"It tipped me over. I was splashing the water looking back at this massive pack of non-Australians that were going bonkers."
You know the story, by now. An epic Gold Coast Pro final that lit up the surfing world between an old-timer coming out of a retirement, Julian Wilson, and the two-time world champ and small-wave specialist Filipe Toledo.
Filipe Toledo won it due, in most part, to a ride described as “the most overscored wave in history”, a nine with change for two turns, although your ol pal DR, in a rare moment of consensus with Brazilian surf fans, believed it deserved the drenching it got from judges.
Two days back, the noted and honourable core lords, Vaughan Blakey and Jed Smith, revealed what went on in a final so heated Filipe Toledo was giving “submissive hand jive” to a furious Julian Wilson’s dismissive open palms.
Today, Jed loosed his promised interview with Julian Wilson on the subject and finds the former title contender in an uncharacteristically philosophical mood.
Asked about the scoring in the final, Julian gets into the “beauty” of subjective scoring and the importance of drama in sports.
“For people to even be talking about it is good for the sport. If you get past champions weighing in with their opinions and their angles, that’s valuable information to educate and inform. The core surfer audience is investing their opinions and their hearts into watching the sport…there’s a conversation in the community about which way did it go. I saw it this way, their mate saw it that way, Mick Fanning saw it this way, Taj Burrow saw it that way. You can be passionate one way or the other but there’s no distinct line in the sport. You can’t pull out a speedometer, a carvo-meter or an angle-meter and go, okay, the science is, a wins and b gets second. It’s never going to be that way and that’s one of the coolest things about surfing – that it’s never a finish line.”
On his last wave, Julian tells Jed he feels like he “did exactly what was within the scoring scope and handed it to the judges to make that decision… I could’ve surfed it six different ways but in that moment when you’re ultra-focussed, everything’s connected and you feel you know exactly what to do, I ticked that box and handed it to them for what I thought was the win. But it wasn’t. And I’m sweet with that.”
As for Filipe’s nine he says, “He got a nine for two two turns on not the biggest wave of the heat and in a short little bit of area. From the back it didn’t look anything too special. The score came super quick and before he’d even got out the back… it really put the momentum in his corner.”
As for the spray he gave Filipe out the back, Julian says he was infuriated by the Brazilians celebrating a Toledo win with eight minutes to go.
“It absolutely did me in. They poked a bear for sure. Eight minutes left? It tipped me over. My blood started boiling. I was splashing the water looking back at this massive pack of non-Australians that were going bonkers… I was so worked up that when I got off the jetski I let Filipe have yet all. I just went off on him and, like, to his point, he’s totally right, it’s not him, it’s not his fault… but it’s hard not to get worked up about that stuff. And then he made a really bad decision with priority that almost got me to flip the script on the whole final.”
Essential.
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How fkn exciting
What I’m saying is I don’t want dumb insults becoming the norm, sharpen up the wit in a creative way or jog on elsewhere.
I get what you are saying , but the fact remains….the brazzo noise got to Jules….and Pip ‘s answer was classic…I mean what can he do about it….???
Just so you know I had a hate for brazzo’s , when they first showed up to Europe it was game on……I was well known for hating Brazzo’s and clearing the water…then one year RCJ introduced me to his new wife and friends in Hawaii…..they were as cool as fuck, spent Xmas with them…..completely changed my idea about them…went to Brazil was treated amazing , saw a junior comp….where there were a bunch of young brazzo’s…called adriano/gabby/Pip/Italo etc…and the most talented of all i thought was victor Bernado…
Victor Bernardo rips.
Do you guys ever proofread anything before you post it? You know that’s a whole thing you should do in journalism right? I understand Chaz is usually blowing himself but I expected better from Derek.
Hell Yeah Jules bringing the fire is exactly what we need!
That’s enough now. Base level, low IQ commentary.
The Brazzers population and potential for big buckos coming WSLs way overides all. It’s just business.
they’re scared he could be in the top five at the end of the season if they give him too many wildcards.
Jules there, just, having fun getting triggered by fans cheering for his rival and, gosh, becoming overly emotional and just letting loose like a good human.
Acting out – verbally – when things aren’t going your way. Wow.
Crying and nationalism, gosh.
Whaddya Love most about Dr Peterson’s influence upon fully grown men, Rosy?
genius.
