ranged from indifference to mild hostility, with rare exceptions.
The biggest question is why?
Why give a wildcard to a man four years retired, who has no realistic competitive goals to achieve, no reason to be involved in determining the title race, no wrongs to right, no questions left to answer regarding his accomplishments and legacy in competitive surfing?
You only need to look at the mainstream media coverage to get the answer. Mick Fanning is still the biggest draw in Australian surfing. Our only true surf star, even four years out of the game.
If I drive ten or so hours due west of here, I'll reach the outback opal mining town of Lightning Ridge. I could ask any bushie in the front bar of the Outback Hotel if they knew any Australian surfers and to a man, woman, and child they will say Mick Fanning, or maybe “that white-haired fella that got attacked by the shark”.
I'll take anyone's wager who wants to bet real money on this.
Championship Tour comps that are bankrolled by State Government money on the premise of pumping local economies with tourist money need drawcards to justify their existence. Bells especially, with its ticketed gate system needs bums on seats. The press coverage to date of Fanning's wildcard has likely justified his inclusion from that perspective.
It's a weird game. Surf fans have never been able to justify the business of Pro Surfing as a pure sport. Big top industrial surfing underwritten by taxpayer money is the only thing that has ever made sense; the only thing that has endured. A strange hybrid of music festival, rock and roll wrestling, and extended test match.
Having failed to properly understand its business model, pro surfing performs its core business poorly. That business is entertainment and the best entertainment tells a story. It answers the questions: Why are we here? Why would people give up their hard-earned free time to watch?
The story surrounding Fanning in 2022 is weak and unconvincing for surf fans. For the mainstream, the story is of a fifth Bells title, but no hardcore fan gives a shit about that. No-one considers it a likely scenario. And even if he did win, then what?
It makes a mockery of the current tour roster, and destroys one of the foundational premises of the WSL: that it represents the cutting edge of surfing, which is always improving.
If he did win, what do you do with him then? Stick him back on the shelf, as the current best surfer in the world? Give him more wildcards? To where? It creates a horrible precedent for the sport, such as we understand it.
And if he fails miserably, as he did at Narrabeen last year, as Taj did at Rottnest, then the question needs to be asked: why not give the opportunity for CT experience to a wildcard on the up and up, who has a career in front of him, not behind him?
It's not hard to find a story for Fanning that was compelling. His career is littered with them. In 2015 he was attacked by a white shark at J'Bay on live broadcast during the opening minutes of the final with Julian Wilson.
One year later, in a state of semi-retirement Fanning returned to J'Bay to compete. His dominant march through the event and demolition of John John Florence in the Final was must-see pro surfing.
It was an incredible overcoming of fear. In the lead up to the event, I was lucky enough to watch Fanning training at North Wall Ballina, one of the sharkiest surf spots on the planet. His intensity and focus was stunning. Like a force field he wielded in the line-up.
The inclusion of Fanning in this years' event is a tacit admission of failure in the storytelling caper; a failure of the core business of making people care enough to tune in. Australian pro surfing has had millions of dollars poured into it via the High Performance Centre designed to maintain a supply chain of world champions and yet the surfing public has no idea about the next wave of professional surfer and less reason to care.
In 2001, Fanning was handed a wildcard to Bells and made the most of his opportunity, becoming only the second wildcard in history to win a CT-level contest (WSL/Tostee)
Joel Vaughan is currently leading the QS rankings in Australia/Oceania.
Joel who..?
This kid is a couple of good heats away from paddling out at Pipeline and we've never heard of him. Thats no knock on Joel, but a wake-up call for the way pro surfing is being managed in Australia.
Kyuss King won Cabarita, Mikey McDonagh is right up there. They should be paddling out to the tune of Hells Bells.
We should know: Why are they there? What are they going to bring to the game? What do they hope to accomplish? And why should we care?
Star power is a very real thing. I've seen it with my own eyes many times as mobs of people flocked to the beach to see Kelly Slater do his thing. In the absence of realistic world title contenders, Australian pro surfing desperately needs storytelling to elevate the battlers and next generation.
