Meet me in Lemoore!
And there you were last evening, or yesterday morning depending where you lay your head, wondering what the World Surf League was going to announce as its advertised “surprise” today. To be quite honest with you, I couldn’t sleep, came downstairs early and logged on to worldsurfleague.com where I watched the Wall of Positive Noise in real time as traffic ambled past. I wish our Storyteller-in-Chief Erik “ELo” would run this camera year ’round.
And as enjoyable as it was, my heart almost stopped when these two icons popped up on screen.
After some friendly banter, of course, the show started in earnest and guess what the first stop is?
Gold Coast, which was somehow sold as a semi-surprise.
Then…
Bells.
The show flagged a big as the ’89 World Championship Martin Potter got on the mic. I imagine ELo took a quick coffee break but then came what Chris Cotė described as, “the first surprise on the 2020 schedule.” Margaret River. How it was a surprise was not immediately clear but no time to wonder because off we went to Michelob Pure Organic Gold CBD commercial then…
…swirling rumors in the lineups and car parks Cotë frequents, what everyone was whispering about around him. The fourth stop is…
G-Land.
Very nice but still no time to ponder because off we went to stop number 5 also known as the Oi Rio Pro then six, J-Bay followed by seven…
…The Olympics, which isn’t a stop but pushes real stop seven, Tahiti, then stop number eight and can you guess? Do you even dare guess?
The Freshwater Pro and HA! Listening to Cotê and Pat O trying to sell it is worth finding the video and replaying. Pure gold. Pure storytelling gold and here’s the rumors I heard. It was 100% off the tour, due surfer hate and horrible numbers, but the WSL’s head non-surfing brass forced it down Pat’s throat even though he didn’t want it either, because it is their business model and leaving it off was to admit failure.
Ha Ha!
Anyhow, number nine is France and I assume ten is Portugal while eleven is Pipeline though don’t know because my WSL feed went dead.
Freshwater Pro…
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
But what do you think?
Are you excited?