Cowboy hat into the five rings.
The ’24 Paris Games is just barely in the rearview, the joys still reverberating across valleys, around mountains and over oceans. Surfing’s second Olympic offering, conducted in French Polynesia, was a mixed bag. An iconic image of Gabriel Medina going viral and a day so big and terrifying that the King of Teahupoo Filipe Toledo became too scared to paddle, on one hand. Small, inconsistent, lully days, on the other hand.
At the end, the other hand seemed to have a firmer grip with such stalwarts as JP Currie claiming that if surfing is to, indeed, have any Olympic future, the only real option is to throw it into a tank where
To wit, an impeccable source has shared that Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch has thrown its cowboy hat into the ring to host the surfing shortboard portion of LA ’28.
The plow, some 200 miles up the 5 freeway from Los Angeles in the middle of an industrial farming hellscape, is not the palm tree’d postcard Southern California beach scene
Thoughts?
I have a solid feeling that Huntington Beach will win, at the end, even though brave LGBTQ+ Olympic hopefuls will be very discouraged. Surf City, USA didn’t come by the moniker lightly, flashing teeth and biting Santa Cruz hard in order to win the dub. Lemoore, I’d imagine, would experience a greater grape of wrath.
Back to Olympic surfing, though. If Huntington doesn’t snuff the flame right out, do you think Brisbane ’32 will re-ignite it bigly?
Mick Fanning coming out of retirement to ride for the Southern Cross?
David Lee Scales and I did not discuss Mick Fanning, specifically, during our weekly chat, but did get into a savage Layne Beachley story. You must hear to believe.
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Reckon Kelly, the Godfather of the pools and future pro surfing within them, will go all in for funding for a brand new facility. And a spot will surely follow on the USA team in LA28 for delivering it on time and within budget. A dream ending to a surfing life well lived even if he misses out on gold.
[expression of surprise at the suggestion that the diversion would be ‘short’ from other commenter]
Groupies?
Surfing just made it into the Olympics. Now they want to kook it out by having it in a pool. Bad Idea!
the irony of ke11y never making the Olympics but his wave pool qualifying
A tank—a soul-less venue—devoid of real stoke.
A wave-pool-circus.
Surfing reduced to a gymnastic competition.
With the wave as a balance beam, (never changing), and the surfers doing their ‘routine’, of tricks.
Beyond pathetic…..
Maybe , but if you look back at the brief history of pro surfing , you will note that the drive has always to be a mainstream sport , professional surfing was created to make money via advertising for surf related enterprises (that hugely includes the media In all its forms) and the Olympics are the pinical of mass marketing.
So pro surfing in the end gets what it deserves….boring mainstream non relevance.
Umm, ok, well put.
I think.
But why would anyone follow the contest scene or pro-surfers?
possible reasons:
Sofa surfers?
Surfing vicariously through others?
Groupies?
Insecurities about their own surfing?
Too lazy to surf themselves??
????
I just do not understand the whole fascination that people have with pro surfers.
El Porto would be perfect in my opinion .😄
This is as predictable as the wave itself.
Its a gymnastics pavilion, a level playing field, and you just switch the lights on and run the show whenever you want.
Filipe Biles for gold.
And kelly banking real gold. All ends well.
Chas can you even remember what it feels like to have the ocean against your skin? It’s been so long, do you even quit lit anymore or is it too late?
Ala Moana
Speaking of, why’s Bowls not in the Olympics? Loved that in the Commonwealth games.
Trestles or lemore are the only options, it cannot be at huntington under any circumstances
*The Ocean
https://youtu.be/5UJLMxX100k?si=ZTU923NT6uqatGO9
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Raygun’s true calling.
That is peak Pauly, Pauly.
jeaneeus
Resulting in his gold medal being revoked and the entirety of Brazil turns on Chas
Timber jetty looks suss. Start saving your Red Bull empties I reckon, could be worth a bit.
Very weird this Quey running at Lacanau the week after the Olympics, in what looks like decent, contestable waves.
[Reply from other commenter]
Do you think they just got lucky now the olympics are over?
with coffee and hash hits!
I first read that as “hash tits”.
Hello? Freud?
Billy Ocean
Whoopty frickin doo!
I hate waves pools, so definitely have it there.