Dark Pandemonium: Parko@Pipe.

[steve shearer]

It is appropriate that we riff on the interiority of the upcoming campaign.

[Lucky Al]

"Sometimes the man who looks happiest in town, with the biggest smile, is the one carrying the biggest load of sin."

[Nick Carroll]

Well we can rave on about it but it'll probably have more to do with what the surf is like and who's in better form -- not necessarily the title combatants either.

But fcuk, if Sun Tzu was an ASP judge he'd have Mr Slater out in front at the moment methinks.

There should be a maxim in "The Art Of War", "The surfer whose sponsor starts a support drive for him on social media is already fcuked."

[rmb]

Well we can rave on about it but it'll probably have more to do with what the surf is like and who's in better form -- not necessarily the title combatants either.

But fcuk, if Sun Tzu was an ASP judge he'd have Mr Slater out in front at the moment methinks.

There should be a maxim in "The Art Of War", "The surfer whose sponsor starts a support drive for him on social media is already fcuked."

Hopefully it goes down in big consistent pipe Sl8r and Parko in a final duking it out trading big scores that would be unreal. The support drive is great would love to see quick and rip curl do the same but it probably wouldn't have the same effect as they are already world champions.

[rmb]

my rambled thoughts ...

Should Parko have surfed all the events in the Triple Crown? Waves have not really been all that good, so not sure if the time in the singlet would have helped ... comp mindset, maybe, but ...

What's he doing instead?

Surfing better waves? Training? Relaxing ...

I'd have a guess that Occy and Luke are keeping him in the right mind space ...

I'm looking forward to it though ... hope they get good waves for Pipe. Be a shame if this, the one year in ages where the title is coming down to the last event, the conditions are less than epic.

At first I thought that he should have been there but maybe being at those contests would have been like being in a fishbowl with all the world title talk adding to the pressure. Although he appears to be happy and relaxed being on the cusp of the pinnacle of his career with the greatest competitive surfer ever his best mate and some great pipe surfers being between him and the title it would be hard not to be constantly thinking about it especially living in a surf mad region like the goldy where every surf nut would want to wish you luck from snapper to the milk bar.

Thats where positive relaxed mindset is probably the best way of relieving that pressure I would be very surprised if he hadn't consulted a sports psychologist in the past to learn to handle pressure and not be burdened by past failings.

I imagine his training for the pipe contest would be more maintaining his conditioning flexibility not doing a massive mini pre season for pipe. He will board the plane to Hawaii knowing he has done everything he can and all he has to do now is surf.

[godsavetheking]

And so, the fix is in. Kelly v Joel; Slats v Parko; the Knut v Dark Pandemonium. Last event of the season and it’s winner takes all (near as dammit) with Fanning as an intriguing third way, lurking under the radar, hoping the pressure cooker does for the other two so he can come through and sneak it, the blue collar hero once again, the Aussie battler, the little beauty.

In the VIP tent, ZoSea’s representatives will be rubbing their silver-crossed palms together in glee. What a bikini contest they have for potential suitors; A three-way title battle decided right at the death? Oh yes Dietrich Mateschitz, it happens every year. Old Testament drama played out yards from the sand in positively life threatening waves with a hungry beachside and online audience hanging on every wave? Mais bien sur Yvon Chouinard, this is merely the lemon next to the pie when compared to the rest of the dreamy Dream Tour.

Joel will be shitting it, obviously. Hauled from the ranks mid-season in the absence of a credible competitor for Slater, and with his workaday safety turns and painfully conspicuous lack of an air game hastily reimagined as pinpoint rail surfing, Parko has enjoyed the judges’ largesse to an outrageous degree this term. 10 pointers for half-barrels and high 9s for three-turns-to-the-beach have pushed him to the pointy end of most events this year, but the win has eluded him.

So basically, he’s fcuked. If he doesn’t win at Pipe but takes the title he will get zero respect. If he wins at Pipe, yeah he’ll get the title, but every cocksucking conspiracy theorist with a social media account will inevitably have a friend who knows someone who is very close to someone in the ASP who told them that, beyond question, it was all rigged by Billabong.

So it can’t be Parko.