Recycling the surf star of yore maintains an impenetrable canopy above this level, robbing them of light and exposure which is required to keep the whole show moving forwards. Fanning will fill up the carparks and bring the mainstream press reporters to the feed trough to recycle the WSL press releases, but it's robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The future can't come about while they recycle the past in such a cynical effort to put bums on seats in the present.
// STEVE SHEARER
Comments
Why wouldn't you give this wildcard to one the deserving locals who has been putting their time in on the reefs and ripping lately? Timmy Stevenson, Xavier Hux, Tully Wylie, Will Hayes...to name a few
I would have thought glass Giovanni or young supple could take fanning down with ease! A crying shame
What about you tubbabird, I've heard you've been putting in the hours on the reefs recently and could've been in line for a Bells call up?
Can you write an article about why Mikey got a wildcard now Steve?
Yes
I can't quite see what Mikey brings to the table.
Middle fingers?
And the best mullet in pro surfing.
Most contrived image in pro surfing.
Career built on mullet and big cut down move on every wave (better than Tyler's drop wallet).
Peak career moment "hold my beer" rescue.
Wow. 2 birds with one stone. Bang!
Would you say that to their faces Frog?
Mikey shreds and Tyler too.
Unlikely mate. These tools still cutting the tall poppies down to make them feel bigger in the pants
Does Mikey qualify as a tall poppy?? Not sure they are going to be writing books about his achievements…..good surfer, good Insta game…..that’s a low bar for a tall poppy
Nah he doesn’t, surfalot is just a massive cockhead
Lol - fuck you kook. Your sad fantasy you could take off deeper than Mick anywhere is what you wank over.
Hahahahaha
So let me get this right. Mikey decided to quit the tour of his own volition and now is getting a wildcard into a CT event?
How pissed off would you be if you were ANY other QS surfer in Oz.
As if his previous 13 wildcards weren’t enough?
Could really backfire if Bells is going to be 1-2'
Might be very much like Taj @ Rottnest and Mick @ Narrabeen
I'll answer your question Tubba.
The WSL doesn't give a rats about up and comers, they are primarily concerned about sponsorship and somehow trying to make money. The sponsors themselves are primarily concerned with shifting product. Ripcurl is motivated by selling stuff and in the absence of Medina, Mick is the highest profile surfer on their roster. Not many people say "gee, I wish I was Connor Coffin" but plenty of kids and their old man's look up to Mick.
Like it or not, that's just how the world works. Fairness doesn't enter into it I'm afraid.
For the record, I reckon it was a no-brainer for Mick to get the WC. And if Bells pumps (which it looks like it won't) he'd have a pretty good shot at taking it out.
do people buy rip curl stuff still in australia?
My Mum just bought me a fresh Rip Curl jumper at Christmas to replace the one she gave me 20 years ago, STOKED!
Or anywhere else?
I do. Great brand. Flashbomb 5x3 chestzip wetsuit. Great for cooler waters. Been buying these for over ten years. I buy products like hats and tshirts from them.
Are you not in Australia?
Ps- I'd be more pissed at Mikey Wright getting a wildcard. What does he bring to the table?
MW rides for quicksilver so why is he a wild card, i thought sponsors bought there own wild cards in or are they only allowed one?
The top Australian rip curl rider at their home break, I just kinda assumed he would get a wild card...
Aussie pro surfing needs a new "coolie kids" story but it dosent have one so they keep rolling out MF.
Forgetting about WSL politics and fairness and looking at things in a simple way; I reckon it would be a bloody fantastic spectacle to have MF and KS in a pumping Bells final heat. However unlikely that might be!
Yes, because you're most likely over 45 and appreciate good things from the past (nostalgia is a killer but I disgress...). The point is that no 15 year old chick looks at those guys and says "wow, they're so awesome!".
Surfing has aged and the only kids actually doing it have parents who surf or are somehow connected with the surfing community. Surfers are not cool anywhere anymore - I'd say that not even at PBC or Miami High. You barely see anyone in the water under 18 any day (let alone when it's solid).
