"To be the world champion, you have to perform in all the venues."
“I am of the opinion that it is really unfair to kind of label Filipe as someone who is, uh, not an elite level surfer in critical waves,” the World Surf League’s brand director Dave Prodan says, straight faced, at the 59:45 minute mark of his latest podcast, continuing, “I think he’s had a little bit of bad luck. I do think, sometimes, that psychology gets to people where he has this nightmare opening round heat, he doesn’t really get any waves, he knows what everyone is saying about him etc. etc. and you have to think that plays on his mind… and I want to get your take on Filipe having to distance himself from, kind of, not the ideal Tahiti performance he wanted and prepare for the Final’s Day and that can’t be an easy thing to do.”
On the opposite side of the screen sat Mike “Snips” Parsons, notable big wave gun and super coach who had just so happened to be in Teahupoo for Toledo’s brave act of cowardice, wherein the current world number one did not catch a real wave while Kelly Slater and Nathan Hedge, both elderly, traded absolute bombs underneath his priority, witnessing it live from the channel.
Watching Toledo bob out the back, lonely.
The passive tone of Prodan’s “he doesn’t really get any waves” must have gotten to Snips as he launched into a not-at-all subtle asterisks painting of Toledo’s possible future championship.
“I think it’s probably really hard on him. I was there, watching all the warm-ups… so watching that all go down, I really expected Filipe to just kind of go Rambo mode and just show everyone ‘hey I’m gonna charge no matter what, I’m gonna give it a solid dig’ and I was (here Snips pauses for emphasis) bummed that he didn’t do that in his first round heat. It was eight foot, pumping, there were some really good waves coming to him and he opted not to take off on them. And I was just like, ‘Filipe have a dig, you’re so talented and so good in these waves’ and he just decided ‘no I’m not going to do it.’ Maybe he was thinking ‘I’m gonna save myself for Lowers… it looked like Filipe just wasn’t interested in Tahiti, even in the warm-ups I didn’t see him free surfing, maybe he was, but it felt to me he kind of went ‘you know what, I’m going to focus on winning Lowers this year and I’m just gonna let it happen here in Tahiti. Whatever happens, happens.’ I think that may play into his performance at Lowers, as much as he will try to block it out, and he should. As incredible as he is at Lowers, I feel there will be a lot of pressure on him this year at Lowers and a lot of people chatting about what we just brought up, about his performance at places like Pipeline and Teahupoo and if you look at past world champions, you look at John John and Gabriel and Kelly Slater, they are all incredible surfers at Teahupoo and Pipeline… to be the world champion, you have to perform in all the venues.”
The Final’s Day curtain may just rise tomorrow.
Boom.*
Crippled Crown.
I kinda agree with Parsons. I think FT psyches himself out. In that regard he certainly does not have the mindset of a champion ala Gabe, Kelly, Mick or AI. But I do not believe that he is “scared” of these waves and in particular their physical size. We are not talking Peahi or 2nd Reef Pipe. He has won in large (in regards to 90% of the yahoos on here who would not even paddle out to Margs at that size), solid J-Bay and if anyone has forgotten, look back at the Fiji Pro during Code Red year, the young kid was sending it on big hollow lefts. He seems to be weak in mindset, and when compounded with a definitive lack of skillset in backside tuberiding, that is what makes him psyche himself out as Parson said at Chopes. -1 + -1 = -2. Toledo at +1 (small wave skillset) + -1 (weak mindset) = 0. So yes, he can be beaten by a guy who is proficient in skillset AND mindset. Italo in particular.
Finals day beef curtain gonna part it’s soft mushy lips.
Istanbul not Constandinople
Prodan is the epitomy of the pussification of America.
‘Lemon’ is the proper Hawaiian term
Makes sense
Ah look, I’m sure Pip is total sweetheart, but John and Gabe have (I reckon) over-played their injuries to get some time off and let their wee buddy have a decent crack at the win. Italo probs too. Pip fucking blew it at Chopes though. Didn’t even try. Oh well.
