Jump to content

The one and only, the true GOAT, a man, a myth, a legend - does it again, at almost 50

JiF

By JiF
in The Jets Lounge

 Share

Recommended Posts

JiF

JiF

Posted
Posted

There is one true GOAT in the sporting world.  Just one, where there is no argument, there is no debate, it's confirmed, there is a GOAT.  11-time world champion, greatest to ever do it, Kelly Slater won the Billabong PipeMasters at almost 50 years old.  This guy continues to defy everything that we know about competitive surfing.  It's a young man's sport, there is very small window, and the evolution of sports hasnt made it easier to have sustained success like the mainstream sports.  The sport evolves as youth introduces evolution making the old school irrelevant.  Surfing doesnt change its rules to accommodate for Kelly Slater.  In fact, it's been made harder, much much harder to sustain success.  But Kelly Slater has been able to do it for 4 decades.  Surfers come, surfers go, new boards are made, new technology is invented, new names take the forefront of the surfing industry every 3 years but 1 man, 1 name, continues to defy the odds and continues to hang with kids not alive when he won his first world championship.

No, this wasnt winning another world title but winning on this stage, at this wave, in this competition, at his age, is one of the greatest moments in competitive sports.  If surfing had the mainstream interest of golf or Football, this accomplishment would be respected more than what we saw when Tiger won the Masters, or Phil won the US Open or Brady fraud doing whatever he did in twilight of their career because what Kelly just accomplished is 100x time more challenging. 

Kelly Slater is the greatest competitive athlete of all time.  

 

 

  • Upvote 2
  • Sympathy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jet_Engine1

Jet_Engine1

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, JiFapono said:

There is one true GOAT in the sporting world.  Just one, where there is no argument, there is no debate, it's confirmed, there is a GOAT.  11-time world champion, greatest to ever do it, Kelly Slater won the Billabong PipeMasters at almost 50 years old.  This guy continues to defy everything that we know about competitive surfing.  It's a young man's sport, there is very small window, and the evolution of sports hasnt made it easier to have sustained success like the mainstream sports.  The sport evolves as youth introduces evolution making the old school irrelevant.  Surfing doesnt change its rules to accommodate for Kelly Slater.  In fact, it's been made harder, much much harder to sustain success.  But Kelly Slater has been able to do it for 4 decades.  Surfers come, surfers go, new boards are made, new technology is invented, new names take the forefront of the surfing industry every 3 years but 1 man, 1 name, continues to defy the odds and continues to hang with kids not alive when he won his first world championship.

No, this wasnt winning another world title but winning on this stage, at this wave, in this competition, at his age, is one of the greatest moments in competitive sports.  If surfing had the mainstream interest of golf or Football, this accomplishment would be respected more than what we saw when Tiger won the Masters, or Phil won the US Open or Brady fraud doing whatever he did in twilight of their career because what Kelly just accomplished is 100x time more challenging. 

Kelly Slater is the greatest competitive athlete of all time.  

 

pt

Neato

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JiF

JiF

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 minute ago, maury77 said:

Anyone who comes here and says "surfing isn't a sport" clearly has never tried surfing. One of the most difficult athletic skills I've ever tried. Slater is a beast. Also, Slater's clothing company makes nice shirts!

It's unfortunate that it's not celebrated as such because legit, this is one of the most insane accomplishments in the history of sports.  Seriously.  I say that with zero stutter.  It's legit, mind blowing.  The dude he beat in the finals, wasnt alive the first time Kelly won a world title, nope, in fact, his dad competed with him before his born.  

Also, the ****er is a scratch golfer and dated BayWatch days Pam Anderson.  Some guys...

 

 

  • Sympathy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JiF

JiF

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Not that I know anything about snowboarding but Shaun White is (I think) supposed to be the GOAT at his sport and is also competing longer than most.  Plus he's about to take down Nina Dobrev.

 

https://pagesix.com/2022/02/03/shaun-white-and-nina-dobrev-will-be-engaged-soon/

The challenge with Snowboarding (or skateboarding for that matter) is that there are multiple events that are totally different from each other.  So, yes, I'd say that Shaun White is the greatest "Half-Pipe" snowboarder of all time but he cant compete with the worlds best in slalom or cross or big air, etc.  He's kind of a one trick pony in the sport.   Kind of similar to Tony Hawk.  He was the GOAT on the half-pipe but couldnt hold a candle to the street skaters like, Rodney Mullen. 