Surfing has gone the way of windsurfing and boogie boarding. It's over, unless something completely new brings it back to life. And I don't see it happening.
Funnily enough your theory doesn't seem to exist at all at Snapper and other quality breaks it seems.
The average age at Snapper is 30+. Snapper is also one of the mellowest waves in the world. Burleigh has very few kids when it's over 4'. Same for Straddie.
most breaks anywhere have fewer kids when it gets over 4 foot i thought.
And that top section behind the rocks at snapper in a swell,while not giving some waves out there a run for their money at all in the heavy stakes,probably falls in little outside of the 'mellow' category to my eyes.
Snapper behind the rock is dominated by older crew, as you know. Everywhere else the wave is super mellow, all the way to Spot X/Kirra. It's not "fewer" kids - it's just about no kids whatsoever. Even on 2' days the 15 and under kids don't make up more than 1/5 of the people in the lineup.
Well hopefully in a decade or so,that's going to equate to significantly lower crowds,with few younger guys coming up,and older guys fading away through age and retirement.
But i'm going to put money on those crowds will be just as hectic as always in future there,no matter how many years away.
Which will beg the question,where were those 30 plus year olds surfing back when they were kids?
Must be a few grommet secret spots near the goldy we don't know about lol.
I wouldn't say snapper is mellow. Maybe a little bit further down the point
heaviest crowd in the world for a mellow wave anyway.
if it qualifies as mellow,which i never really equated with performance surfing waves,more with fatter burgerish waves that mal riders love.
which was historically greenmount,not so much post superbank snapper.
Fuck I wish that was true but unfortunately it isn't.
I live on the Surfcoast and just about every c##t regardless of age, sex or ability 'surfs' in some shape or form here.
Yep, but my point is that there are very, very few kids who give a shit about surfing.
Might be a lotta kids that don't give a shit about surfing but do actually surf in that area then lol
Chonglang, well under 45 and I'd love to see that final. Generally though, I couldn't disagree with this comment anymore.
Recent examples, surfed straddie for three consecutive days the week before last and was surfing with kids that looked anywhere from 12 to 22. Surf most Goldy and sunny coast beachies regularly, live on the goldy but spend 2 full weekdays per week up the SC for work, always groms, teens, and early twenties out in all sizes. Last week sunny coast for work from Monday night to Wednesday and on tuesday morning, 4-6ft (swellnets SC call) with groms charging that looked between the ages of 8 to 13 out. Was pumping for the arvo sesh and same thing. Kids paddling rings around all crew for an early wave at dbah. Of course adults outweigh kids in pure numbers alone, that makes sense but to say no kids out is a bit of a crock. Down Kingy this morning had three or four minivans of young groms frothing out in the car park, was nuts.
I disagree that there are no kids surfing but have noticed a bit of a change.
I live in a surf town that has undergone a drastic influx of cashed up city slickers (as has every east coastal town).
As a general rule these people don’t surf therefore it is unlikely their kids will. Could this explain less numbers of groms now and into the future?
In saying that sheer population growth will see to it that heads in the water will
likely remain high.
Makes you wonder why anyone would fork the coin out to buy coastal if you don't surf, you're not gonna surf, or plan to not get your kids into it. Plenty of other areas that are just as chic and less competitive with ++ options for the outdoors. I reckon anyone who has the coin to move coastal these days will definitely be surfing in a matter of months as will there kids. Pretty much seen this transformation unfold right before our eyes in seq
In the absence of Medina, thats the heat to make, no doubt.
Couple of geriatrics going at it.
best of three heats.
How is Mick a geriatric at 40? That's a bit rough.
Figure of speech.
At 40 he's a spring chook next to Kelly.
Mick will be years removed from winning CT events a few days before turning 50 though.
Or even surfing in the events.
But regarding longetivity,Kelly is completely uncomparable.
That probably goes for any sport,not just surfing.