Whatever
“ to be the world champion, you have to perform in all the venues.”
Actually, no, you don’t. You just have to make a stupid top 5 and then win at fluffy Trestles.
How is old Snips a supercoach? He seems pretty dumb dumb if he doesn’t even understand the rules of the tour his “athletes” are on…
Absolutely true, but is there a difference between winning the Finals or the Title and being a “Champion?” Perhaps this is a bit pedantic but I reckon there would be many teams/individuals across many sports that would considered as such.
I was pulling for Felipe to side slip into a big blue cavern. Even better, if he’d taken a massive wipeout first. But alas, he failed to even take off and doing so let us all down. Hard to see him as a true “Champion” in the cultural surfing context, which is unfortunate given his otherwise dominant year.
A decent analogy might be like the team wins the World Series but your clean up slugger goes 0/15 with 15Ks, caught looking each time, nary a swing. Title Holder? Sure. Champion?
Fuck, you lost me with the analogy. I’m an Aussie. World Series? Between teams from two American cities? Even more confused.
Flip didn’t make the rules. History won’t give a fuck about his teeny tiny Chopes balls, however much we bang on about it
Yeah fair. I’m an American and I can’t justify it being called The World Series either mate. That’s an old trope though.
Have any of the guys he has coached won a ct event?
Think snips needs to go the Barton Lorax look
Could argue that big waves are more of an aberration the exception rather than the rule almost adjacent to surfing rather than core…for most non-traveling surfers. Granted in the mythology of surfing, being able to conquer the biggies is a must if u want bragging rights. Surfing and baseball apples and oranges granted but still consider:
Zoilo Versalles won MVP in 1965 while leading AL in strikeouts. In 1934, Mickey Cochrane won it while hitting 2 homers. In 1981, Rollie Fingers—remember Rollie?—won it as a relief pitcher.
But that doesn’t make it right. Those were controversial MVPs, like Filipe.
My goal here was to play devil’s advocate, be a contrarian, go against the conventional wisdom at BG. But after trying to see it from different perspectives, I have to agree with the crowd about Filipe. But I’m not sadistic about it like you all.
Yellow alert? A bit racist, no?
So there’s also a possibility that Fil wins the title aaaaaaaannnnnnndddd Surfline’s 20’ comp if they run it in the 50yr storm? Talk about fucking historic!!!!
Someone needs to hire a billboard or two eh?
2022 “World Champion” *
Hey if Bodhi can ride epic 50 year waves in the rain at Bells, as documented in Point Break, surely these heroes can ride in the rain…and show how small we really are along with our latent willingness to pay the ultimate price!
My favorite documentary
WHOA is that the same Dave Prodan who labels all Republicans as Christofascists? Which appears to be the cool kid irrational moniker rantings of the far left being directed at the equally irrational far right. Can’t make this up!
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix (French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois [asteʁiks lə ɡolwa], “Asterix the Gaul”) is a bande dessinée comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, with the aid of a magic potion, during the era of Julius Caesar
Used to love those when I was a kid. Doesn’t change the fact that Pip is a pussy in heaving pits.
Asterix at Lowers https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Looks onshore
Also noticeable contrast between Colapinto hard charging and surfing his heart out at Teahupoo while Quinoa did his usually bare minimum “skate by” over-scored routine and was extremely lucky to get one good wave. No comparison between the two, Colapinto by many miles.
Elo slipped and calls it Chopes after trying to suck up to wokism 3 or 4 times earlier on in the conversation with Scott Bass. It’s all a dog and pony act that we all see through. Just be honest with yourself FFS.
It would be glorious if Fil just comes out tomorrow with the full yellow getup, yellow wetsuit, yellow jersey, bleached facial hair, gold tooth, and hooped pirate earring he was wearing at the press conference.
Are you calling him yellah?
Old Yeller….and just like that poor dog he should be taken out back
pissing bright yellow in a dehydrated haze of fear ??
It would be glorious if Lowers came out tomorrow all throaty, shallow, and dangerous; and Pip pussed out