Olympics: Surfing’s inclusion “changes everything!”

Or wait. Does it?

It has now been a year, or somesuch, since surfing made the cut into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics though it seems like 50 since it is so damned boring. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. This is not the sort of glass half empty attitude that you have come to expect here at BeachGrit but seriously. Yawn-city.

It’s all fine and good that surfing has been included, I suppose, but only as a complete laugh and once the laugh wears off what are we left with? People who really believe in the Olympic’s power to make stars. Like Greg Cruse, for example. The CEO of USA Surfing. This past few days saw the running of the USA surfing championships at Lower Trestles and the soft opening of The Resistance.*

Yesterday, at its end, a special thing happened and let us turn to the Orange County Register for more:

A unique surf exhibition was held during the final day of the USA Surfing Championships just south of San Clemente: Olympic surfing hopefuls and some of the best in the sport showed up for a freestyle session alongside experienced Olympians who have been through the craziness that comes with being on the world stage.

Greg Cruse, CEO of USA Surfing, the national governing body for the sport in the USA, said he wanted the two groups to come together so they could grasp what is about to happen to the sport.

“The surf industry doesn’t realize how big it’s going to be when there’s gold medals hanging around the necks of some of their surfers,” Cruse said.

On the sand, NBC sports shadowed some of the athletes for footage that may be used to promote the Tokyo games — if some of them make the cut.

And scene.

Now, I don’t know how old Mr. Cruse is but for reals, the last time the Olympics mattered to anyone was when Cait Jenner was a man.

Back in those old timey days nobody had anything to watch but network television so they did and stars were born and also everybody had long attention spans because… I don’t know, we read books or something.

In these new timey days, though, the Olympics are a total white elephant to the host city and provide mediocre ratings at best. Stars my hold the limelight for one night maybe but after the curtain falls and everyone goes back to The Handmaid’s Tale then they are forgotten and forgotten forever.

I’m sorry, really I am. This is some depressive talk but I promise you right here and right now that the surfer who wins Olympic gold will appear on Good Morning, America or The Today Show or whatever it is old ladies watch and then sell his/her gold medal for cocaine.

Oh, I should go back upstairs and wake up on the right side of the bed.

*Are we calling the surfer revolt against the World Surf League/USA Surfing etc. The Resistance or The Rebellion or The Reckoning or what?