Another factor is how much is hinging on a result at Bells for a lot of the backmarkers with only 2 events before the cut off. I don't mind Mick being in the show if he is in that laser focus contest mode. But I don't think he is capable of going to that place, post retirement. Will he have a crack if he is in the way of one of the regular tour surfers struggling to reach the cut, someone like say Morgan? Given the forecast it could all be a moot point anyway, and he may just get trundled out by a high seed early on. For mine someone like Jacob Willcox would've been a better fit.
There are a few wildcards for this event ( most events have a few from memory, sponsor's wildcards and local wildcard, injury wildcard ). There will be the usual Rip Curl Pro TRIALS event held for the best local surfers ( which includes the top surfer from each Vic boardriders club and probably some more Rip Curl chosen surfers ). Says a bit if this here – https://surfingvic.com/mick-fanning-awarded-wildcard-for-rip-curl-pro-be...
Trials should be open to any former event winner. Now that would be a story.
Fair and interesting perspective there Steve. I enjoy your work.
Carn Ke12y.. ha.
I completely understand why they wanted Mick. There are no Aussies with a realistic chance of making the Top 5. If anyone steps up and becomes worthy of being as revered as Mick then good on them, but currently nobody is even close.
Robbo absolutely could given the waves on the back half of the year
WQS is the third tier right? Don't think Joel Vaughan is a couple of good heats away from paddling out at Pipe
It's an exaggeration to make a Point.
He does good on the Gold Coast, only needs a few more good heats and he's on.
Same way Jacko Baker and Callum Robson have come on Tour as unknowns.
'You only need to look at the mainstream media coverage to get the answer. Mick Fanning is still the biggest draw in Australian surfing. Our only true surf star, even four years out of the game'. Heard of Jack Robbo, fr? Jack is surely in the mould of a Kelly or Medina or even MF so he's our current star/future world champ IMO.
He's no mainstream drawcard though. How many non-surfers would know who he is?
Another few years and several event wins should change that.
If it happens.
His sponsorship deals and profile thus far are indicative of that being the expectation.
For how much longer can the WSL back the idea that surfing will EVER become mainstream? By taking it mainstream (and bland AF) the WSL and the various government-backed bodies have taken the core away from competition and the kids away from surfing altogether.
Surfing hasn't been perceived as a "cool" activity by the kids for at least a decade. Only over 40s care. It's over.
Jack who?
Go get em Mick!
Respect
Would be cool if there was three wildcards at each event.
1. A WQS surfer
2. A retired Pro
3. A local surfer
I’m for zero wildcards per se but 2 slots for a trials winner at every event. If any former champion wants a crack then wina trials event and away you go.
The sponsors get a wild card to play seems a standard deal and they pick Mick cause he's a ridgy-didge legend and we all know if he gets on a tear he'll light it up. Mick in his years of experience he plays the media game a bit too. It's something the Aussie pros, understandably, swerve. Just leave the whole fame whore thing to red carpet Kelly
"In 2015 he was attacked by a white shark at J'Bay on live broadcast"
I am no fan of large sharks, but I would not call that incident an "attack"
The Jeffrey's Bay shark seemed as confused as anyone and its movements were as if it was trying to GTF out of there.
Could have taken a good chomp out of Mick's leg, but it did not.
I would say it was an attack. It just so happened to be the first sniff. Second is usually a bite. I've seen that behaviour in a cage. Jetskis came and scared the shark off. He was lucky in my opinion
It attacked his legrope and snapped it.
So that's still technically an attack then.
As much as I understand why they would bring in Mick to attract mainstream attention I would much prefer to see it go to an up and coming young guy who with nothing to lose could go on a tear. Didn't Mick win his first Bells as a wildcard? When I watch a WSL comp I want to see the best surfers and although Mick still rips he has had his day, give it to a young guy on the rise. As for seeing someone rip, would love to see Clay Marzo get the wildcard for G'Land, the guy rips and would be the perfect wave for him. Would have a few pro's worried.
Clay Marzo is no spring chicken anymore either,and is significantly older now than most guys on the CT.
If they're going to give wildcards to veterans,may as well be to guys that have won events and world titles before rather than free surfing vid segment freaks.
