"At the end of the day it’s good to eat humble pie!"
With Filipe Toledo’s win in Brazil we are now officially… wow I was going to write halfway though the 2018 World Surf League Championship Tour but we’re only three events in. Three! Can you believe it? I mean, I suppose we’re really four events in if we count Margaret River as an “event” and I think we should because it was certainly action-packed and the perfect set up for Founders Cup in Lemoore, California where neither shark nor dolphin swim.
There are, of course, many intriguing storylines.
-Will Julian Wilson hold on to win his first ever world title?
-Will Filipe Toledo, instead, swoop in and claim his first of many crowns?
-Will the upcoming Lemoore Classic be as dull as the just passed Founders Cup?
-Will Uluwatu shine in the spotlight?
-Will John John Florence continue his subpar performance and who is to blame?
Let’s break this last intriguing storyline down.
-Maybe no one is to blame.
-Maybe John John is to blame.
-Maybe John John’s coach Ross Williams is to blame.
Hmmmm. It is rude to blame Ross, certainly. He does not tie on the boardshorts nor does he paddle into waves BUT he is coach and, as such, his entire job is to make John John win. Ross addressed these concerns on Instagram and let us read.
Johns had a couple poor results this year but it was never due to a lack of effort or will. Despite all the talk, some warranted and frankly some due to just laziness in my opinion, John has been surfing with the same conviction and froth as the last two years. All these amazing surfers go through their dry runs. It happens. He had a couple insane rides in his heat today but honestly I was happier with how well he built to his aggression. He fought hard for a couple scores which led to him putting the hammer down. Funny how much John gets scrutinized against his own potential. He’s had some of the most aggressive and progressive rides this year and some decent heat totals. Just a couple sloppy heats in the mix to give him those bad results. It’s a testimony more to the level of the tour. Everyone rips. At the end of the day it’s good to eat humble pie. I think it’s made his fire even stronger. He will continue to draw different lines and push the sport with integrity. Hoping it will inspire the yarners to do the same.
A fine post but I have a few more questions.
-Why is it funny how John John gets scrutinized against his own potential?
-Which of the talk is warranted and which is lazy?
-Is it really good to eat humble pie?
-What’s a yarner?
Most pundits have buried John John’s year, concluding he is too deep down the rankings for a comeback. The World Surf League’s own official mouthpiece seems to agree, suggesting people should be worried. Ross seems unperturbed but being a coach ain’t easy. The NBA’s Toronto Raptors just fired theirs after he won Coach of the Year.
A heavy burden. An unbearable weight.
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Here’s Johnnie’s last heat:
http://www.worldsurfleague….
Kinda odd to see JJF using the same bright yellow airbrush like Pat Gud~y was recently using.
Odd too to see JJF get last in this heat…
A lot to this coaching gig , and its 99% not about catching waves.
Ross is a yarner. That is his actual job. Fucken guy talks for a living. Calling out people for talking. Jeez.
One of my fav commentators, less likable as shitty coach.
The Unbearable Weight of Being (a Couch)!…
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
I hate that one of my favourite authors is being dragged into this. Sorry Milan, Im sure you understand.
Especially when he’ll have to harvest it to reinforce John John’s if JJF keeps taking it on the chin this season.
John just needs to have a baby and take a tumble whilst mountain biking, pretty simple i dont understand how Ross cannot see it. At this rate 10% of Johns prize money wont cover his coastalwatch subscription.
All that Double J Single F needs is Ross begin to grow his abilities as coach, bringing new stuffs and techniques…
And Ross has just started!
Take care Ricardo Toledo !!!
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Coaching from the lot
Is Ross on his shoulder? – sailingwise; I don’ sink so, unless we mean pericazos
A couple of. Not just “a couple”. Fuckin sepppos.
An aussie calling somebody out for abbreviating’s a little rich Tomo.
Haaa yeah. I haven’t had good waves in a while. Irrational and crazy is setting in!
Another question: what does Ross actually do for his ten percent?
Grows a second chin?
He says things such as, “Funny how John John gets scrutinised against his own potential”. Worth every cent for insights like that.
No questions please! You don’t want to upset the old guard..
here’s another one for ya!
It looks like JJF’s boards this year are not letting him finish his waves with his normal speed and flair …..are his boards a bit narrow and short?
I watched JJF 2 years ago in the Final in France against Keanu , and JJ was pretty average in smaller lefts , looked like his achilles heel…….. same with the lefts in Brazil , his board looked ..not magic, wonder if he has a magic board this year?
What about that board he was riding at Margaret River in 2017. He looked really locked in on that stick.
We give a lot of shit to the surfers, coaches, couches, judges etc but seem so willing to give shapers a wide berth to make sled adjustments that don’t seem to pan out. Is Dez too in love with Pyzel?
Great point. Shapers need some BG wrath. They don’t all look good “Under their Feet”*
* We know where the board fucken is.
Are you suggesting that some writers leave shapers alone from interrogative probing coz they get the sly delivery ?
Surely not here at this epitome of truth and light ?
If Otto isn’t, I am.
