Is the WSL still interesting?

sugar tits...suite

 

I totally get what your saying. But i think people got jaded due to kelly. Don't get me wrong, at this point if there's anyone who can do or even get close to what kelly did, i think it's JJF. BUT that's such a long shot and as close to unrealistic as you can get without being truly unrealistic. Comparing anyones accomplishments to kelly is a little silly. It wouldn't surprise me at all if no one ever does what kelly did.

With that being said, i view dominating slightly different. Especially considering the judging issues as of late. Take kelly out of the equation. Who has the most world titles and how many was it? Most consecutive and how many was that? Honest questions because i don't know the answer. My guess would be 5 and 3. Well JJF won 2 in a row then got injured. If he didn't get injured who knows what would of happened this year. We really don't know till it happens but i think JJF definitely has a few more world titles to win. Without a doubt. Factor in his other accomplishments. No one that i know of has done what he has. So yeah i do agree that he hasn't taken over the way kelly did. But like i said what kelly did was crazy and it's more likley thursdsy no one ever does that again. So taking kelly out of the equation, i think JJF had taken over. Not the WSL specifically. But just pro surfing in general. Apparently competitive surfing takes a real toll on the pros. You saw momentum generation right? Well i don't think JJF will let competition consume his life. To many other surfing related interests outside of WSL.

Another reason why i say that. His movies. Kelly was a competition machine. JJF has made 2 movies of his own already. He has other interests outside of the WSL. Im not going to compare JJF to Taylor Steele because taylor steele was from a diffrent generation where his movies had a greater impact and lasting impression. But i think JJF continues to make quality movies. I totally get a taylor steele type vibe from his movies.

Im terrible at putting my thoughts into words. So ill try to sum it up here. Although not impossible, i don't think he will be what kelly or taylor steele was/is. But he is the closest thing to both of them at this time. In my mind that's an incredible accomplishment and no one comes close to that. And although not as flashy as 11 world titles, i think what JJF is doing in and out of competition is just as impressive.

Now if you had a guy with JJF surfing but medina's competitiveness, THEN you'd have the next kelly haha

 

Slaters time period did not have the tough competition JJF or others have to face in the present time period.
There are more of them now with money behind them than 10 years ago.

 

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Troll Hollow has a new unit

 

What Slater did was amazing, but to say it will never be done again is probably not true. Records are meant to be broken. He’s a human from CFL. Surely another surfer will come along who will have it all like him and dominate for decades. JJF is an amazing surfer, would like to see him step up or another “American”. I just don’t think he has the same goals as Kelly. Someone who only cares about winning the most titles is what it will take.

Kelly has shown what is possible. Nothing but hard work and dedication combined with talent. No amount of money will help these kids. It’s all about what’s inside, how much heart and drive one has, not how much help they get from sponsors.

 

Not true... There was more $ behind pro surfers 10 years ago. Companies are dropping guys not signing more
As far as competition I disagree as well. I don't think it's better now than it was with Parko, Mick, Andy, Taj, Hobgoods,.. Different, but not necessarily better

 

A big part of why Kelly was able to do it for so long is that he put the tour above personal life. Most guys get married and have kids in their late 20s early 30s... It hard to manage that and be on tour all year.

 

I think there is truth in this. As for JJ or who can possibly do what Slater Accomplished, I think Gabriel has the best chance. He has an intense focus on winning...what Slater had. And, he certainly has the Talent. I’m hopeful we get a decade of battles between him and JJ to make it somewhat interesting....

 

Rosy Hodge makes them easier to put up with

 

Well, you named a few "name surfers" that co-existed with Slater. And they were stiff competition, true.
There are now hundreds of young surfers that will surf circles around those guys, but they are not recognized by journals, cameras, blogs, etc so we know little of them. As for sponsorship money, I would disagree that there is less--if companies did sponsor less, they lose their visibility as a product and disappear from the market. My "guess" (and it would be a guess) is that there is actually more from individual companies, and a wider breadth of companies. It is survival for them.
Having said all of that, it is an "experience of life" opinion on my part, nothing more. I have no evidence to back my opinion up.

 

There are not hundreds of surfers that would surf circles around them that are unknown... If you've ever been in the water with the guys on tour they are next level. The guys you and I think are rippers don't compare. They are faster and do everything bigger.
I remember at the contest in NY a bunch of years ago. For a week all the tour guys were in LBNY along with all the top east coast guys. Nobody was close to the tour guys. They are so good it's crazy.
You're wrong about companies not sponsoring less. They are paying the top few guys a lot of $. It's not like it used. Guys get $ sponsors now if they have big instagram followings.

 

If that is true, you can then expect competition surfing to be wiped out soon. Their future depends on new blood, not the same old ones.
It is a basic principle of marketing for extending the life of products. The actual surfing has little to do with it. The few times I watch a competition (usually very large waves, etc) I see a lot of new names in heats, names I never heard of. Most are not there on their own dollar.
Again, it is just opinion.

 

I'm not saying that there are not some young guys out there that are not great. There are great young surfers on tour now... I was just saying that the guys that make it are the best of the best.
I do think comp surfing is on a serious down swing, but it's not due to lack of talent.

What you point out about guys you never heard of traveling on their own dime goes to my point about companies sponsoring less... You may have never hear heard of them, but if they make it to a CT event they are "well known" and in the past guys like that got paid

 

I think most sports have a small handful of big stars that they build the brand / marketing around. These stars are what draw in the casual fans. The die hard fans are going to tune in almost no matter what. It's the casual fans who move the needle when it comes to ratings.

In surfing, it was Kelly Slater for a very long time. In golf, you had Tiger Woods for a long time, then he fell off, and so did the ratings. Now that he's gotten back out there, the ratings are higher then when he's not out there. In women's tennis you have Serena Williams, same thing there. In the UFC, most recently you had Conor McGregor, for females it was Ronda Rousey.

Those people eventually fade and another face or two takes over. In the NFL, you got more stars since it's a team sport and the shelf life for each player is shorter due to the physical nature of the sport, so naturally there is more turnover. But in an individual sport like surfing, you can carry the sport with just a few big stars and then everybody else is there to try and keep it interesting

 

The WSL will definitely have to change it's ways. I recall within the last 2 years, they hired a lady from England that was a marketing promoter for a soccer team. Seems to me the changes she implemented are dragging down the WSL. I am happy about that because they have been rather destructive to surfing and I am not really all that interested in watching competitions, other than the Big Wave tour. I bet she will be let go soon- the Facebook thing does not sound as if it something a male SURFER would implement.

 

How many guys are on the QS? That would help define what you guys are saying about the quantity of WSL-level surfers, yes?

 

What do you mean by "QS"?

 

Something else to think about in the context of $$$$ in the “sport”...

During the last 10-15 years you have had Quiksilver restructure their debt and Hurley sold out to Nike. The theme seemed (s) to be that corporate governance, market demand etc has dried up some of the big sponsor money being thrown down (maybe...just thinking out loud) on just anybody. Though, the contest winner prize money has increased over that period. Strange dynamic.

 

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