Otherwise we would of seen Dane Reynolds in an event in recent years.
That'd be the WSL's policy anyway i imagine.
Steve. That was one of your best, everything you wrote is pertinent to todays plateauing situation that surfing sees itself in. Well done you.
So many negative comments? ...Who won't be watching Mick and Kelly in the final
Happy to make a very very large bet that ain’t going to happen.
What are the odds on - Kelly Slater never wins another heat - ?
I could get on that
Except at Pipe and Chopes,it's not a longshot.
Tahiti & Gland? He would be one of the favourites at both locations
Heaving 6-8 foot speedies at G land yeah.
If not and it's on at the moneytrees section,that brings most guys into a level playing field with a lot more surfing done on the face of the wave.
I'm gonna call Medina will return at that event and win it.
With his backhand tube skills and wave nouse he's hard to rule out but I'd have to put my money on a goofy at G-land surely to get longest deepest barrels. If it was Cloudbreak maybe but the pros are all over Teahupoʻo and anyone could get wave of the day there. I guess he'll surf Pipe again next year maybe
i think the most comparable wave to G land that's been on tour,is cloudbreak when it's been smallish to mid sized.
And Medina has the most overall consistent record at cloudbreak when it's been like that.
Kelly is the other guy with the best record there,but it'll need to be at speedies for him to be on par,and that likely wouldn't be for all rounds.
Medina will have his number at moneytrees,because he'll be able to put on his airshow on some of those waves.
Anybody I,d wager.
big call. be great though
If the last 6 months is anything to go by; this Bells event will see the worst conditions in living memory. Most elders on the Surf Coast cannot remember a worse run, nor can I - and I am no spring-chicken myself. Expect Joey or PI. Otherwise it will be the WSL fizzer of the year and perhaps the final straw for Bells on what should only be a "dream tour' despite heritage.
It ain’t mobile this year - Bella it Winki the only options.
what are the odds of Kelly being injured a few days before the event if the forecast is still bad.
That was already on the cards in relation to his vax stance a couple months ago.
All seems to have gone quiet on that front since then.
Kelly Slater has left our universe. I'm happy for him. He's finally joined the ruling elite. I've never seen him actually looking like a shiney happy people laughing before. Umm sensing the competitive edge has been vaporised though and with this forecast!
No Show Goat unbackable at $1.05.
He's vaxxed mate. His beef was with disclosing his vaxx status, not the jab itself.
I've read that too mate but I'm going to need a blood sample or something to be convinced. He's clearly superior in every way including genetically and I just can't believe he would ever let anyone tamper with that. Haha, I'm just having fun with him, he's going to turn up here and slap me?
I didn't see him admit it.
And there are exemptions to it under certain circumstances,which he would of had an agent deal with.
Plus some restrictions have eased,which likely means certain exemptions may be easier to get.
And he ubruptly went all quiet on the pro choice and 'anti vax' posts on his social media accounts as soon as he got negative publicity for them,which was right at the same time as the Djokovic vax debacle.
Anyway i'm not getting drawn into covid vax arguements,i'm sick to death of those.
I'm just saying i don't believe he's been covid vaxxed,and has found a legal and legit quiet way around it,as have a few others too i'm sure.
He's never touched drugs,may or may not have tried a take on a joint back when he first got big,probably can keep count of how many beers he's ever drank on 1 hand,this isn't a guy that would be keen joining an experimental clinical trial that has no longterm health and safety data testing.
Pretty sure he'd be 110% confident in his own health to deafeat covid if he caught it.
If he ends up cancelling coming to Australia because of an 'injury' again,especially if there'll be swell for the events,then to me that'll mean he didn't get vaxxed and couldn't get an exemption
Either way whether he comes to Australia or not,i don't believe he's jabbed.
He's made his stance clear in the last year where he stands with it,and i don't see him changing his mind at the tail end of his career and 50 years old,simply to surf 2 events in Australia,one of which (margs) has never been one of his better events anyway.
