Joe Turpel becomes a legend.
Accolades are still pouring in from yesterday’s best day ever in the history of professional surfing. Mick Fanning’s bravery, Julian Wilson’s selflessness, the WSL’s overall handling, the shark’s kindness, etc.
All deservedly. It was an exceptional moment but there is one name I have not heard mentioned. Joltin’ Joe Turpel. I mistakenly credited him with saying, “Holy shit! Excuse me…” but that was Pottz. No, Turpel, sitting behind the microphone after watching Mick Fanning get pulled underwater by a giant dorsal fin reported the facts, cooly and calmly:
“Looks like Fanning needing……Fanning needing some assistance. He’s swimming in to the beach as we sound the horn to stop the final. Fanning still swimming on his own right to the assistance of the jet ski. He’ll hop on the sled and reset…”
And amazing. Turpel totally unfazed by the surreality. Turpel giving the people at home what they needed to know without becoming hysterical or overly-emotional. And also without speculating. At that early point what did anyone know? Nothing at all beyond sheer conjecture.
“He’ll hop on the sled and reset” should enter the English vernacular alongside Edward R. Murrow’s “Good night and good luck.”
Bravo, Joe Turpel. Bravo.
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“he will hop on the ski to reset” was the worst call ever! Only Pottz with his “Holy Shit” call actually summed up the situation.
maybe I can audition for the commentary team all you need is- frontside wrap, highline wrap, carve in the pocket, bottom turn top turn combination, beautiful arcing turns, snapping turn, beautiful carve, jams it, absolutely on point, transition looks seamless, another gouging maneuver – and finally he will hop on the ski and reset!!!!
love joe’s work
more proof that Turpel is a robot and has no human emotion.
For how much shit Joe gets online for his WSL commentating, he sure remained calm and professional during the whole incident. I nearly had a fucking cardiac arrest watching that. Well done Joe.
lucky he got to the ‘safety’ of the sled! #getonthefuckingboateugine
I was struck by how calm, cool, and collected Joe Turpel was during the incident. Not many webcasters could have done that, although I think Ross Williams could have as well.
haha.
Unrelated to Joe “and HE kicks out” Turpel, but do you think Kelly is relieved that everyone forgot about writing off Outer Known all of a sudden? Did he will the shark to the lineup like he does with sets?
Can’t believe all we got out of those guys was a Holy Shit. If you watch football or any other the sport the commentators regularly lose their minds over a spectacular play. The 3 time world champ is attacked by a great white and Joey calls it like he’s bogged a rail and fell on a turn. I can’t wait to hear from Pottz and Joey what was actually going through their minds and how close it was to the producers pulling the plug on the live feed.
if ever there was a time for Mick to stab the lip, that was it.
He’ll hop on the sled and re-shit himself.
He realised he couldn’t say “pretty fun to watch” like he always does.
Hahahahaha!
Or “whose got priority and what do we mean by that Pottz?”
To be fair, with fuck all warning he must have thought he was going to have to explain to the world why Mick was suddenly in two pieces.
Totally but you could hear him steeling his own nerve. He was not going to succumb to the panic. He was going to be brave for all…even if it meant describing something horrific.
“ill tell ya what”, u given joey way to much cred here.
reset?? finish his heat? ask about rating points?
His eye was on the prize. A little shark incident would not have stopped the heat for him. Joe would go.
If by steeling his own nerve you mean stunned into silence and by not succumbing to panic you mean he didn’t scream like a girl, then yes. Their WSL Media Awareness Training didn’t cover that shit. For all the Joe haters – I’m not really one myself – something has at last been found to shut him up.