Honestly, it’s a bit soft on both sides. Jules’ passion is commendable and stimulating to watch, and yes, home soil advantage should pridefully matter and be defended wherever the comp is for the hometowners and countrymen. We all wanted that hero story for Julian and surfing history. But his angst should have been directed at his rail game more than intimidating a microscopic effeminate like Pip, whose reaction speaks to his cellular-deep cowardly character. Jules paddled directly at a shark to help Mick in dark water, Pip would have been on the ski by then screaming for his dad’s consoling embrace and pre-writing his social media post for Mick’s eulogy.
Although it did work for Julian, he bullied into the position with pure alpha-dom over a clear submissive – Jules just prison soapdropped the opportunity to capitalize on it. He should have won it with his surfing when gifted those two waves, but put his energy into his dual middle-fingered 11 claim directed at the all-bark-no-bite-Brazzo boisterous bluff twinks and Jules to get a bit on tilt after. He lost the pro in the professional athlete part of competing, so I guess the crowd won after all. Making his barrel would have surely tipped the heat.
Furthermore, Goldie Aussie locs on the bluff should have held court for Jules, stuffing partially compressed Balter cans and sunburned fists down any overly chirpy Brazilian throat. Back your boy and act more Aussie Rules than FIFA soccer players. Home turf should be an advantage, even if you lose an odd fight.
Felipe was egregiously overscored on one, but that happens every contest to a good man, regardless of nationality. Jules’ attempt to stay in the post-comp media right now feels more like an attempt to sell boardies for his brand than anything. Regardless, entertaining show by both and Burleigh as a venue. The waves were a good time and contestable to watch for once.
(BTW the Wild Card structure is fubared, would love to see Jules again at Margs this week, but the other three wild cards there are uber legit too and deserve shots as much as he does. I can’t think of a better solution on this quandary and the WSL certainly never will with only 36 spots. But a Jules v Pip rematch would have been popcorn and lubrication material for the ages.)
Ultimately this finals occurrence stands as another feckless blemish on Felipe’s flaccid career: when faced with a moment to define himself, he chose to shrink into weepy kowtow hand gestures when he could have showed true grit and rewritten his history. Get in Julian’s face a bit? Show any modicum of masculinity or self respect a bit? Yes, you are both fathers as Felipe implored to Julian, but in that brilliant and singular moment in time, you were warriors in a savage theater of blitzkrieg fucking Thunderdome: two men enter, one man leave.
Felipe is just so fundamentally timid on a core level. Someone on here said it best that pretty much any carpenter or fireman in Hawaii or WA surfs better than and would beat Pip in waves over 8’.
Take the WSL’s impotent Trestles ‘finals’ out of this, and Pipsqueak has zero world titles and continues not to take off on any reef break with live coral under it. All whilst emblazoning an ironic tattooed lion on his chest in complete contradiction to his character. Can you imagine this guy paddling out on the North Shore in the 80s? He remains a complete embarrassment to our title legacy due to his inability or desire to learn how to surf waves of power, but he does rip 3’ beachies and points better than anyone on the planet.
Lil’ PeePee, take off at Pipe or Chopes at least once on a set wave and you will start to earn some of the respect you so covet in our community during your morning self-affirmations and pederastic father’s gaze. Champion surfers surf big waves. They paddle into them.
*you’re
as in, you’re an idiot and What the fuck would you know about being an Aussie? you are jihad, sharia filth.
In the Divided States of America you would be called a racist for saying “non-american”. Thats why I love to hear “non-australian” as normal.
‘Non-Australians’… wow, gosh.
Jules’ emotion there, just boiling over.
His identity threatened by the foreigner’s rowdiness in his indigenous homeland of Australia…
Gosh.
Anyone notice the Margaret River forecast for Wednesday the 21st? Can we have John John back for one event?
Now that he admitted the brazzos fans being loud had him so pressed they’re just going to do it more. Could be some fun drama for the livestreams
meanwhile, the US contingent is about as interesting as a bag of unsalted chips.
I would say even way less interesting than that.
true
“I let Felipe have a Yeti.”. Fixed it for him.
Aussies should be ridiculed just for going to canggu
Maybe maybe but he is not doing to bad a job with his surf trunks they are pretty up there solid.
We don’t need Jiu Jitsu anymore.
Now our exchange students are enough to do the job.
GO BRAZIL
4 surfers on the top 10
Australia 2
USA 0
3.1\2 surfers *
7-1