Bahahaha! Any opportunity for an anti vaxx rant hey? ExPeRiMeNtAL…..
https://www.foxsports.com.au/surfing/kelly-slater-drops-strong-hint-that...
And you think that's an admission lol.
The guy has been playing mind games with other competitors,and the media,for 30 years.
He may just be playing his best one yet on the media.
I'll wager almost certainly is.
As someone who's had virtually all the main vaccines since i was born,i still laugh at all the clowns that label everyone who won't get covid jabbed an 'anti vaxxer'.
I didn't realise society had a few million anti vaxxers that had been in hiding all through history and for some reason all came out of the woodwork only in the last year.
Make that a few hundred million for the globe.
I don't take oportunities for 'antvax rants'
But anti covaxtard rants i've had more time for recently.
In the bigger picture, i think theres something fundamentally wrong with the showcasing of surfing as a 'sport' by the WSL when world champs and highly gifted pros from past years are thrown out on the junk pile once their 'career' is over. Most surfers seem to hit their prime in their 30s and 40s on the larger spectrum of wave riding, but it seems the goal is to look to the next big thing from the juniors. MF is one of the rarest talents to ever ride a surfboard. Why wouldnt we wanna see him surfing in huge events that become part of surfing folklore.
I just reckon its a youth driven industry that lets the truly gifted slip away from the big stage far too quickly.
And if the argument is about who does the best aerials...i couldn't care less if the last aer reverse ive ever seen was behind me. A pure deep drawn bottom turn and carve at full soeed burying the rail...I'll lap that up all day everyday.
Mick Fanning brings that to the table.
Thats a very fair argument BD.
Generally I agree with you, but Fanning was not one of those thrown out: he retired on his own terms.
I think the best surfing I've seen him do is at the Point here in 2020.
I thought he would have beaten anyone- the sheer size of the rooster tails he was throwing up in his top turns was insane.
Unreal FR!
Current surf athletes are physically damaged (eg. knees, feet, & back) when WSL judges surfing like an acrobatic 'sport', tricks highly scored in small waves; the concept of style, creative surfing in quality waves is poorly considered..
Irony is the WSL are immobile, dulavision & Grandiose, needing style and creativity the pros have in abundance if given the opportunity to shine.
https://www.swellnet.com/news/reels/2022/03/30/watch-leo-frederico-and-k...
Great point BD.
Have to agree with Zen as well. If conditions are good (big if on forecast) he could win.
Be stoked to see MF and KS go head to head again.
By all means get Mick down as a guest commentator, have him signing autographs, hosting VIPs or even one of those lame novelty heats.
As for ‘wildcards’ I think they should be scrapped full stop. I’m ok having a trials event of some sort and the winner joining. If Mick really wants to surf Bells WSL event again (I suspect he doesn't) he can sign up for the trials.
Great article FR . Covered most bases if not all on this topic . Could'nt give a flying fig about Mick getting the wildcard , but would be great to see him giving some Bells Bowl the Fanning treatment .
Why are we beating ourselves up over Mick and others getting a wildcard when to me the bigger issue is the state of Aussie pro surfing . For years now , Australian pro surfing has been on a decline . I say this with utmost respect to past and present Australian pro surfers but something is clearly happening , or not happening in the junior program .
I reckon there should be a Royal Commission into this situation , to get to the bottom of it !
That way instead of getting stressed out about Mick , we can be betting on which young Aussie will win the world title.
Royal Commission?! Here's how it is: Palm beach, Coolongatta down to Newcastle, Maroubra and 100s of places in between at ones point had housos, working class families and tough kids. Now travelling the East coast for the last few months I check the real estate and you can't get a place anywhere for under 1 million near the beach. The new beach crew are old fat men on mini mals. Oops! 'Mid-Lengths'. With their spoilt fortnite playing kids.
The next gen will be like now, Brazzos, or Latinos, or Indonesians. IMO anyway.
There's your Royal Commission. You can post me a cheque.
The issue is not the multinational companies giving him the wildcard, that's an obvious choice, the problem is why did he accept it and not turn it down or say he's not available
W heel out
S omething
L aughable
Seems the WSL is lost in a sponsorship and deal making whirlpool.