While surfing is different in that there are not stylistic events, different waves propose different challenges and therefore call for a different style of riding.  For example, "Pipeline" and the Pipeline Masters, is all about getting barreled at one of the most dangerous waves in the world.  The judges dont care about "tricks", they want to see the best, deepest, biggest, longest barrel ride.  If you're competing at say, ""Lowers" in Cali, the judges want to see your "on wave" trick game ie; your tricks without leaving the wave, how you turn the board, how manipulate the wave, your wave selection and ultimately how flawlessly can you compound tricks and where do you do them on the wave.  Or, you're at a place know for launching "airs" like somewhere in Norohna in Brazil and judges want to see the most technical projections of airs off the wave.  To be a world champion, you have to be elite in every phase and you have to win, all those types of events.  Kelly Slater is the best ever at all 3.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TuscanyTile2

TuscanyTile2

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, JiFapono said:

The challenge with Snowboarding (or skateboarding for that matter) is that there are multiple events that are totally different from each other.  So, yes, I'd say that Shaun White is the greatest "Half-Pipe" snowboarder of all time but he cant compete with the worlds best in slalom or cross or big air, etc.  He's kind of a one trick pony in the sport.   Kind of similar to Tony Hawk.  He was the GOAT on the half-pipe but couldnt hold a candle to the street skaters like, Rodney Mullen. 

While surfing is different in that there are not stylistic events, different waves propose different challenges and therefore call for a different style of riding.  For example, "Pipeline" and the Pipeline Masters, is all about getting barreled at one of the most dangerous waves in the world.  The judges dont care about "tricks", they want to see the best, deepest, biggest, longest barrel ride.  If you're competing at say, ""Lowers" in Cali, the judges want to see your "on wave" trick game ie; your tricks without leaving the wave, how you turn the board, how manipulate the wave, your wave selection and ultimately how flawlessly can you compound tricks and where do you do them on the wave.  Or, you're at a place know for launching "airs" like somewhere in Norohna in Brazil and judges want to see the most technical projections of airs off the wave.  To be a world champion, you have to be elite in every phase and you have to win, all those types of events.  Kelly Slater is the best ever at all 3.

I was only being half-serious with that but I think it's awesome you're "in the know".  Any good skater movies and YouTube channels you follow btw?  I think that culture is kind of fascinating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TuscanyTile2

TuscanyTile2

Posted
Posted
21 hours ago, JiFapono said:

It's unfortunate that it's not celebrated as such because legit, this is one of the most insane accomplishments in the history of sports.  Seriously.  I say that with zero stutter.  It's legit, mind blowing.  The dude he beat in the finals, wasnt alive the first time Kelly won a world title, nope, in fact, his dad competed with him before his born.  

Also, the ****er is a scratch golfer and dated BayWatch days Pam Anderson.  Some guys...

 

 

I can't decide if Kelly Slater is the GOAT or if this guy (Kai, the "hatchet wielding hitchhiker") is:

 

 

"Smash, Smash, Suh-Mash!!!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JiF

JiF

Posted
  • Author
Posted
25 minutes ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

I was only being half-serious with that but I think it's awesome you're "in the know".  Any good skater movies and YouTube channels you follow btw?  I think that culture is kind of fascinating.

While I grew up playing the major sports, I was always into board sports.  Surfing is my biggest passion in life and everything I want from a lifestyle revolves around it but that also led me into the worlds of skating, wakeboarding, snowboarding, etc. because they are so intertwined.   However, I'm nowhere near invested in those other board sports. 

That said, to answer your question, they're all kind of the same.  Nobody has really been able to capture the culture and essence of the scene in a real movie and I'm not sure you could make it mainstream enough to catch the attention of the masses.  It almost has to be a sub-plot to a movie like Point Break or Gleaming the Cube.  Sure, surfing and skating were part of the story but it wasnt the story.

Check out "Lords of Dog-town".  That's the movie I referenced in the other thread.  It's really a movie about the birth of modern skating boarding.  There was a skate team called the Z-Boys from the 70's that basically shaped the image of the scene and how boards would be ridden moving forward.  Heath Ledger and Emil Hersh are the stars but the movie covers the lives of some of the most influential skaters of all time, Stacey Peralta, Ton Alva and Jay Adams.  All surfers who became pro-skaters.  Takes a good look into life in SoCal when the punk/skate/surf scene started coming to life and you start to understand the scene and lifestyle a bit.  That said, the documentary "Dog Town and Z-Boys" is one the greatest documentaries of all time and that would be the first watch I'd suggest.