Slater knows this of course. You can’t dedicate your life to something - and that would be winning - without becoming the master of nuance. By his standards, his surfing and heat craft have been fcuking woeful in the back half of the year but he has scratched his way to enough acceptable results to hold his valedictory season together. He seems like the sort of bloke who’ll back himself to the hilt regardless of the strife he finds himself in (maybe someone like ‘boo with a flair for stats can pull out his Rd 2 and Rd 5 success ratio), so I’m sure he’s absolutely confident. In fact, I bet he has got a box of Kelly S12ter t-shirts ready to go in the back of his SUV.

But it’s not going to be Slater either.

Nope, he bins it in Rd 3 to a Hawaiian wildcard. Fanning takes it. ‘On ya Mick.

[godsavetheking]

Ignore my predictions at your peril. My RealSurf record as a tipster is 100%

[Donweather]

hope they get good waves for Pipe.

Well current forecasts are shaping up for some solid swell at least for the first week or so of the comp. All comes down to local winds now and current forecasts have very light trades for the first few days of the waiting period!!!

I hope the boys have bought their quads!!!

[Nick Carroll]

you reckon don? looks like a shit quality wnw swell and variable winds, possibly turning ssw

still the nth pac this time of year is pretty switch-able.

[Donweather]

Nick, you'd know more about what swell direction is best for Pipe, but from what I can see, they've got a 9ft@15 sec W/NW tending NW groundswell for the first few days of the waiting period. Not sure I'd call this shit quality??

Winds look to be light trades Sat/Sun (possibly trending variable), before tending more S'ly early next week.

And behind this, there looks to be yet another good pulse of W/NW swell mid next week with even another better NW swell potentially on the cards for late next week, but of course both of these swells are a LONG way off, hence model reliability very questionable at present.

I still think they'll run Rds 1 and 2 (may not get all of Rd 2 in?) over this weekend.

[Nick Carroll]

http://www.surfinglife.com.au/videos/15 ... d-pipeline

[Lucky Al]

i enjoy watching sunset almost as much as pipe. been checking every night but keep running into lay-days. what's happening! my money's on julian wilson, john john (spelling?) florence, josh kerr and jordy smith - because that spells jazz!

[Lucky Al]

jazz, not jizz.

[steve shearer]

this man

[Donweather]

Gee, latest GFS forecast is looking very ordinary indeed (apart from this weekend and Monday). Let's hope that does an about face rather quickly!!!!

[steve shearer]

The problem, if we can term it that, is neurological at the least. Neurons that fire together wire together.

Parko has long history of collapsing in the clutch, and that is now indelibly etched into the clusters of neurons that determine muscular activity and the response to stimuli.

He also seems scared of Slater ( "I hope he doesn't take revenge") and that doesn't augur well.


I hope I'm wrong, but I think Parko should've maintained the pressure in Hawaii. Kept himself in the groove of consistent, if not groundbreaking performances.

[Cpt.Caveman]

I reckon Parko's looked the coolest and calmest ever this year delivering consistently good performances. The heats I've watched he seems to be doing a good job of staying "in the zone" each and every time.

I have a good feeling Parko will be able to harness that at Pipe too, something seems to have shifted that used to make him drop his performance level under pressure.

I'd love to see him pulling out the same competitive head that Kelly uses and just surfing brilliantly despite anything going on around him. In my eyes that the one thing Kelly has above everyone else, he can turn on his competitive brain at the best moment when someone else is doubting themselves and choking under pressure.

If he just does his own thing and surfs butter smooth as he has all year I reckon he has it.

[buzzy]

That's the thing. If Parko tried to compete like Slater he'd be frazzled and lose his composure. He needs to compete in a way that works for him. If that means sitting waiting for the best wave even though there are only two minutes left in the heat so be it. Doing a KS and trying monster airs on 6 consecutive close outs won't work for Parko and good on him. It's got him to the top of the tree and in world title contention.

I also think on balance Parko made the right decision not to compete in the triple crown. Slater would just have used that as an opportunity to play 3 weeks of mind games. If you're trying to stay relaxed it just won't have worked. Early exits and by KS standards crap surfing might well deny Slster's confidence. He surfed badly in the Cold Water and surfed badly in the Triple Crown to date. Mind you quite a deal of it is ridiculous equipment selection.

Make it Parko's year!