The last few years has seen them scramble to be relevant and surfing has taken a back seat.
Trestles Final day.
Mid year cut off.
Womens inequality.
Longboarding Tour (one comp)
Wildcards
Just to point out some, all have been handled with little care to what surfing actually is for most people and it really is starting to show.
Mainstream media in Australia just doesn't have time after Football,Cricket,Rugby,Basketball,Netball,Soccer,Horse racing,Car racing,Boat racing, and Wednesday night Lawn Bowls to sing the praises of Jack Robbo tearing the Desert apart or the amazing come from behind win at the local Boardriders Comp of new up and coming surfers.
At the end of the day its just a money making(losing) machine and as many have pointed out,
Fair just doesn't come into it.
Maybe Murdoch's mindset towards surfers is still stuck in the sixties.
Property, lifestyle Advertising notwithstanding.
Feels a bit desperate from the WSL, surprised Mick took the bait after Narrabeen where it looked like he was wondering what the fuck he'd signed up for.
If its bums on seats and broad appeal they are after why not go for a Boardmasters type event? Five days, 50k+ punters/day, surf comp with the back drop of a music festival, skate comp etc.
Need a new location but WSL don't seem to have a problem paying the shires for those, got to be easier than trying to polish onshore 3ft Bells anyway.
Last 4 comps had Jack Robbo 1st, 17th, 5th and 17th. 2 top 5 finishes bettered by who?
He was Rip Curl's golden child.
Still is.
Was with them his whole career,and seems to have a lifetime sponsorship deal in some form or other with them.
And Bell's was his favourite event on tour,(although i'm sure he'd say in private Jbay was his favourite wave on tour)).
That's enough to qualify him for the wildcard at a Rip Cutl Bell's event.
Loyal service rewarded.
"Bells Beach has been the proving ground for the greats, and the list of Bells champions corresponds pretty closely to the list of all-time great surfers......"
"11-time World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), seven-time WSL Champion Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), event wildcard Fanning and surfing legends Lisa Andersen and Mark Richards have won the event four times each."
https://surfingvic.com/mick-fanning-awarded-wildcard-for-rip-curl-pro-be...
Micks a Rip Curl patriarch…
No back lash needed to have him turn up ….
Still will embarrass the airboys at real Bells/Winki if it happened but that’s in the lap of the universe….
Lucky old boy will be there as well to show everybody up to what true greatness is …
$$$$$$$$$$$$
Long term, why can't Jack Robinson win a world title? I don't think the problem is lack of Australian talent, it's that the surf industry hype machine doesn't exist anymore to create superstars.
Interesting point.
How do you create a surfing superstar?
What exactly is a surfing superstar, anyway?
And, is the surf media/surf industry an important cog in this wheel?
And a lot of people argue that the good Aussie kids getting money at a young age is what gave them a soft belly, whereas the brazilian kids have the competitive fire
I think this says less about the WSL and their storytelling than it does about Australian surfing's current competitive crisis. After 4 years, how has there still not been a single person who has stepped up and filled the void at the top of Australian surfing's hierarchy? Of Australia's two best tour surfers, one has not yet figured out how to actually win a heat and one has practically rescinded his citizenship. Meanwhile the best recent success stories are two Newcastle surfers who have come from relative obscurity to unexpected (and likely short-lived) moments of glory.
Can you name a single Aussie surfer who you'd like to see in a jersey at Bells and could potentially put in a more compelling performance against the worlds best on a right hand point than Mick? Maybe the only person is Jai Glindeman, but I don't even know if he competes.
Ewing's cutback is well suited to Bells. He could ring it sometime for sure. He's still trying to find his feet on the lurching wobble of the world tour. Mick actually put in some extra time down here to get the flow on the big faces and it paid off
WSL continues death rattles.
Elo's ambitions for it to become WSLflix and smother the world in surf content seem to have died (redundancies recently swept through production team).
