Venerated surf journalist has greatest idea of last
decade!
You don’t get to be a venerated surf journalist
by being just any dumb asshole. No. It takes work. Precision.
Dedication. A lifetime of watching men in neoprene pantsuits, or
virtually naked, dance upon the water.
The few who last a decade plus in this profession are uniquely
qualified to weigh in on this or that. To truly call themselves
“surf journalists.” I barely qualify even though I have spent the
past fifteen years talking to Dane Reynolds et. al.
And I am very much put to shame by Nick Carroll, the most
venerated surf journalist of all and maybe of all-time. He just
weighed in on surfing’s inclusion into the Olympics, writing:
Surfing shouldn’t be in the Olympics, just in the Special
Olympics.
The simplicity, beauty and truth of that one sentence is almost
more than I can take. More than I could ever create. Also, an
unsurprisingly, Nick Carroll is totally right.
Surfers are special. We think of ourselves as special, act
special, want to be treated special, do special things. We belong
in the Special Olympics.
For those unawares, the Special Olympics were founded by John F.
Kennedy’s sister Eunice in 1962 in order to bring the wonders of
athletic competition into the lives of the physically and
intellectually disabled.
The organization has since grown into a gorgeous representation
of humankind at its best. Its website reads:
Special Olympics is a global movement of people creating a
new world of inclusion and community, where every single person is
accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability. We are
helping to make the world a better, healthier and more joyful place
— one athlete, one volunteer, one family member at a time.
And just think what magnificent social reverberation would occur
if the International Surfing Association informed the International
Olympic Committee that we surfers chose to be with our peers. That
we chose to be Special Olympians.
It would be a better Olympic story than Cool Runnings! A better
Olympic story than the Miracle on Ice! A better
Olympic story than Eddie the Eagle.
The best Olympic story of all time.
And thank you Nick Carroll.
ISA? Let’s do this thing!
