An act so polished you can see your reflection in it.
Finals day at J-Bay was a pleasant surprise.
I was expecting garbage. Because that’s just the way life goes. Usually.
Glorious surprise! It was super rippable. So much fun to watch. Enough going on that the surfers could get going on. Some slow moments but nothing terrible.
And dolphins too!
The day started off okay. Kerr/Slater saw smallish, semi lined up surf. Not very exciting. Kerr took the win. Kelly didn’t sound very concerned during his interview.
Medina/Wilson failed to wow as well. Medina started the day off with a good one, earned an 8.33, but couldn’t back it up. Julian found two mid range scores, added them together, had point four enough to squeak through.
Then it started warming up. Bigger, better. Wet dream waves. Easy as pie to shine for a world class surfer. Toledo surfed well but Fanning put him down with ease. Mick’s just got his deal down too pat. White heat lightning speed snaps and whacks and down the line floaters. An act so polished you can see your reflection in it.
Toledo tried his best, surfed well, but couldn’t match Fanning.
The thing with Mick… he obviously surfs for points, but he does it so damn well. Ridiculously well. Kung fu master who puts his body in the right spot every single time. And it can get boring to watch. But sometimes, like today, you remember it’s something special you’ve stopped appreciating because you’ve been seeing it for so long.
John John was killing it, laying down gut wrenching laybacks, stringing together smooth little arcs into the inside. One super projected frontside rev to the flats. Very exciting.
Kerr looked like he was having trouble warming up. Just a touch off. Still good, but not good enough to beat the kid. He looked his age, basically.
JJF sent home the vet, made his second final of the year, and kicked Wilko’s title campaign squarely in the nuts.
So many claims today. And the guys were paying for them. That extra couple seconds headed to shore puts them in some shallow shallow shallow water. A few amusing moments as they flounder into deeper water.
From his first wave of the semi it was obvious Fanning was sending Wilson home. Picking better waves, surfing in fast forward. Dropped an 8.1 on his first wave, a 9 on his next. Then just sat there while Wilson caught wave after wave and tried to catch up.
He didn’t and Mick does amazingly well for someone who wasn’t going to do the tour this year.
Tried and true high speed perfection versus next gen innovative style. Warms my icy heart, fills my ears with birdsong.
But, sweet jumping jimminy Christ, can they work on the filler? The cookies and milk break between semi and final was so boring!
I wonder how much effort Strider and Mel and Blakey and Turpel and Pottz put into their commentator duties between events? Do you think they plan out little bits, fill a notebook with talking points? That’s what I would do. It seems like they just show up and do it to it. Which seems like it’d be the harder way. Just free flowing all day long is a crazy challenge.
They’ve got paper and pen in front of them, but it might just be there so they have something to do with their hands.
After what felt like forever the heat finally got started. Fanning found one on the inside in the first minute. Crazy racetrack at the beginning into bread and butter. But it’s good bread and butter. Like, a crispy warm baguette and some freshly churned deliciousness.
Florence made it look like shit. Hand drag slash, flowing reverse, then two point scorers to seal it up. Ross mentions once again that “it’s a smaller wave,” but is it? The kid from Hawaii is a foot taller. Maybe it’s a crazy optical illusion!
8.5 slaps the taste of winning out of Mick’s mouth for a moment. Then he wraps his lips back around it and takes a deep suckle. Cracks an overhead set into a 9.93. Which is high. Low nine, sure. Mid-nine, maybe. Oh-seven from perfect? I won’t by that banana.
After along lull John John finally gets his second wave. Hangs up his first turn, ends it with a toward shore heave. Not the 8.61 he needs.
Next set sees both guys get a good one. Mick does the high speed down the line flow thing. JJF opts for a big turn to slide check to close out rev. JJ gets the score he needs but Fanning’s wave get’s him a bump so it doesn’t matter.
Fanning wins JBay in fun head high surf.
I’d’ve given the heat to Florence. But it was a close thing.
Rory could you have a sniff into Mick’s board? That thing was like a magic carpet and a little obscure for Mick in terms of what he normally rides. Has Asher Pacey been in Mick’s ear down at the DHD stables?
If you adjust the judge’s scores to something approximating reality, it would have been a close and exciting final all by itself, no need to hype it up.
Competitive surfing could be great, and we’re served this stale contrived dish time after time.
Gaybrielle will sit on the shoulder, only go the medium sized sets, and win Chopes. Meanwhile people who charge like JJF and Julian won’t get rewarded for it. It’s a similar scenario to what people are complaining about regarding Mick. He rips in a way that wins while making everyday turns look dynamic, while the progressive pickle spinners get nought (although I would argue a flat and limp air reverse onto the bricks stopped being progressive about 5 years ago). Mick and Gaybe both surf to win, they surf to the criteria, and they both have world titles. If pube chin really wants to be world champion, he better learn to ditch the nonchalant salami arm style, start “body torquing” and learn to surf to the criteria. He also better learn some stronger heat strategy because against someone like mick or kelly he looks like a very small fish in a very big ocean. Or he could just agree that judging a “sport” like surfing is total fucking horseshit and go make more movies. He’d make less money but he’d likely be a lot happier. Look how fat and happy Dane is.
Why you copy and paste this comment from Stab to here?
different audience.
looked like MickyF smashed every heat…..not even close.
You are either blind or just plain retarded. Sure, things will even out over time as they should. But these guys (i hate the term you used) are pushing the limits and changing the landscape in terms of technical skills and appral to the masses. Are you looking at the same info as I am? Dominating top 10, top 5, ROTW, and 3 title contenders.
This comp was a joke. JJF got ripped off, so did Felipe. Medina was unlucky.