 

 

 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 5 months later...
Nolder

Nolder

Posted
Posted
On 2/7/2022 at 11:56 AM, maury77 said:

Anyone who comes here and says "surfing isn't a sport" clearly has never tried surfing. One of the most difficult athletic skills I've ever tried. Slater is a beast. Also, Slater's clothing company makes nice shirts!

Surfing isn't a sport.

 

I have never been surfing.

  • WTF? 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
AFJF

AFJF

Posted
Posted
On 2/7/2022 at 4:53 PM, Jet_Engine1 said:

Spent a week at the Cocoa Beach Hilton last summer, dude is an icon there.

Lived in that area for five years.  Never heard of him.  🤷‍♂️

Link to comment
Share on other sites
#27TheDominator

#27TheDominator

Posted
Posted
On 2/8/2022 at 1:14 PM, JiFapono said:

While I grew up playing the major sports, I was always into board sports.  Surfing is my biggest passion in life and everything I want from a lifestyle revolves around it but that also led me into the worlds of skating, wakeboarding, snowboarding, etc. because they are so intertwined.   However, I'm nowhere near invested in those other board sports. 

That said, to answer your question, they're all kind of the same.  Nobody has really been able to capture the culture and essence of the scene in a real movie and I'm not sure you could make it mainstream enough to catch the attention of the masses.  It almost has to be a sub-plot to a movie like Point Break or Gleaming the Cube.  Sure, surfing and skating were part of the story but it wasnt the story.

Check out "Lords of Dog-town".  That's the movie I referenced in the other thread.  It's really a movie about the birth of modern skating boarding.  There was a skate team called the Z-Boys from the 70's that basically shaped the image of the scene and how boards would be ridden moving forward.  Heath Ledger and Emil Hersh are the stars but the movie covers the lives of some of the most influential skaters of all time, Stacey Peralta, Ton Alva and Jay Adams.  All surfers who became pro-skaters.  Takes a good look into life in SoCal when the punk/skate/surf scene started coming to life and you start to understand the scene and lifestyle a bit.  That said, the documentary "Dog Town and Z-Boys" is one the greatest documentaries of all time and that would be the first watch I'd suggest.

 

 

 

That is the problem with surfing.  My parents were teachers and my family (extended with many cousins) spent every summer on the East End.  At the beach (K or L between Ponoquoge and Tiana) every day between lunch and dinner.  We body surfed and boogie boarded and occasionally surfed, but even at the beach every day, surfing was more of a lifestyle.  You had to chase the waves, go to the right spot of the beach where the break was right and time the tide.  You can't really just let it come to you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JiF

JiF

Posted
  • Author
Posted
28 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

That is the problem with surfing.  My parents were teachers and my family (extended with many cousins) spent every summer on the East End.  At the beach (K or L between Ponoquoge and Tiana) every day between lunch and dinner.  We body surfed and boogie boarded and occasionally surfed, but even at the beach every day, surfing was more of a lifestyle.  You had to chase the waves, go to the right spot of the beach where the break was right and time the tide.  You can't really just let it come to you.

It's a problem to you, lol.  To me it's part of the excitement.  Catching the right break, on the right tide, on the right swell, is an extremely rewarding part of the process and journey to scoring waves.  We all fancy ourselves like jr. meteorologist, trying to figure out the tides, wind, swell direction to know where it will hit best.  Frankly, it's a skill and your average Joe probably doesnt even try.  They just look at a provided forecast, show up to the local break and call it a day.  Personally, I enjoy the chase.  The pursuit of perfection. 

Now, that said, this isnt always required.  It most certainly is for the east coast because of the way our population is distributed and accessibility to the coast but I live at the beach and often just surf right out back of my house down the street.  The waves, just come to me sometimes but most of the time, I'm trying to find the right sandbar at the right time, so it does take a short drive up and down the coast.  However, Cali, Mex, Central/South America, they dont have these challenges, you can go sit on a point break and never have to move, for weeks.  For example, I travel to El Salvador a lot.  It's a really easy fast cheap trip from Florida.  The place I stay and surf, has 2 waves right out back of the condo and I literally dont leave that break the entire trip.  I can if I want to see something different, but it's not necessary.   The waves just come to you. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
#27TheDominator

#27TheDominator

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, JiFapono said:

It's a problem to you, lol.  To me it's part of the excitement.  Catching the right break, on the right tide, on the right swell, is an extremely rewarding part of the process and journey to scoring waves.  We all fancy ourselves like jr. meteorologist, trying to figure out the tides, wind, swell direction to know where it will hit best.  Frankly, it's a skill and your average Joe probably doesnt even try.  They just look at a provided forecast, show up to the local break and call it a day.  Personally, I enjoy the chase.  The pursuit of perfection. 