(GASP)
up vote for melodrama
Listens to surf simply podcast, writes down the terminology, coughs it back up, and mails an invoice. John will send him packing after this season, mark my words.
about 1%
father figure? filling a void?
possibly.
humble pie is fine as long as it doesn’t look like johns chin.
The term, box wool, springs to mind.
John needs to ditch the broad. She was standing with Ross in the coaches corner at Bells, and we all know what happened there.
what happened
Out with it !
Is there a Yoko? Do tell!
Pictures or it never happened.
Let’s face it: Zeke just destroyed John John mentally. Hopefully it doesn’t take the whole year for him to recover.
FYI ZEKE IS A FUCKEN KOOK
Yep I’m off him. He could surf better.
But Johnnie + Zeke have been competin’ against each other, their peers too,
since they were like 10 years old or something like that. Surely that wasn’t their 1st time that they have had paddle battles, ya know? Johnnie wanted inside position + tried to get it. Zeke had it, he didn’t wanna give it up, so he kept it. Wiggolly, would you give me inside position if I challenged you?
I don’t give a fuck about John John. It’s Zeke’s personality that makes him a kook.
Gansta/religious is so dull.
I’m not buying the fact that Zeke has anything to do with JJ’s results (Bells aside). A white, blond, skinny kid who learned to thrive in Hawaii and then become 2x world champ has thick skin, period. It’s simply some off results, JJ is shredding as always.
JJF’s board sucked in that last heat, simple as that.
He fell on some pretty basic turns…
Fact
Ah,
but ‘blue~collar’ Aussie Wade Carmichael
didn’t wanna help out ‘poor millionaire’ Johnnie either!
Go check out the 29:20+ mark of their last heat together, linked below:
http://www.worldsurfleague….
What’s Pete say? Wade’s givin’ J~Flo² “a psychological moment”?
Hahaha, too funny…
If Ross can help him turn this year around he will truly deserve the title of Coach Coach.
But what if he don’t? Chopping block?
You can’t take credit for the wins without taking responsibility for the losses, but I don’t see John John firing him, they both seem too rational.
I agree, but then you have to ask, what’s the value of a coach if I’m not making semis/finals ? Would I be any worse off without one ?
I dunno, above my pay grade.
Surfings so fucken random, if JJ gets the right waves he’ll carve them up.
If not, the door is open.
God I hope so… Get Pete Mel out of that damn commentator’s booth!!!!!!
Pete Mel? You’re tripping, pottz and chris cote need to go. Even the other new bloke was better.
Pete is awesome and so is Cote.
Why only two in the booth? It’s a hard job at the best of times trying to polish the turd of pro surfing. A third commentator would take the pressure off those poor cunts with middling if any formal education trying their best to string together a coherent commentary.
And not some random chiropractor, FFS.
Why not go whole-hog and get about 30 of them in there, all jabbering away at the same time?
Cote v Joey for the final !
Joe will need to keep his distance. Those zen kung fu hand jives from Cote are brutal.
Cote will need all his wits about him – the velvety monotone from Joe can put the most hyped grom to sleep.
The others don’t stand a chance. Theyll either be chopped to bits or coma’d on the floor.
Pottz seems to have a high resilience to the somnambulant factor tho’, he might just make it to the final.
Aw, I wasn’t thinking violence. It would be like a room full of semi-retarded man-chickens, all clucking, crowing, shitting, flappingly trying to hump the sofa cushions.
Or how about this:
Different booths for different commentary tastes.
The Giggling Drug Reference Guys: “He’s tucking another line under the hood! Tee hee hee..”
The Sweaty Sexy Orgy commentary team: “Ooooh! Uuhhh!!! Tuck it under the HOOD…. !!! Oooooff”
Le Fashionistas: “Attende! Observe the subtlety of beige and cerulean combo as ‘e tucks it again under ze ‘ood. Ooh Três chic! Is all about ‘ooods zis year dahling…”
The White Supremicist Commentary: “Whoooo-weeee boy! Loookatim go. He’s tuckinit rat unduh thaaat hooood lak a good clansman. Hand me that burnin cross Bobby, I wanna scare the locals a bit.”
The Rapperists: “Uh, uh, uh, one time. Yo. Check him out y’all. Uh. Tuckin it unduh dat hood y’all. In da Hood TIGHTch’allnowud’ahmtalkinabout. Awww YEAH!! MAKE IT RAIN MUTHAFUCKA!”
…ok I’m bored.
Now you’re talking, maybe a few would fight, a few would be drunk and disgrace themselves etc
Ross is my pick in the booth over Cote.
Good on analysis.
But boring as fuck when he was used too often.
No one can instantly identify how many degrees of rotation like Cote.
Cote knows what he’s talking about…it’s just his delivery that bothers me.
Hey where’s Joe , wouldn’t they let him go , with a gun in his hand?
I’m quite sure they’ll be back tucking it under the hood again at Keramas.
They just forgot how to do it at Saq
Cote’ should take to signing for the blind.. magic hands
John will need him on the QS, but does not need him on the CT.