When you play the “it’s rigged” card you are shiting on the achievements of your Countrymen. One could argue, did these puppets you speak of, controling the outcome of every contest. push the storm, just to break into another marketplace?
Negraton, I hear the argument of Brazilians being “helped” by judges and the WQS structure all the time. I’ve been following this circus for a long time and NEVER saw a Brazilian getting a push from the ASP or WSL. On the contrary. What happened more recently is that the subjective topic of style has been adressed more neutrally
And Yes, I believe the WSL manipulates competition venues, wildcard selections, competition windows AND judging to advance its agenda.
In the peculiar case of Mick Fanning, it is blatant. The guy is a joke. “full body torque” what is that? He cant be winning heats against Felipe and JJF. Those 9s my God. Ridiculous.
Often, I think Mick is over-scored. I stopped supporting Mick after the farce at Pipeline 2013. However, I thought Mick smashed it yesterday. He blitz. It was perfect down the line surfing in my eyes. Felipe was very exciting but JJF was boring (lucky result for him).
and I have been watching longer Tio. Your conspiracy theories show a lack of understanding of the system and the Surfing , Next you’ll tell that the WSL also manipulates the waves and who gets what? Mick out-hacked all surfers yesterday , his full body Torque moves , which means his whole body is committed to the turn and not just a fast check turn was the difference , but when ya boil it dowm Mick had the best waves and in the final there was only one wave that allowed a 9+ score Mick caught it, if JJF caught it JJF wins ,
I don’t appreciate the patronizing tone. If this was black and white we wouldnt be having this discussion. The WSL says it judges basing in 5 bullet points amd that is it. The rest is completely opaque to the public and the surfers.
not sure if you get that the Surfing judging system , a subjective one based on the opinion of 5 judges , so it can never be Black and White ! patronizing tone is in your head , whatever , I was just noting I have watching pro surfing a lot longer than you , there is no conspiracy , opinions based on facts seem to count , but hwat are your facts? brings us to why we all have different opinions , and discuss the facts here!
Getting “the push” from the WSL involves a lot of people making a lot of decisions in secret boardroom meetings. On the other hand Making the wrong call on such a subjective sport is very easy, and only involves 6 judges. It happens.
I am interested to know that exactly you think the agenda of the WSL is?
We who live in countries with low scores on the global corruption index tend to think that nothing is rigged. Those who live in places where politicians get paid 50x more than nurses and teachers tend to concur that absolutely everything is controlled to benefit somebody’s back pocket.
It’s a different mind set that isn’t easily relayed on on disquis message board.
Very straight forward: develop this business into something much larger amd flip it to someone else or take it public. In order to do that they need to expand audience/reach. And they will manipulate the game to make sure it happens. Example: keep competition exciting by helping the chasers in the rankings and screwing the leaders; creating drama stories like the “i was always coming back” and final rematch betwen jules and mick.
They have the right to do it I guess. It’s business. Just dont expect us to agree that Mick Fanning won this comp fair and square bc he did not.
So the WSL is shooting for good business? How dare they make their product likeable and profitable. To be realistic I just don’t see how it is possible for a fix to be in place in this event. Way too many variables that would have had to line up perfectly for it to happen. This isn’t boxing where a dive order can be issued pre-fight. It seems to me that you just don’t like the Mick, plain and simple.
It’s simpler than you imagine. If you issue a 6.5 instead of. 5.5 or a 9.5 instead of a 8.5 it will fall into the subjectivity area and will certainly determine the outcome.
So Mick can go with super safe granny moves and secure 9.5s when JJF and Felipe will have to go for 10s with extremely risky manouvres. Simples as that. Rigged.
Or maybe the Mick is smarter than your average pro and surfs the way the “man” wants. The debate has raged since the first air was done in a pro contest. Down the line or spin the pickle are basically the two styles with some cross breeding between the two going on. The Mick knows what the judges will score high and goes out and executes that to absolute perfection. There is no conspiracy or rigged event, it’s a lot simpler than that. The Mick rolls out wave after wave, heat after heat, perfect gravy soaked biscuits that the judges crave. If anyone is rigging an event it’s The Mick and his recipe for success.
No, it’s not the Illuminati. I just don’t know how the judges gave that wave a 9.93. Some judges threw it a perfect 10. Judges just getting eggy?
Here’s the head judge’s view. Style is calculated subconsciously apparently
http://www.surfingmagazine….
Mick clearly won. His surfing was faster & cleaner than Felipe & JJF & Mick chose the best waves. Mick was ripping; giving a lesson. JJF’s on the face surfing is still a bit weak, imo. Felipe surfed great but in down the line J-Bay ,wave choice is everything. I thought Medina was burned again (Medina vs Wilson should be 5 – 0 to Medina). Julian’s last wave was not a 6.5 in my eyes.
Caveira outing your real self? And friends with The News and who else I wonder…. Eat faeces! https://uploads.disquscdn.c… https://uploads.disquscdn.c… https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
First In, First Out
good article and spot on analysis, not too snarky this time, thanks
RIGGED. Totally rigged. Another senseless overscoring festival for MF.
Mick earned the win. Legitimately won each heat.
P Zero couldn’t spin his pickle. So sad…
this was back in oz a real marketing bullshit story with Ronnie the MC!!! so contrived
Thanks Rory did not watch!! to me if Mick was “thereabouts” he was slated for the win from get go – was a marketing wet dream – “returns to site of attack to take victory” blah blah forgone conclusion
total backslappers – did you see the interview after jbay last year Ronnie instigated it all mick walking out drinking redbulls etc
especially as Ronnie is Micks manager