Goodbye, Lucy. Hello, Roy.
When they said, Adios to Mundaka, (or more specifically, agur) the WT masterminds cut one of the last lefts off the tour. I know there are less goofies, and I prefer to watch frontside surfing, but come on! Throw the wrong-footers a bone. Anyway, shouldn’t the best in the world be forced to go both ways a bit more often?
Mick Fanning Isn’t a Racist, but Occasionally Talks like One.
It was the anti-Semitic remark heard round the surfing world, until the story was squashed by sponsors to protect the world champ’s image, I mean, so no one would lose stoke over it… To Fanning’s credit, the two-time World Champ has a great history of volunteering with kids of all creeds and colors and didn’t deserve to be vilified so much as simply told, “that was out of line. Don’t be an idiot.” Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, because his sponsors were too busy covering his ass.
Hipster fashion
Take the fashion sense of a feckless, neutered music scene and put it on a bunch of strapping young lads from the coast. What do you get? A bunch of young guys who are going to regret these pictures one day. The real irony is that The New York fashion scene is currently taking inspiration from surfers, and all surfers want to do is dress like angsty mid-westerners.
The Ugly
Danilo Couto. Slab. Speechless. Photo: Tony D'Andrea/BillabongXXL.com
Slabs
The question that arises with the current trend of young men hurling themselves into gigantic, mutant waves is: Do you really enjoy it? Or are you doing it for the photo? I love it either way, but I’m not going to be the guy who has to call your mother from the morgue.
Blogroll
When pro surfers only appeared in magazines we could pretend that they did interesting things outside of surfing. Now that many have their own blogs, we know that is egregiously false. Aside from the occasional gem, I would rather watch Oprah give her biggest fan a makeover than sit through another shaking party clip, bad wave b-roll, collection of “artsy” photos, friend’s music video, or blasphemously misspelled bit of commentary. The worst part: I’ll keep tuning in every day.
Fried Fish
I can’t decide whether Paul Fisher’s site dedicated to female’s backsides and stupid party videos is funny, irritating, or just dumb. The only thing that is clear to me is that in Australia, being manly is about drinking lots of beer and getting naked – preferably while other men watch. Does Fisher surf?
Mitch Coleborn x Alcohol + Elementary school = Court Date
Speaking of Aussies getting naked, a guy who does crazy airs and competes on the WQS allegedly exposed himself to a group of kids and adults in Canada. Alcohol “definitely was a factor,” a mounted policeman told news.com.au. This was at 8:40 AM, by the way. In his defense, Canadian police are not allowed to test a suspect’s blood for drugs, so we can’t say for certain whether or not he was also using narcotics. We can say, however, that between the anti-Semitic remarks, public nudity, and alleged criminal conduct, Australian surfers’ publicists are earning their keep.
The Top 45 Cut
Something happened midway through the World Tour this year that involved cutting the fat on the World Tour. I’ll be damned if I know exactly what it was, why it happened, or what it all means, but I tend to believe The King, when he said: “if you can’t win one heat per contest…then what are you doing?”
SUP
There is a time and a place for everything. But Saturday afternoon at your local crowded beach break was never, is never, and will never be the right time for standup paddling. Don’t be the gentleman or the lady who brings a howitzer to the archery contest.
Editor’s Note: As each year promises more exhilarating, revolting, and interesting developments in the world of surfing, we can confidently say that we’re looking forward to what 2011 brings. See you next year – same time, same channel.
