After a string of bad luck, has the champ refound his form?
July 3, 2009, 4:07 PM
By: Jake Howard
Cestari/ASP/Getty
After a string of three 33rd-place finishes (the worst start in his career), Slater returns to proper form.
Most of the time I hate being wrong, but this time I'm stoked to be a nonsense-spewing, babbling monkey that only knows what I'm talking about a quarter of the time. Before the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro got underway, I prognosticated that Kelly Slater wouldn't show. I even went so far as to say we'd only see him at select events, that'd he'd be back to go for 10 in '10. Wrong, wrong and wrong.
After barely making it to Santa Catarina due to a visa snafu, Kelly paddled out on day one, and in his patented way, just kept surfing stronger and stronger, building more and more momentum with every passing heat. By the time the final came to pass, Kelly'd drawn local favorite Adriano De Souza, and was no-doubt rolling.
Adriano opened early with two legit waves, but it's not necessarily how you start a heat—but how you end it. With less than 6 minutes remaining, Kelly threw down an eight and a nine, and it was over. Adriano was cooked, and relegated to his second runner-up finish of the 2009 season.
So, let me ask you this: Does this mean Kelly could make a run at 10 titles this year? To date, he's won most every one of his nine titles in dominating, runaway fashion. But could a string of 33rds this year be just what he needed to prime the pump? Are we about to bear witness to surfing's greatest come-from-behind miracle? Or is he just patriotic, and on this 4th of July weekend relished nothing more than breaking the hearts of the rest of the world?
I don't know, I already openly admit to being wrong, and I'm not going to even take a pass at this one. I do know that Kelly's biggest obstacles going into J-Bay, both for points and in terms of pure performance, will be Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning. This is gut check time for Parko. He came out firing early. Everybody reckoned he'd had the title in the bag before he ever even left Australia. But Kelly's win throws, as my South African friend says, "a spanner in the works."
The stage is set for a hell of a show in South Africa. Can you imagine, Kelly versus Parko in six- to eight-foot J-Bay tubes. It would be absolutely amazing.
But before I go, one criticism of the event—besides the funkadelic waves—is the webcast. How do you go off the air right as the final horn blows? No post-final interview with Kelly, no awards ceremony, nothing but dead air. Maybe the commentator put it right when the last thing he said before signing off was, "Sorry if we said some weird things on the mic, this is our first time."
Anyway, a tip of the hat to Kelly, Adriano, Parko, CJ and everybody else that tore the bag out of it. Can't wait to see what happens next.
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Contributors
Jon Coen
Jon is from New Jersey and continues to reside there with his wife and dog—which means occasional empty barrels and the occasional session in the snow.The state isn't as dirty as people might think, but he'll let them keep believing that.
Jake Howard
Jake lives, writes, and surfs in San Clemente, California. He spent his formative gremlin years surfing points north of San Francisco, and for the last 10 years has been contently surviving behind the Orange Curtain.
Kimball Taylor
Author of Return by Water, as well as books on Jeffreys Bay and Pipeline, Kimball drives a red hot Camero, and back in the '70s, he used to party with your Dad.
Daniel Ikaika Ito
Daniel surfs like a hippie, but dresses like a homie. The Native Hawaiian originally hails from Hilo, but now resides in Honolulu. He enjoys twin-fins, new sneakers and being ESPN's "Cuz On The Scene" in the 50th State.
Jason Kenworthy
About as majestic as a turkey vulture, when he's not shlepping his lens around the world or looking for road kill, Jason can be found at home in Dana Point tending to his growing brood.
