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Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:47 pm
by The Mighty Sunbird
godsavethequeen wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:35 pm
Yeah I get that regional government has stepped into the bottomless moneypit breach vacated by the clothing companies but it still doesn't feel like a particularly sustainable business model. Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps they'll focus on the 'stadium' approach and the govt reward for dragging x number of people to the beach or to the pool plus a bit of sponsorship plus a bit of VIP packages etc etc all adds up to something worthwhile. Still doesn't address my central point of it being pretty dismal viewing though. At what point do the assembled masses realise that the emperor is naked? Or perhaps they don't. One of the real downsides of being on the spectrum is the inability to tune in to what
the people want, how they'll respond. To me, the thought of spending eight hours in the company of 50,000 Victorians packed into a freezing westerly chanting Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Oi Oi Oi and watching a procession of goofyfoots safely windscreen wiper their way into the closeout gives me the shivers but no doubt to others it's the perfect Easter break
You won’t say that tomorrow when John John rips the bag out of it
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:48 pm
by godsavetheking
It's pretty tempting I must say. We'd need a name for our gang though - how about The Shiite Minority? Two Poms and a Poofta?
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:49 pm
by pinhead
They should run the womens at Fishos.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:49 pm
by godsavetheking
The Mighty Sunbird wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:47 pm
You won’t say that tomorrow when John John rips the bag out of it
One swallow doesn't make a summer, TMS. Just ask loof
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:50 pm
by steve shearer
godsavethequeen wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:35 pm
Yeah I get that regional government has stepped into the bottomless moneypit breach vacated by the clothing companies but it still doesn't feel like a particularly sustainable business model. Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps they'll focus on the 'stadium' approach and the govt reward for dragging x number of people to the beach or to the pool plus a bit of sponsorship plus a bit of VIP packages etc etc all adds up to something worthwhile. Still doesn't address my central point of it being pretty dismal viewing though. At what point do the assembled masses realise that the emperor is naked? Or perhaps they don't. One of the real downsides of being on the spectrum is the inability to tune in to what
the people want, how they'll respond. To me, the thought of spending eight hours in the company of 50,000 Victorians packed into a freezing westerly chanting Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Oi Oi Oi and watching a procession of goofyfoots safely windscreen wiper their way into the closeout gives me the shivers but no doubt to others it's the perfect Easter break
Oh me too.
50 years and still going, I'd say it would have toppled over by now.
If Dirk Ziff drops pro surfing the new Tour will rise from the ashes with Bells Beach as it's foundation stone.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:56 pm
by BA
pinhead wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:49 pm
They should run the womens at Fishos.
Don’t think the locals will be prepared to give up 3ft Fishos for the day.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:58 pm
by alakaboo
Godsave, as a member of team spectrum I feel your pain, although that probably disqualifies me.
One thing I've learnt while doing beach surveys is that people want very different things from their beach experience.
A substantial minority, 30% or so of those at metropolitan beaches, say they would ONLY go to beaches/breaks/peaks that were already crowded, because they took that to be a signal that they were the best locations.
This included basically all Brazilians and most Italians, Dutch and scandos. Poms were more variable. Aussies split based on age, young guys seem to like crowds, perhaps because they're in their prime.
It took me a few months to process that fact. It literally kept me awake at night, struggling to get my head around the fact that people deliberately sought out crowds.
I gather there's a similar range in responses to pro surfing. Nick routinely drives for more than a day to attend Bells, whereas if I lived there I'd make sure I was away that weekend.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:03 pm
by BA
It’s only about a 10 hour drive to Torquay.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:06 pm
by Trev
BA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:03 pm
It’s only about a 10 hour drive to Torquay.
Nick's a slow driver.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:10 pm
by BA
He does seem to have a fascination with Gundagai too.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:15 pm
by pinhead
Actually - There was only a handful out at Centreside this afternoon. Everywhere else was packed. You had to drive to Southside from Jarrosite road and hike down the hill. Got a couple of nice ones. Hiking back up the hill wasn't so much fun though.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:29 pm
by jimmy
I agree with GS. I reckon it’s cooked. No doubt pro surfing will always exist but the current model doesn’t work. The viewership is unbelievably low and there simply isn’t the endless pit of money from the surf companies anymore.
Rabbit’s model of the dream tour is the thing to save it I reckon.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:39 pm
by Wyre
Can you gimme a brief lowdown on Rabbit's concept?
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:41 pm
by The Mighty Sunbird
godsavethequeen wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:49 pm
The Mighty Sunbird wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:47 pm
You won’t say that tomorrow when John John rips the bag out of it
One swallow doesn't make a summer, TMS. Just ask loof
True. It’s a pretty good start, but.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:49 pm
by godsavetheking
There's that moment, and it still gets me every time in spite of everything, where you watch the opening montage and surfing - professional surfing! - looks fucking fantastic, a seductive mix of outrageous skill, photogenic competitors and sumptuous locations. The heart quickens and then we cut to live action and two blokes bobbing around not doing much and all that energy goes pffffftttt like a deflating balloon, seldom to be recovered. It's probably fixable but probably not while retaining the dreary plod through a thousand half-hour heats format
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:02 pm
by jimmy
Wyre wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:39 pm
Can you gimme a brief lowdown on Rabbit's concept?
The original Dream Tour was what took them to Tahiti originally and Gland and that ridiculous spectacle that was in Mexico. I’ll happily stand corrected by NC and Shearer but it was the when pro surfing was exciting. I understand that they need to have venues in Brazil and Aus that cater to the masses but why not have longer waiting periods and have all the pros on standby to fly to wherever when the forecast looks good. Snapper for example has been boring IMO since the 2013? finish at Kirra.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:50 pm
by Drailed
Cyclone wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:06 pm
BA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:03 pm
It’s only about a 10 hour drive to Torquay.
Nick's a slow driver.
He’s got a little car.
Re: Bells Beach
Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:12 pm
by Nick Carroll
jimmy wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:02 pm
Wyre wrote: ↑Thu Apr 25, 2019 8:39 pm
Can you gimme a brief lowdown on Rabbit's concept?
The original Dream Tour was what took them to Tahiti originally and Gland and that ridiculous spectacle that was in Mexico. I’ll happily stand corrected by NC and Shearer but it was the when pro surfing was exciting. I understand that they need to have venues in Brazil and Aus that cater to the masses but why not have longer waiting periods and have all the pros on standby to fly to wherever when the forecast looks good. Snapper for example has been boring IMO since the 2013? finish at Kirra.
Well honestly it had very little to do with Rabbit. The first G-land event in 1995 had nothing to do with him at all, it was pretty much Bruce Raymond swinging for the fences. The original encouragement for it came from Graham Cassidy who was the ASP head guy at the time Bruce first thought of it. The first Teahupoo event was sponsored by a Tahitian tourist pearl selling outfit in 1997, followed by Gotcha in 1998, won by Koby Abberton, the first really crazy images of Chopes came from that event. It wasn't a CT, just a pretty cheap QS. The Mexico event was a Rip Curl Search event; it was held in 2006.
Bugs did great work as the ASP head man, but a lot of that work was just keeping everyone on board the bus. His ASP named the Dream Tour, but it was already fundamentally created by the time he took the reins.