The Anti-Climax!
2010 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast Champion: Taj Burrow. Photo: Grant Ellis
And without further ado, I give you The Anti-climax!
I hate being negative; it’s so easy to do, yet so hard to do right. Three more heats – that’s all that needed to be run of the Men’s Comp by last night, and the Quik Pro would’ve been a major success. Dane Reynolds would’ve won, or at least not scored a measly 8.93 heat total.
Taj would’ve had to surf to a new level to win. Instead he caught the best waves, linked his turns, and fell all but once by attempting anything of consequence. Taj’s tail blow to complete his best ride vs. Bobby was as impressive as Bobby’s seamless aerial. Watching Bobby’s post heat interview, it looked like he was waiting for someone to wake him up from a bad dream. Seeing Snapper peel off perfectly for almost a week, Bobby had just lived his own worst nightmare in the Semis, the right point version of Bakio. Bobby wins at Mundaka, anyone can win at Bakio.
Jordy made all the right adjustments to the conditions – consistently nailed a variety of moves straight out of his Modern Collective repertoire, yet what should of been the easiest piece of the puzzle to complete his victory failed him. Kenny Rogers sang it best, “You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away, and know when to run.” I can almost hear Taj telling Jordy tonight in one of the trendy corners of Surfer’s Paradise, “If you’re gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right!” more words there from “The Gambler.” I grew up listening to those lyrics in Florida. Slater must’ve heard them a time or two as well; he’s made almost all the right plays his entire career.
If the newest group of Sacrificial Lambs are going to be around after the cutoff they better learn the game, and quick. The new ASP and the well-prepared veterans can smell their blood in the water already. The big axe job the ASP is giving after 5 events is gonna really blow. There should always be a second chance round, all 4 semi-finalists in the quick pro lost in Round One. Does anyone think this is Taj’s year? I bet Mick, Joel, and Kelly are very happy it wasn’t Dane or Jordy winning.
Please Rip Curl move the next comp to Winki as much as possible. -Shea Lopez
Comments
March 14, 2010 12:30 pm
wow shea, never knew you were that inspirational out of the water as well. great insights, and writing.
by thw way, dont you think we deserve more toughts on post perry hatchet judging? man, who is governing asp is its quest for “professionalim” and “hero-building”?
March 11, 2010 12:42 am
I dig Taj and his style set the air-to-performance standards that the tour is now accepting so it is cool that he is on a role. And on top of that, Taj is the most amped surfer of the entire tour. He inspires a joy of surfing just by showing up. Also, it is clear that his FireWire surfboards provide a high-end combo of lightweight to strength balance (EPS) that is a distinct advantage. Especially take note that Jordy broke a board in the final, whereas Taj has very very reliable equipment. I think it matters and it is starting to show in Taj’s consistency in wins—as does his commitment to training, finally. (I mean, come on ASP boys, you are professional athletes, there is no excuse for beer bellies and bags under the eyes from bingeing all night). NOTE: I was also bummed by the judging erratics. There are way too many scoring biases, and the worst seem racist: Brazilians and darker skin = low score burn-jobs. As does the hype factor. Judging is subjective, so to some extent interpretation is unavoidable,—but it needs to be minimized. And if there is a judge who is too strongly culturally biased, get rid of him. Now. These guys deserve better. They all deserve an even go, eh?????
March 10, 2010 10:10 pm
Redbull sponsored the Jetski assist,
and Also the Judges,
and Jordy in his heat against Tiago.
sooooooo lame.
i was watching that heat.
what were the judges watching? their redbull intake? their backpocket intake? their golden handshake?
useless
March 9, 2010 7:55 am
Jordy is sponsored by Oneill and Redbull, try watching the heats not the prize giving.
March 8, 2010 7:47 pm
Perry please come back !!
The 2010 Quiksilver Pro was a test for the new ASP head judge (does the ASP need one)and new judgeing critera announced by ASP head judge Perry Hatchect minutes before he was sacked. They failed the test. The heros and villans of any ASP event are the judges.
The judges where SUPER critical in early rounds but lost their way. Taj won the final by surfing safe (smart), he would have lost in any heat early in the event.
Tube rides are no longer a critical manouver.
Neco was the first to suffer in round 2 heat with tubes and fully commited turns failing to score.
Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater surfed the high tide during round 4, both found and made MIRACLE escapes from the ONLY tubes of their heats ,,both scored average. Kelly was THE BEST surfer of the event,,but was denied by the villans.
PS Jordy whos your sponsor ? reverse cap during preso and event is not a good look .
March 7, 2010 8:01 pm
JORDY!
he shouldn’t have got passed TIAGO. the only reason he did is because the judges wanted a Jordy Vs Kelly showdown.
Tiago smoked Jordy! as for the suspect judging, it was so inconsistant even Potts and the crew commentating didn’t know what was gunna get thrown down with each ride scored.
March 7, 2010 5:35 pm
YES!!! Best reporting of the final out there. Great job Surfer and Shea. Thanks for the perspective.
March 7, 2010 12:25 pm
Good to see you come clean Southern_Man. It is better to give praise than drink a glass of Hateraide….. Good on you. Tupat
March 7, 2010 12:49 am
A little, but a lot? Shea, you were my hero growing up and I wish you the best…
March 6, 2010 4:38 pm
Nice words Shea, It is about time these articles are not sugar coated with kiss ass juice….. Keep Keeping it REAL…. The Ultimate Grueler.
March 6, 2010 4:09 pm
Every good Southern_Man loves a little Kenny Rogers. You my friend are just a hating on life Southern_Boy. Shea did very well for a professional surfer. Southern_Man it’s your writing that “read an 7th grader trying to blog”
March 6, 2010 12:52 pm
Dear Shea, you should spend some of your Ergo money and go back to high school. Your article read an 7th grader trying to blog. Did we really need two Kenny Rogers references in one paragraph? Speaking of “Sacrifical Lambs,” maybe you should “fold’m” and get someone to ghostwrite your blog.
March 6, 2010 10:28 am
Gergler ! I like that analogy , you might add that he has also ended up in the killer whale tank ! I don’t know about all the ‘peaking ” in the QTR’s talk , try surfing against Parko in any round and holding back ? !
Matty ! keepin’ the NSB groms down …nice !
March 6, 2010 8:11 am
Here’s to you Shea, very well written! In response to arronski; Dane is like a dolphin that’s having second thoughts about having ended up in Sea World.
March 5, 2010 7:08 pm
I guess anti-climax would describe the semis and final. Snapper turned into a windy day at c-street. Dane is one of the best surfers in the world but he will never be world champ…he just does not have that competitive savvy needed to win comps nor the drive. He looked so out of it within the first 10 minutes of that heat. I knew when he peaked in the quarters that was it for him. You could even tell in his post-heat interview that he was already doubting his performance having to wait until the next day. At least he’ll be featured in QS videos for years to come…
March 5, 2010 1:00 pm
Well said.
And great job getting the new FS up and running.
When will scores be posted from this event?
March 5, 2010 12:41 pm
What a crapy way to end a great competition. the last three rounds were all about luck, not skill. The Dream tour begins dreamy and ends in its more than often predictable fashion. I guess the event staff just wanted to hurry up and get to drinking, too bad for the athletes
March 5, 2010 10:51 am
Well said Shea. Dane peaked too early and then the waves went to shit. It seems to me that the event should have been postponed even if the waves got smaller I suspect the conditions might have gotten better. Bobby was robbed in this event due to the conditions. His surfing was so smooth and polished. Very disappointing finish to the event. Glad to see Taj win, it is about time. He is on a serious roll.
March 5, 2010 9:26 am
kid**
March 5, 2010 9:26 am
Noah is this little kind from Smyrna who rides super small fins..looked like taj had noahs fins in with all his little tail free half turns
March 5, 2010 8:50 am
Not familiar , are those the fins developed by Firewire ?
Shea , i forgot to add , great writing bud , i think you found a new career ! Stoked for ya ….Hi to Pete….Rw
March 5, 2010 8:27 am
Taj had Noah groms fins in for the final i think..
March 5, 2010 8:18 am
Not slamin’ Jordy , he surfs insane and is one of the wittiest dudes in the limelight in a long time but he lost in the qtrs to Bede ! Scoring Bede a 6.50 for milking and blowing the back out of the best wave of the heat , come on judges ! You get so wrapped up in a Dane -Jordy showdown you go blind pullin’ yer pud ! You got what you deserved with that Dane -Jordy Semi – Taj winning saved you all .
March 5, 2010 6:31 am
Well written Mr Lopez! Love the use of Kenny Rogers lyrics…