The only reason why the Oi Rio Pro ran to completion today, was because the world’s best surfers wanted to get out of there. It was bigger, chunkier and more unruly than the day before, and there were close-outs galore and a paddle out from hell or a jet ski ride from hell, so I reckon that the boys wanted to go home.
Not that it mattered. There was also entertainment galore for everyone, and a smattering of excellent rides, so the day ticked off all the boxes that the WSL needed to call an event a success. Entertainment, clicks, views, likes, shares, uniques, massive viewership, comments, threads, newsfeeds, imagery and screaming crowds and Strider. It had everything going for it.
The forecast was that it was going to drop quite quickly, so the remaining men, because they were men to brave that ocean, were ready to get the job done, and head on home to loved ones and RSL’s and gyms and movie theatres or wherever they go to between events, before the final two days of the waiting period had elapsed. Good on them either way, it was a treat. There were barrels, there were wipe-outs, there were hugest airs and there were jet ski cowboys with GoPros on their heads going up and down the lineup trying to find a gap to get the competitors back to the line-up. Great fun!
Everyone, well, a few mates and I, were rooting for Dusty to come through in the quarters, and he was decidedly trounced by John John Florence, who was surfing calmly and on point. He looked the man, until Gabby paddled out against Melling. Both were hitting it, both blue steeling it for a win, but Gabby’s little backhand reverse in the shorey nudged him into the winner’s position, leaving Adam heading for Lennox, and Gabs started to find his rhythm from there.
Jack Freestone (Jack’s Back! Jack Attack! Etc) was shying away from the barrels, however, and was shying even more so from the airs. Not that he was being shy. Not at all. His game plan was solid one-two combos on set waves that the judges loved. They were massive moves however, no holding back. Low crouched attack, with the first turn a huge crack on the face, and the second turn, usually a close-out turn, often bigger than the first. His approach was different to the rest of the surfers taking to the skies, and that very difference might have given him the edge. His semi against Gabby was in no ways a certainty, until Gabs pulled off a massive backhand air rotation to closeout slam and it was looking all over for the really blonde kid. Not fazed, he launched into a second bomb, leaving the former Worldy chasing a score till the dying moments, and it never came.
Still, he had found game, it was ye olde Gabby of yore, and he looks like the real dangerman for the rest of the year oh yes he does. He was surfing with all the flair and ability of a world champion, the energy of a grom, and on top of that it was plain to see that he had firm tactics in place. Bank two good scores, both serviceable for a heat win, and then take it to the air without a care in the world. His air approach was precisely what one would expect to see him attempt freesurfing, and his approach was obvious – switch from contest to free surfing as soon as the opportunity allowed.
Despite his critics and the naysayers, Gabby is the future of our sport, and if we love the sport, then he’s the man who needs to be lauded, no matter who your national hero is.
Leading on from that, I loudly proclaimed that whoever beats Gabby would win the contest, just like I claimed yesterday that Gabby would win the contest hands down. As a surf journalist, unbelievably, I don’t know everything…
John John, snuck into a pit in his semi against ADS, and it was looking like the blonde – haired kids were set to beat the two Brazilian champs, which they did, despite the fact that Adriano fought tooth and nail till the end.
Talking about clichés, it was tooth and nail, nothing to lose, fight to the finish, what do you think Joey, the waves are sending shockwaves, it’s just like a soccer game on the beach Pottz, and other pearls of wisdom that got us through to the final.
Then without wishing to discredit Freestone in any way, John John showed us why he is so often referred to as the best surfer in the world. He was simply unstoppable, and with a 9.7 and a 9.27 as his counting waves, with 3 excellent back up rides, it was literally no contest.
While there is some sort of bizarre poetry in the fact that two white-haired kids were in the final in front of a baying partisan crowd, and their two prime candidates both took losses in their respective semis, one cant help but feel that it was a great event, and one that possibly started the new movement in pro surfing. In a world gone mad, Pottz mentioned that he had seen a changing of the guard before, but that this was the most radical and absolute change that the sport had ever experienced. Which is quite cool to be witness to, I guess.
Time to choose some new favourite surfers.
