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Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 7:01 am
by Cranked
Hahaha. The WSL and wave pools are proving to be about as far from the surfing ethos as you can get.

They are both becoming irrelevant to surfing. I have no interest in wave pools and very little for the WSL.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:04 am
by alakaboo
These shark cancellations both seem to benefit the Brazilian contingent.

Mick got bumped in jbay and Julian paddled towards the shark.
No sharks were close to the competition and the whole brazo team refuses to get wet.


The saddest thing about all this is the fact people are saying the pools will be safer, but they haven't factored in the toxic stinkbug stance the aerialists will bring to a predictable canvas.
You'll need a Hazmat suit to watch it live.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:11 am
by foamy
Some Brazo conspiratards are saying, “for the first time eight Brazilians make Round 3, so you WSL gringos pull this cancellation bullshit!”

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:15 am
by alakaboo
Maths obviously isn't a focus in the Brazilian education system.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:17 am
by Beerfan
The Pepsi pool classic is one step closer to reality.

Pro surfer dick banning after winning - "yeah it was hard out there mate, my Pepsi wetty made the difference though, no way I would've been able to do 5 identical reos without my Pepsi wetsuit. I'm keen to just kick back now and have a few cold pepsi's and a Subway ham salad sub. It has 6 different spices and hits the spot after a hard heat, thanks mate"


In other news Noel barko was earlier forced to retire due to his leg rope Velcro not attaching enough to stay on. He was eager to surf on but after new safety policies were introduced was forced to sit out

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:50 am
by Nick Carroll
steve shearer wrote:
Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:56 am
crabmeat thompson wrote:
Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:47 am


we started inching towards irrelevancy in the Thundercloud Fiji swell when pros dodged once in a lifetime cloudbreak.

I do believe that was a turning point.
well kinda, in hindsight. That was 2011, well before the Ziffs were in the picture. It was followed not long after by that incredible Tahiti event. The thinking behind that Fijian day off was driven by a very different set of gears. If the wind had been clean that morning they'd have gone all day.

There will be a lot of pros now really wondering what the fcuk they've got themselves into. They're not immune to a sense of the surf culture, they grew up in it too. They must know this shifts something that'll take some really spectacular shit to put back into place.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 9:10 am
by Gumby
Again it will raise the question...Rebel/alternative pro tour?
Yes there are a million things to consider, but just hypothetically if there was a model that worked financially and logistically and someone was willing to bankroll it, how enticing would it be for a pro who may be sick of where the Wsl is heading? What if about 16 of the current top crop were keen to jump ship, then throw in a few fringe guys who can cut the mustard (eg. Mikey wright) to send up to 20 guys to about 8 events throughout the year.
Could even call it the ASP. :)

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 9:57 am
by Cranked
And with that innocuous seeming paragraph the ASP begins to arise from its early death.

Spearheaded, naturally, by the dead and born again Nick Carroll

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:34 am
by julioadler
The word is, unofficial, Brazilian contingent refused to get back in the water, Toledo even say that in a interview - Brazilian TV.
Bet that was a huge dent for credibility since you have a yellow (no pun intended) singlet and a couple of high profile surfer still in the comp.
Crabmeat thompson nailed it. As did Shearer in BG.
Thing is, time is running out.
There's no money in it to be made.
And they tamed pro surfing so neat that the whole appeal of freedom, nature and unpredictability are now done.
The whole thing is a hyperbole of itself (whatever that means...)

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:21 am
by crabmeat thompson
Nick Carroll wrote:
Thu Apr 19, 2018 8:50 am
steve shearer wrote:
Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:56 am
crabmeat thompson wrote:
Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:47 am


we started inching towards irrelevancy in the Thundercloud Fiji swell when pros dodged once in a lifetime cloudbreak.

I do believe that was a turning point.
well kinda, in hindsight. That was 2011, well before the Ziffs were in the picture. It was followed not long after by that incredible Tahiti event. The thinking behind that Fijian day off was driven by a very different set of gears. If the wind had been clean that morning they'd have gone all day.

There will be a lot of pros now really wondering what the fcuk they've got themselves into. They're not immune to a sense of the surf culture, they grew up in it too. They must know this shifts something that'll take some really spectacular shit to put back into place.
compare that fiji swell to fred moving the sunset comp to 30ft waimea and sending the guys out there in that.

all because Fred had a vision for pro surfing. then guys like a 17 year old MR paddled out because he was more scared of not catching a wave and how that would look, then he was scared of 30ft waimea. sliding doors moment, huh?

those parallels sum up modern surfing and explain the growing disconnect to the tour surfers and the rest of us who surf.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 12:07 pm
by Cranked
Exactly, I expect a pro surfer to go when I wouldn't.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:33 pm
by Thud
Yep the pros are marketed as the untouchable gods of surfing. The only redeeming manoeuvre left is to dress them as super heros and have them perform signature moves. A bit like the show Gladiators. Oh, sorry that's already pretty much going to happen in the wave pools. My bad.

Do they still have the Cold Water Classic? Now that was good viewing.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:53 pm
by the prawn
Thud wrote:
Thu Apr 19, 2018 1:33 pm
A bit like the show Gladiators.
Image

I think I've found braithy a new avatar.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 2:10 pm
by Beanpole
Mick would have punched the shark out.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 4:38 pm
by Rustt
The contest should have gone ahead and Mick should have been flown over for special commentary.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 5:44 pm
by Thud
Mick wouldn't be happy. Here's him getting annoyed and quitting the tour.

https://youtu.be/LDETaE1nR1w

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:08 pm
by godsavetheking
The turning point was a few years ago when they neutered the one-manoeuvre Hail Mary. Although well intentioned, all it actually did was usher in blandly homogeneous rail surfing across the pack.

Re: Margaret River Pro 2018

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2018 6:34 pm
by crabmeat thompson
true. the death of surfing was awarding Dane a 7.33 at haleiwa for the biggest, gnarliest turn i've ever seen in my life. it was a 10, perhaps the only positive real 10, i've ever seen in a contest.