Now, that said, this isnt always required.  It most certainly is for the east coast because of the way our population is distributed and accessibility to the coast but I live at the beach and often just surf right out back of my house down the street.  The waves, just come to me sometimes but most of the time, I'm trying to find the right sandbar at the right time, so it does take a short drive up and down the coast.  However, Cali, Mex, Central/South America, they dont have these challenges, you can go sit on a point break and never have to move, for weeks.  For example, I travel to El Salvador a lot.  It's a really easy fast cheap trip from Florida.  The place I stay and surf, has 2 waves right out back of the condo and I literally dont leave that break the entire trip.  I can if I want to see something different, but it's not necessary.   The waves just come to you. 

Right.  It is a commitment.  Not everybody will be willing or able to do it.  I guess problem isn't the right word, but when you are going to the beach with 4 or 5 people and have to decide if you want to strap the boards to the roof, or have to take the truck, or fighting about going an hour later to catch the tide when cousin Mike has to pick his girlfriend up at the LIRR startion it is not for everybody. 

Everybody can't do it, so you are doing something special, devoting yourself to something you love in a way that others won't.  The opposite is what was great about basketball in Brooklyn.  Hit the park and yell "NEXT!"  If the games there sucked switch parks.  I probably lived the surfing lifestyle more than 99.9% of the people I knew growing up and I still had a long way to go to have anything near what would be considered success.  OTOH, I still loved it.  So did my dad who never got on the board, but was hitting that beach every June through September from when he was a kid until he passed at 77.

  • Sympathy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
JiF

JiF

Posted
  • Author
Posted
20 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

Right.  It is a commitment.  Not everybody will be willing or able to do it.  I guess problem isn't the right word, but when you are going to the beach with 4 or 5 people and have to decide if you want to strap the boards to the roof, or have to take the truck, or fighting about going an hour later to catch the tide when cousin Mike has to pick his girlfriend up at the LIRR startion it is not for everybody. 

Everybody can't do it, so you are doing something special, devoting yourself to something you love in a way that others won't.  The opposite is what was great about basketball in Brooklyn.  Hit the park and yell "NEXT!"  If the games there sucked switch parks.  I probably lived the surfing lifestyle more than 99.9% of the people I knew growing up and I still had a long way to go to have anything near what would be considered success.  OTOH, I still loved it.  So did my dad who never got on the board, but was hitting that beach every June through September from when he was a kid until he passed at 77.

haha, perspective and location matters I guess.  I was so young when we stilled lived on LI that I wasnt surfing when we were making trips to Jones Beach as a family, but I do remember it always being a nightmare and parents inevitably fighting because it was such chaos.  Not nearly as much hassle when you live on the Ocean in a much less populated area.  Even if you dont live at the beach, Florida is still just easier to access the ocean.  Anywho, I see what you're saying but I dont wait on people.  I might tell someone where I'm going if they want to meet up but for that reason right there, I just go.  9 times out of 10 I know someone in the water anyway.  It's not like breaks are secret anymore, especially on the east coast.

Hoops was my main sport in HS and I probably did more car surfing to find competitive pick up games than I have chasing waves.  lol.  sh*t, then when AAU kicked in, I was driving the entire state to play games.  I remember having a game in Daytona on a Friday and then a game in Tampa on a Sunday, literally coast to coast. 

 

 

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...
JiF

JiF

Posted
  • Author
Posted
4 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

@JiFapono

https://www.theonion.com/national-weather-service-don-t-go-surfing-unless-you-1819578295?utm_campaign=The+Onion&utm_content=1662215403&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0AbJnHtKZqub4KD5jT_14ofS1OvRU5adp5-8r-NFMOFrhKLfHF5PEpQBk

 

 

A6BEEFE8-A17F-44A7-913C-258AA1B66EC3.png

Yeah, funny but very old.  lol

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Content Partnership

Yes Network

Site Sponsor

MILE-Social - NJ Social Media & SEO company

NY Jets Podcast

NY Jets Podcast
×
×
  • Create New...