WSL being sued here and there - not a good look and Ziff must be thinking WTF and why am I stuck in this thing and about how he should have just bought more Apple shares.
What a joke giving Mick the wildcard.
The obvious and most deserving candidate should of been Marco Jay Luciano Occhilupo. Occy has huge Australian mainstream appeal after his heroic performance on Dancing with The Stars a few years back...
Hahaha! You get booted for drop-ins though mate - that's Occ's best move these days. Maybe an Occ/Dingo final, double interferences in the first few minutes. I'd pay to see that
Nailed it Steve. No Gabe Medina so the Curl needed certain media-attracting star power for reasons you detailed. Wish we had Trials comps pre the main event, like the old days, then the likes of Mikey Wright could earn a spot to compete against the best...if they wanted to.
Sorry, have to disagree. The Aussie media couldn't give a toss about Gabe. US either. Surfing media and the Brazzos of course, but try Steve's pub test and see if anyone knows who Medina is.
Jacob Wilcox should have a run
Gary avoided the island when that QS comp was here, surfed other exposed coasts instead, but crossed paths with Joel Vaughn at the tub after he took second place on the PI comp.
Very impressive surfer. Gary hasn’t seen anyone at CT level at the tub but Joel V was definitely the best performing surfer that Gary has seen surf there. Tore it apart. Rode a few barrels switch for shits and giggles too. One to watch
I think Hughie his little brother will be the one to watch if any
great read steve and totally on point imho.
i'm not seeing any of the current bunch of aussies that has anywhere near the compellingness to watch as what mick did/has.
.....personally, i'm stoked he got a wildcard, and i hope he shows the lot of them how it's done!
Gabe would be here for Bells , but the mail I got was he is preparing to "come out" .
Yuh ? who would'a thought !
That’s rumour has been around a while. Hope it’s true, might piss off the bogans in our sport and drag surfing out of its toxic masculinity bubble
PP I can't see how Gabe's choice of partner for the horizontal Lambada is relevant to his surfing? He must have some exotic moves in the bedroom. If he can land a big air there it would be spectacular for sure but unless you're telling us he's fully flicked the gender rainbow now and he's coming back on the women's tour, it's just fake news.
I'm can understand Mick's WC but Mikey is a head scratcher, a local kid would've drawn more local support and provided more excitement/narrative for the event.
Why does everyone keep missing the fact that as always at Bells, there IS a trials for locals, starting April 7. The winner goes into the main event just as Adam Robbo did in the past, ripping all the way to a second place!
Just watching a debate recently about the Socceroos and how the last 20 years they've gone backwards despite the foundations laid by the "golden generation" - here referring to the 2006 Socceroos team who qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1974. There are parallels it seems, likewise in Rugby Union. Is this a cultural/generational thing? Do similar declines in other Australian sports shed a light on the Australian surfing situation? Is the digital generation a bunch of entitled softc%#ks? Or is it mismanagement from the corporates?
Wow, lots of comments, I’m not sure if anyone has asked though,
If your officially retired and a multiple world champion,
Why accept a wildcard ?
Kelly has Covid, does that mean he can’t fly into Australia for Bells?
Waiting period starts on the 10th…
“A negative COVID-19 test result is required for travelling to Australia. Evidence of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 3 days or RAT taken within 24 hours of your flight’s scheduled departure must be provided to your airline when you check-in for your flight.”
https://www.australia.gov.au/travelling-to-australia
“If your test result is positive, or inconclusive, do not go to the airport. You will not be allowed to check in or board the aircraft.”
https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel/in...
Terrible news for the goat and surf fans!
Did I get April fooled?
I’m still waiting for Swellnet’s HPC expose.
‘Why trampolines and skate ramps cannot manufacture a world champion’
I suspect there’s some kind of legal
or industry code as to why this article has not yet been written. Maybe I’ll write it…..
Wow, lots of comments, I’m not sure if anyone has asked though,
If your officially retired and a multiple world champion,
Why accept a wildcard ?
If your sponsor, who is paying you a 7 figure annual income, asks you to do something, then you tend to give it positive consideration.