The Surfer"s Conundrum
History is traditionally unkind to surfers. After a brief moment in the the sun, the talents and exploits of even our most celebrated heroes and exemplary athletes become exponentially more muddled with each successive generation. This phenomena is in sharp contrast with the golden sports like baseball and golf that have the exposure and means to continually cite stats and anecdotes, thus keeping the sports legends of yore alive.
Surf legends, however, are rarely given magazine pages or video coverage.
You might see mention of Mark Richards' civic award or Dale Velzy's death notice, but what does today's surfer really know about his/her past? As a thirty-something wave fiend, I commit the sin myself, possessing very little knowledge of history's greats beyond Gerry Lopez and Jeff Crawford whose names made for discussion topics when I was riding my first waves.
Some icons have transcended surfing and time itself like Greg Noll, Micky Dora, and even The Duke. They are legends in any circle, yet each generation has had its great competitors, innovators, and explorers. For me, John Holeman, Matt Archibald, Ronnie Burns, and Jim Banks pushed the edge; however, there is a parade of fearless souls that came before them who deserve recognition. Today's surfers will doubtless remember Kelly Slater as the Man since he has carved a notch so large and gaping in the annals of surfing that it will be seen for generations to come, but what of the "second fiddles" and "runners up" whose creativity and commitment were slightly askew of the mainstream?
I can't help but remember one night at a party on Oahu's North Shore at a time when I thought I was a hot shot and was subsequently rude to an older surfer whom my buddies and I dismissed as a nobody, only to find out later that he had been one of the most influential surfers of the 70's, even winning the Pipe Masters against Gerry Lopez. This guy had landed on surfing's equivalent of the frickin' moon and here he was mingling amongst a group of kids who made surfing their life, but he was pushed away like flotsam.
Will this ever happen to Kelly Slater? Probably not since advances in information technology and a crossover effect in sports and pop culture have rendered him a legend on many levels; however, most great surfers are not this fortunate. The strange thing is that surfing is viewed as a young man's (and woman's) sport. It's much more acceptable for a older person to sit around on a Sunday watching football, a game in which most of us wouldn't last 15 seconds without suffering a broken back, than for him/her to go hang out at the beach and ride waves all day. Even worse, older surfers completely lose touch with professional surfing, yet they can cite every stat from their favorite baseball or football team. Why is that? Is surfing really a young person's sport or does the competitive aspect of surfing completely give way to art and soul as we age?
Are we ashamed of looking foolish or childish if we follow the happenings of the ASP or enjoy keeping up with the performance levels of younger surfers. I can count on one hand how many people my age with whom I can discuss who's ripping and and who's not without their eyes glazing over. What makes things so different for surfers? Why can't we honor our past and keep up with the present long into the golden years? It is strange that only a precious few remain true to the sport later in life.
The pioneers and and performers of surfing deserve to be acknowledged by each generation. We need to pay homage to those who risked everything for the mere advancement of the sport and art of surfing.
Surf legends, however, are rarely given magazine pages or video coverage.
You might see mention of Mark Richards' civic award or Dale Velzy's death notice, but what does today's surfer really know about his/her past? As a thirty-something wave fiend, I commit the sin myself, possessing very little knowledge of history's greats beyond Gerry Lopez and Jeff Crawford whose names made for discussion topics when I was riding my first waves.
Some icons have transcended surfing and time itself like Greg Noll, Micky Dora, and even The Duke. They are legends in any circle, yet each generation has had its great competitors, innovators, and explorers. For me, John Holeman, Matt Archibald, Ronnie Burns, and Jim Banks pushed the edge; however, there is a parade of fearless souls that came before them who deserve recognition. Today's surfers will doubtless remember Kelly Slater as the Man since he has carved a notch so large and gaping in the annals of surfing that it will be seen for generations to come, but what of the "second fiddles" and "runners up" whose creativity and commitment were slightly askew of the mainstream?
I can't help but remember one night at a party on Oahu's North Shore at a time when I thought I was a hot shot and was subsequently rude to an older surfer whom my buddies and I dismissed as a nobody, only to find out later that he had been one of the most influential surfers of the 70's, even winning the Pipe Masters against Gerry Lopez. This guy had landed on surfing's equivalent of the frickin' moon and here he was mingling amongst a group of kids who made surfing their life, but he was pushed away like flotsam.
Will this ever happen to Kelly Slater? Probably not since advances in information technology and a crossover effect in sports and pop culture have rendered him a legend on many levels; however, most great surfers are not this fortunate. The strange thing is that surfing is viewed as a young man's (and woman's) sport. It's much more acceptable for a older person to sit around on a Sunday watching football, a game in which most of us wouldn't last 15 seconds without suffering a broken back, than for him/her to go hang out at the beach and ride waves all day. Even worse, older surfers completely lose touch with professional surfing, yet they can cite every stat from their favorite baseball or football team. Why is that? Is surfing really a young person's sport or does the competitive aspect of surfing completely give way to art and soul as we age?
Are we ashamed of looking foolish or childish if we follow the happenings of the ASP or enjoy keeping up with the performance levels of younger surfers. I can count on one hand how many people my age with whom I can discuss who's ripping and and who's not without their eyes glazing over. What makes things so different for surfers? Why can't we honor our past and keep up with the present long into the golden years? It is strange that only a precious few remain true to the sport later in life.
The pioneers and and performers of surfing deserve to be acknowledged by each generation. We need to pay homage to those who risked everything for the mere advancement of the sport and art of surfing.
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