Triple Crown-starved surf fans turn desperate eyes toward Mick Jagger

"But if you try sometimes, you just might get what you need."

It’s Triple Crown season on Oahu’s North Shore, though only the most ardent surf fan would know it. What was once the most important stretch of the year, Haleiwa, Sunset and mighty Pipeline back to back to back, the best ranked surfer over the series winning the fabled three pronged diadem, name etched in history books, has been reduced to… nothing.

Sunset, for example, ran last week in allegedly epic surf. Finn McGill bested Barron Mamiya, Josh Moniz and Kingston Panebianco in an all-Hawaiian men’s final. Tahiti’s Kiara Goold trounced countrywoman Aelana Vaast and Hawaiians Malia Lima and Moana Jones-Wong on the woman’s side.

The World Surf League described the conclusion as “iconic” though the only surf fans who would know were standing right there on the beach, watching the action with their very own eyeballs.

Triple Crown Goes Dark

For the entire contest, this first Triple Crown jewel, went un-streamed.

The second Triple Crown jewel, Haleiwa, will open its waiting period in three days time. Surfline, the World Surf League’s official forecasting partner, is calling for epic surf out of the gate. Kevin Wallis, director of forecasting and never wrong, poetically declaring, “Long period NW swell will arrive before dawn and build through the day, peaking late afternoon. As the swell peaks, widespread surf in the 2-2.5x overhead range is expected, while top breaks will be in the 3x+ overhead range (15-20’ faces).

It will almost certainly be an “iconic” start though, again, the only surf fans who will know will be standing right there on the beach, watching the action with their very own eyeballs.

For the entire contest, I think, will go un-streamed.

Surf fans on the mainland and in Australia, throughout Europe and all over Brazil desperate and sad, a gaping Triple Crown hole in hearts, though a hero on the way to save?

Way back in the 1997, you see, Sir Michael Philip really wanted to watch a the Akai-Singer Champions Trophy, a one-day cricket tournament held in Sharjah England, Pakistan, India and West Indies. Now, these were early internet days and the idea of “streaming” was but a fantasy. That did not stop Jagger, though. He created Jagged Internetworks to “produce and promote sports and entertainment events on the internet.”

Ted Mico, who had worked with the Rolling Stones since 1994 and helped form it all up, telling The Athletic, “He got it, and he got all the possibilities really quickly. So spin forwards, and when you’re on the road, and you don’t have access to Sky Sports or Channel 4, you’re a huge cricket fan, then what can the internet do? There’s a problem that could be solved here.”

Jagger and Mico went out and found Cricinfo, a sort of message board for cricket stats, and shared the idea with founder Simon King.

“It was just a cold phone call saying Mick Jagger wants to do this,” King declared. “They asked: ‘What do we need to do to make it happen?’. It wasn’t unusual at the time. We were one of the hottest properties on the internet.”

And off the whole business went.

Now, the “streaming,” it must be said, was not how we think of it today. The broadcast was audio commentary of the game with a new still image every five seconds. But still, the idea then execution unlocked what we all enjoy today.

Or rather could enjoy today, if the World Surf League got its act together and gave surf fans their Jagged Internetworks.

Triple Crown for the masses.

Triple Crown for you and me and our parents if they, too, are surf fans who don’t live on Oahu’s North Shore.