"My favorite rides, the greatest thrills have come when I've paddled over the ledge even though my heart or my head is telling me not to..."
The planet is waking up to a different reality, this morning. A little grayer, maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe things are exactly as they should be, surfing jerked back on a true and righteous path.
Carissa Moore, the universally adored Hawaiian surfer, the greatest to ever do it, is officially retiring from the World Surf League at the still tender age of 31.
The five/six-time champion and Olympic gold medalist opened up in a wide-ranging feature with The New York Times, a moving piece in which she shares her fear in facing this next, non-competitive, phase in her life, but also the crackle of doing something new. What life looks like “outside of the jersey.”
“My favorite rides, the greatest thrills have come when I’ve paddled over the ledge even though my heart or my head is telling me not to, you know?” she gamely declared. “The anxiety comes from ‘am I going to show up?’ I just want to be proud of myself. I want, at the end of the day, to be like, ‘Ok, I did my best. And I rose to the occasion,’ you know?”
The “global home of surfing” is certainly the loser, here, and it could/should be argued that ugly decision making, creating a fraudulent finals day, etc. kicked Moore into retirement early. The fact that she is stepping away, now, a clear mark against World Surf League dumb.
Moore is slated to surf the Pro Pipe, the Tahiti event and the Teahupo’o Olympics. What she will do next, though, exciting to imagine. Something untainted by the big ugly.
Bryan Taylor, the star’s longtime manager, told me, “As Carissa’s manager for the past 17 years, I can’t begin to express just how proud I am of this little scrapbooker from Hawaii. As the only surfer in the world to have attained multiple World Titles plus an Olympic Gold Medal, there isn’t a surfer alive who can lay claim to this unparalleled level of achievement. Thanks in part to the incredible grace, class and style that’s woven throughout the family that raised her, Carissa possesses both the poise and confidence required to venture away from the tour at the top of her game, complete with a full tank of gas. By taking the brave and unselfish step of deciding not to stay at the party too long, Carissa refreshingly demonstrates just how much honor and respect she exhibits for her sport. Each and every one of us involved with professional surfing shall forever owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Carissa for all that she’s brought into our world, and I personally can’t wait to see what lies ahead as her unrivaled journey continues.”
And it could not have been said better.
Here’s to what’s next.
More as the story develops.
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She achieved so much on tour.Really do wish her well in the future in all areas of her life.
Maybe she really wanted to stay on but the WSL can make it a bit hard and unfair with this latest final 5 format over the last 3 years.
All the best Carrissa,stay positive and happy.
Greatest surfer ever!…you got to stop snorting the crackpipe Chas
WSL Pro Surfing Cancelled due to a Lack of Interest… More as the story develops.
She always seemed to be a stoked grom who was kind of amazed she kept winning. I liked her.
Unlike that insufferable bore the carpet muncher.
Said surfer is not boring to herself. To her, she’s the most interesting person in the world, and the only one who thinks the right things. 🤣
You know, the only people I want telling me what to think and feel every minute, are people who dropped out of high school to become full time surfers (or in the case of the Hunger Games chick, actors).
Get fucked WOZL!
Greatest ever???
IDTS
I think Steph and Layne would have something to say about that!
Derek and Chas will do anything to ingratiate themselves in the hope someone famous will talk to them. Except for Kelly and Mick of course.
Carissa “all class” Moore.
Timing seems a bit strange to retire , but she could have retired with a tinge of bitterness and mentioned that the current WSL system doesn’t work for her and thrown the WSL under the bus!
This would really damage what’s left for the WSL sponsors……which is a fading fast organization that cannot satisfy anyone but his Royal Baldness!
Carissa seems like a cool person. So this isn’t about her.
But really, is there anything less interesting than a sports interview where a competitor says what everyone else has said for 50 years in every interview?
Sports “journalism” is a bore, and even more so now that it’s so sanitized. Like, everyone in the magazines and the more modern offshoots, is presented as a generic NPC until they end up ODing in a hotel room and the lies start being exposed. Or at least, they take time off tour when everything seemed to be going great, but clearly it wasn’t.
That’s why I only read Beach Grit now.
did she wear the jersey all the time ? even to the shops ,,,
I’ve lost all respect for the WSL. What a cluster pfluck. Hoping JohnJohn announces too and joins his brothers chasing and documenting great waves around the globe. Pfluch the WSL!!!! No Hamsammish!
She’s prob trying to get pregnant.
I could her her with that !
“`By taking the brave and unselfish step of deciding not to stay at the party too long“`
That’s gotta smart Kelly
“By taking the brave and unselfish step of deciding not to stay at the party too long,”
What’s that supposed to mean?
According to reports, the license under which AG operates SI has been revoked by ABG. So yeah it’s complicated but there’s a common denominator here.
By design.
get woke, go broke…Sports Illustrated employees just go this notice…from Authentic Brands. Dominoes falling across the positive wall of noise? Who dat next?
https://www.thegatewaypundi…
https://pbs.twimg.com/media…
These large holding companies keep buying up other companies and think they can build them up by stripping them out.
AMF did this in the 1960s and 1970s, and destroyed a several of the dominant brands in the US, among others.
Cereberus did the same thing in the 1990s and 2000s. Same result.
Now it’s these guys.
It’s really too bad they withdrew their IPO, because shorting their stock might have been a really lucrative move.
I’m surprised there is not an article yet on ‘Authentic Brands’ shuttering one of the greatest sport mags ever
Authentic Brands will destroy what it owns, like AMF and Cerberus before it.
ha! see above. (NSFW)
If the WSL crashes and burns within the next 5 years I think everyone will agree this is what kicked it off.
Hiring ELO would have been the start of the end
Next 5 weeks more like!
Slater to announce in an online exclusive with the New York Post that he too will likely retire at some point in time.
I’ll feature this comment just so Kelly can be moore involved in this whole scenario.
for his turtle harvesting farm?
near the Morraccan Coast. a secret spot! moore rockin’
You think this will cause him to become even further unMoored from reality though?
LeMoore?
Riss to start the Red Bull Rebel Tour!
Wozzle got em by the short and curlies with clauses that prevent it. Not sure when and how such clauses expire though.
An actual working cunt would call what Kelly does retirement any way!
I heard it was with Q on 4chan. And also that he planned to join the WHO infectious diseases division.
Was Carissa the best person to be surfings world champ ever? Either way she really makes Billy look bad. He is definitely the worst person to be a surfing world champ.