Fox Sports replaces live broadcast of Portugal with women's golf and repeats of moto races!
If you live in Australia, which approximately twenty five percent of you do, you may’ve screwed your little eyes up with sad when Fox Sports didn’t run, as it usually does, the live broadcast of Portugal.
I came home to a kid shrieking, “The WSL isn’t on!”
Which ain’t a problem to the technology savvy.
Stream it on the machine. The portable telephone. A tablet, if you’re eighty years old. The WSL broadcast team is gold-plated. Better than champagne and raw oysters and so forth.
The advantage of a cable stream, of course, is it don’t glitch out. This is a problem in Australia where the former socialist government decided it wanted to get into the internet biz and threw fifty billion shekels at a network that was outdated the day the first shovel cracked the pavement.
Anyway,
From a loved BeachGrit source, I received this email:
“Turns out the reason they haven’t been running Portugal live is that Fox ain’t too happy with the ratings and get a better return from women’s golf and re-runs of motorbike races.”
So I ring Fox.
The desk puts me through to a transport company twice before throwing me at a mysterious answering machine. Pals with Fox contacts toss me a number that doesn’t pick up.
I learn from contacts within the biz that Fox Sports only regards surfing as “cool wallpaper” that “If Mick ain’t winning nobody cares” and if you’re making a promo for the company, “Make sure you show Mick!”
This all augers well for the final couple of days of competition.
Mick, of course, will appear in round four, heat four against Miguel Pupo and Gabriel Medina.
Tell me.
Does the thought of surfing being trumped by golf and repeats of motorcycle races make you so made it kills the red corpuscles in your body?
Or no?
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The WSL is irrelevant that’s why they got trumped by female golf, curling, professional poker. tiddly winks and any other activity. End of story. It’s boring as all fuck and looks better through Apple TV anyway.
C,mon Derek, you really think the WSL broadcast its better than champagne and raw oysters ? I know what id rather.
When I hear words like Coping and Chandelier all I can think of is fruitcake and Liberace!
Surf contests are un-watchable!
I still coming to terms with how important Mick is to its success.
If we had commentators that actually knew the difference between an air reverse and a slob grab and offered some insight into progressive surfing it might help
yes Gigs should be the main commentator with Kaipo !
But at least they do pay him as distinct to promising him % in website or taking him to piano bar and gifting him gay sexual favours!!
Come on Wigg’s!! you know I ain’t going to let this comment section go South. It’s starting to get that lame, worn and tired STAB vibe of yesteryear.
I’m bringing the whipper snipper out of the garage and into the yard for a tidy up…
Yeah fair enough mate sometimes I forget where I am. I’m sorry to Mr Binns as well. I do not take criticism well. It’s something I’ve been working on.
Criticism should always be accompanied with a back rub. That’s how it becomes ‘constructive’
Just admit some of these deleted comments made you smile mate
If wincing counts as a smile, yes!
Damn Binnsy and his lobbying , who wants to be a grownup?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Let’s face it , golf is lame, but competitive surfing is even lamer…..and whiter too…
No, just sayin’
25% of 50 is 12.5 Australians in your community….Be specific Derek, is it 12 or 13?
Amazing how out of place these comments seem when the grownups are trying to have a conversation.
His Uncle shapes boards and his old man is a bloody good bloke.
Less mainstream media, less kooks in the water and more waves for the rest of us.
What planet you on? All those kooks entering the lineup do not watch wsl on msm … they go to surf skools
Put the golfers in the water at Chopes and put the surfers on the golf course. Pay per view. #micdrop
Fuck yes!
Put the golfers in at chops and they’ll continue to massively out rate professional surfing – Everyone would actually pay to view that shit!
OK you idiots. Watch this and tell me what’s changed in 27 years.
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
I’ll tell you what’s changed, there’s nobody on tour as good as Tom Curren.
god pro surfing is responsible for some style atrocities
Everyone sucked in this footage. Even Curren. And so toasted!
how’s Dave Macca’s helmet.
A sponsor made him wear it
No, I think he was OK with wearing it. This was 1990.
Sponsors didn’t make you wear stuff in 1990? 😉
how’s Occy’s commentary over the load speaker? @19:13 Occy says: “He does so many maneuvers he reminds me of G.I.Joe ! Remember the doll…”.. classic (if it was Occy?)
Bring back Stanfield! And the wombats. It’s definitely the wombats that are the difference.
Tassie Devils – I was cool when they fought at 6.33.
What hasn’t changed is that we’ve always had a Turpel-like voice monkey making us look like fuckwits.
What’s up with Curren’s back arm? Doesn’t really jibe with the “perfect style” mythos…
or, who would ride a 6 9 in head high surf , how’s the claim the gate money goes to the Reserve , unless RC was a Reserve then , or how’s about all the people sitting all over the cliffs , or was there really BL and Occy commentating , or…….
Bless your slippers, old man. The nurse is on the way …
Any time Angel. Any day, anywhere.
I am a lover! Lets not fight like webber and shearer. Lets spend our final years embracing!
Well stop being such a tough chick!
I think there has been change (since lots of the turns were ‘jerky’ & ‘shove-it’) however how Curren put that pin-tail through it paces, transitioning rail to rail, and aesthetically using its length, was very impressive. Looked like a master swordsman. Was that one of Maurice’s magic beauties? Macaulay looked better on the longer board in the semi.
Thank you for showing us how ordinary it was. How about the boards? Lol. Tom Curren was/is awesome. But how the fck did Barton “Its life not the drugs making me seem high” Lynch become a WC?
Yeah, I’ll tell you what’s changed, there was more spectators back then.
funny that Mick is the drawcard and not Kelly…..
ah Mick’s Australian and Kelly’s not?
What Hasn’t Changed:
Bells is still a fat burger 90% of the time and with board progressions over 27 years does the wave warrant CT status?
About 1000 people watched it on the beach then and it looks like same crowds now!!??
They charge entry money then, they charge it now!
They claimed the money went to the environment then, they still claiming the same shit!
What Has Changed:
The commentators are now worse!
Big networks like ESPN have long deserted the “sport”
the ledge at Winkypop button has fallen in the water.
The band of Kiwi brothers living on the dole in Torquay have gone or are locked away.
Been awhile since Bells was in that bad a waves , but in those days had to finish on the Monday , so waiting period has helped , as Bells is still has very consistent waves and now when they work out Winki , not that bad a Comp .
Should have overlapping Heats like Pipe , as there a lot more waves go unridden than ridden.
They actually get about 6000 spectators now and turn away thousands more.
What would you say are the progressive surfboard designs since 1990?
The gate money goes to the WSL now , between $100-200K .
Most of the big Media Co’s won’t touch Surfing as too many Kiwis living in Torquay , when do they get out?
It wasn’t available on the red button either.