One might say Jordy and Adriano will be friends forever. One might say that. Photo: ASP
And they did it all with their hands behind their back. After racking up a ten for a satin-silk-full-rote-oop deluxe straight into an air reverse, young Filipe Toledo stood tall with his fists by his side in a…wait for it…anti-claim! After years of derision for their perceived tendency to claim too many rides, the message has finally gotten through.
“When I saw what the guys were saying about Adriano I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not gonna do that,’ you know, cause, they’re always talking about (him claiming) and I don’t want that,” Filipe told me on the Gold Coast during the Quik Pro. It may seem like a cruel contradiction to applaud the exuberance of Jordy Smith on one hand while condemning the claiming antics of others, a fact highlighted here by my ol’ pal – and certified champion of Brazilian rights – Ted Endo. But here’s my understanding of it: Y’see claiming has had a long and rocky history in surfing, but it is untrue to say that such gestures are universally despised. Rather, they are for a time and place and those times and places can be easily summarized:
1. If you’ve just surprised yourself with your own ability, claim that shit homeboy!
2. If you’ve just stomped something mega in the dying moments and gotten the score, well, may you grab your dick and point to the heavens.
3. If you feel like you’ve been getting ripped by the judges all day, and they finally give you a score, go ahead and give those fuckers the double armed “up yours,” a la Sunny Garcia or Jonny Boy Gomes.
4. If you’ve got the score in the dying stages, sure, a little fist pump is fine.
5. Or if you’re stomping mega shit on the reg – in stark contrast with the conservative criteria-specific stylings of the rest of the Tour – you are entitled to feel mad swaggerish and make gestures hinting at your omnipotence.
What you can’t do is raise your hand mid-ride to draw attention to a move then finish then ride, and maybe even claim it again. That shit is lame from Rio to Redondo.
With all that’s at stake in the boiling pot of World Tour surfing, it’s nothing short of absurd to tell a surfer not to celebrate a moment of clutch, athletic brilliance. That’s sport. That’s passion. That’s what we’re here for. But understand that surfing fandom is quite possibly the most knowledgeable and outspoken of all the fan bases out there. Even the most nuanced stylistic differences can be enough to attract the threat of physical harm (just ask Alex Knost). So don’t kid yourselves. We know arrogance when we see it, we know bullshit when we see it, and we know a showman when we see one. – Jed Smith
