Pour a little Bede Durbidge, Ace Buchan, Mason Ho and Aritz Aranburu sauce onto your Fanning steak…
Stealing the idea of fantasy surfer from Surfer may be the best idea the WSL ever had. It’s a fun way to stay involved with the Tour, and it keeps those of us cursed with a competitive bent engaged in events we’d otherwise ignore.
Last year had me thinking that I was pretty damn good at picking my guys. I don’t remember how I placed overall, but I beat my Dad and placed first in my groups, and that was all I really cared about. It’s nice being able to call your father and tell him he sucks.
This year… well this year has been a shitshow. The garbage surf, tons of injuries, guys having meltdowns, I can barely tell which way is up.
So, instead of picking with my head, which has not been working at all, for Portugal I’m going with my gut.
Adriano de Souza and Mick Fanning: Mick and de Souza get a nod for the tops spots. Both have dialed in a technically perfect approach to grinding through heats. Nothing exciting or progressive or really very interesting at all, but they know what the judges want to see, and have no problem giving it to them.
Jeremy Flores: The anger is toned down for the moment, and it seems to be working for him. Like ADS, I feel like people dislike him enough to not pick him on principal, so this is a hail mary to make up some points.
John John Florence: This is a bad pick and I know it, but I really want to see him surf good, which he really hasn’t been. I don’t know if it’s the ankle, or if he’s just not really feeling it, but I’m holding out hope that it starts clicking again.
Bede Durbidge and Ace Buchan: Australian workhorses seem like decent choices, and I couldn’t think of anyone better. I should probably replace one of them with Nat Young, but I hate how he surfs. What is it about Santa Cruz that breeds such awful style?
Mason Ho: He’s definitely going to lose that first round heat, there’s never been a Hawaii born competitor that can out-jockey two Brazilians at the same time. But he’s capable of JJF level flashes of genius, and seems to be stoked on the contest scene. Plus, he’s totes adorbs!
Aritz Aranburu: I like his name.
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Gabs is the pick.
after a lackluster year myself nothing says im better then you and have bigger things going on like fantasy grudge… when asked how my team is i simply respond im uninterested now that i can actually collect the bets i win and with much better odds… like yourwinningest friend at the casino who always seems to be at the atm, i am smitten…
I like my vices, but gambling’d never done anything for me. I don’t feel the thrill when I win, just the sting when I lose.
Which is good, because after last year I thought I had this fantasy surfer thing wired. Obviously not.
confession: i have not gambled a cent since i put money in the account. im a jew and we hate loosing money 10 times more then we like making it soooo.. i will wait until the end of the year and cash out the free 50$ they gave me for signing up…
I think Nat’s style is funky because of all the backwash off the cliffs at the Lane. Wide stance stability. And maybe he works out too much? It didn’t used to seem so bad when he was a grom…
Where are you sitting on the BeachGrit table Rory? http://fantasy.surfermag.co…
13th. I’m gonna try and play it off like I don’t care, but it’s actually killing me inside.
Im having a pretty average day, but your close to the bottom of the table position makes me feel alittle better.
I just joined and now you’re sittin’ 14th. Suck it!
God damn it!