Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Slater?

[onawave]

ah dont get me wrong, im still all for KS to get 10. when he retires after this, its just going to be known as the post slater era, and just about every title holder will be compared to slater... thats the only thing that will suk from KS getting 10....

probably the greatest achievement in sporting history, and a fact that not many people will be able to comprehend...

[Clif]

Keep taking your pills mate, before you drink a Redbull and jump off a building thinking that you can fly.

What, I can't fly WTF

Hang on, there's a tall building. I'll be back in a min...

[Shari]

I don't believe the articles, the quotes, the words out of their mouths. The young guys on the WCT are after the big win. It's just that Aussies are trained to like the the underdog so everyone tries to appear humble. I bet in the dark of night they're trying to think of some way, any way, they can get an edge. Kelly is, incredibly, still the best, and it's just easier to say you don't care than to say you feel like a loser.

We better get somebody interesting, in both personality and surfing, to shake up this tour before Kelly retires.

Shari

[Hano]

Right on Shari.
I’d give up surfing tomorrow if there is anyone out there within the professional surfing fraternity that could sincerely disagree with anything you’ve just stated.
What annoys the absolute sh.t outta me is just how underrated our sport is. There’s no doubt It’s bikini- palm tree and pina colada image along with its piss poor prize money largely attributes to its understatement……….and then we have those media types such as Endo(whose involvement is purely seasonal) down playing the ability of the elite involved
I SAY- GET FUCKED TO ALL YOU ENDO’S!
if all sports were judged on physical dynamics alone it’d be a poor judge to predict surfing outside the top ten of most difficult sports participated…….and then throw in the mental aptitude of those involved who commit to 12’ to 15’ T’poo or Pipe and you have a sport that is basically Inco severable to all but those who really have an idea.
Kelly’s peers recognise his brilliance and its about time the rest of the sporting world paid tribute to this once in a lifetime athlete. If the Laureus World Sport awards want to restore any real creditability then KS will not only be judged sportsman of the year for the first time he’ll also be presented with the lifetime achievement award.

I admire the greats like Ali, Armstrong,Jorden and to a lesser extent Tiger but KS has done his shit for three decades and is still dominating lads 20 yrs his junior today.
KS is going to leave a massive hole .

[Lucky Al]

greats like ali were great beyond their sport. beyond surfing slater plays golf and roots hot chicks and plays in a band. it would be something else to have a great like ali in surfing.

[Yuke Hunt]

Spot on Lucky Al ... Old Baldie is the best competitive surfer in history ... there isn't going to be much of an argument there ... you could even call him the greatest ... but he ain't no Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr ... Muhammad Ali is an icon of his age ... in and out of the ring Ali dominated the headlines ... no one comes close ... he even said it himself ... I am the greatest ... few would argue.

Ali quotes ...

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see. Now you see me, now you don't. George thinks he will, but I know he won't.

And another ... written before his heavyweight stoush with Sonny Listen ...

Clay comes out to meet Liston and Liston starts to retreat
If Liston goes back an inch farther he'll end up in a ringside seat
Clay swings with his left, Clay swings with his right
Look at young Cassius carry the fight
Liston keeps backing, but there's not enough room
It's a matter of time till Clay lowers the boom
Now Clay lands with a right
What a beautiful swing and the punch raises the Bear clean out of the ring
Liston is still rising and the ref wears a frown
For he can't start counting till Sonny goes down
Now Liston is disappearing from view
The crowd is going frantic
But radar stations have picked him up
Somewhere over the Atlantic
Who would have thought when they came to the fight
That they'd witness the launching of a human satellite
Yes the crowd did not dream, when they put up the money
That they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny

I had the pleasure of meeting Ali in 1979 ... Charming ... intelligent and funny ... oh and a little bit scary ... the greatest ... I think so.

As for surfing being undervalued as a sport ... well the dollars speak for themselves ... Its only worth what someone is prepared to pay ... like any other commodity.
Realistically surfing could be pigeonholed with other fringe or extreme sports ... it is probably the most popular of all those though.
The problems with surfing being a commercially viable competitive sport are not easy to overcome.
Its true that every tom ... dick and harry is running around all over the world in quickripabong clothing ... but that doesn't equate to bums on seats for pro-surfing.
Motor racing ... boxing ... golf ... tennis and a plethora of other ball and arena sports ... all have a designated time and place ... a start and a finish ... its easier for the punter to attend ... its easier for the punter to comprehend.
Surfing on the other hand is a bit avant-garde for the average joe to understand ... they tend to appreciate it without comprehending its complexities and nuances ... a bit like art ... and theres the elephant in the room.
The ambiguity of results doesn't help ... if surfers have trouble understanding results ... what chance has Cletus the slack jawed yokel got.

I think Kelly is great ... and incidentally he is a surfer that is extremely well known outside of our little pond. He will go ... others will come. When MR won four world titles who'd a thunk that could be beaten ... and we haven't even mentioned "our" Stephanie Gilmore yet.

[Skipper]

But there's always been a general consensus that surfing is rebellious by nature and despite the marketing that's managed to sell the lifestyle to millions worldwide only a small percentage of those doing it manage to achieve some reasonable skill at it.

I don't think we should expect that surfing produce an all round 'good guy' who not only can charge T'poo/Pipe at 12'+ but solve poverty, rid the world of war and famine etc. ... In order to gain universal acclaim.

Slater is simply one hell of a great athlete and should be lauded for his achievements in the competitive realm of the sport.
Too much expectation is placed on those athletes and dare I say other notable achievers - Arts/culture - to contribute beyond their chosen field in order to gain respect and accolades they should be entitled to despite not being Nobel laureates or somesuch.