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Kelly Slater wins Pipe Masters at 49

Sbbruin

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Sbbruin

Sbbruin 22142

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I’m 5 years older than he is, and I creak when I get out of a chair.  He’s competing in one of the most physically demanding sports there is.  And winning its version of the Super Bowl.  To me one of the greatest sports achievements ever.  It sounds like hyperbole, but not really.

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Sbbruin

Sbbruin 22142

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1 hour ago, Hook1997 said:

That’s pretty awesome, I didn’t even know he competed still.  

Very selectively.  But this is his touchstone event.  
 

A good doc, and worth the watch whether you’re into surfing or not, is “Momentum Generation.”  That historic Pipe Masters where he beat Machado was in fucking ‘95.  It’s 2022.  Mind boggling.

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Pato del Muerto

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4 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

Didn't compete, but I did "open" the competition with ceremonial "laying of the first pipe". Afterwards, I enjoyed the competition with a cold beverage, under an umbrella with a young female friend of mine.

I get it. Like Jack getting to tee off first at the masters. 

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Bateshorn

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12 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

I’m 5 years older than he is, and I creak when I get out of a chair.  He’s competing in one of the most physically demanding sports there is.  And winning its version of the Super Bowl.  To me one of the greatest sports achievements ever.  It sounds like hyperbole, but not really.

I’m a year younger than him, and getting up on a long board 5 years ago damn near killed me.  
 

The only person who dominates an individual sport at a similar level is maybe Serena Williams, and she’s starting to show her age, skill wise.

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Updawg

Updawg 2384

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One of the most surreal moments of my life was sitting in Al Merricks living room, and there's pictures on the end table of him and Kelly Slater just chilling like you would have with whatever family friends.

How did you end up at Al merricks house?

Very impressive by slater
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pops

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On 2/5/2022 at 7:26 PM, Sbbruin said:

I’m 5 years older than he is, and I creak when I get out of a chair.  He’s competing in one of the most physically demanding sports there is.  And winning its version of the Super Bowl.  To me one of the greatest sports achievements ever.  It sounds like hyperbole, but not really.

Only thing that comes close is mickelson winning a major at 50. And that's not really very close. 

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ztejas

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6 minutes ago, pops said:

Guess I'm looking at team sport vs individual. 

Either way I don't think this is some crazy thing without parallel. It's impressive but surfing is a really niche sport so it's hard to evaluate imo. You say Mickelson winning the PGA at 50 isn't close but I think it's probably pretty comparable. Mickelson isn't going to win another event on tour and that was just his 3rd win since 2013.

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pops

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10 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Either way I don't think this is some crazy thing without parallel. It's impressive but surfing is a really niche sport so it's hard to evaluate imo. You say Mickelson winning the PGA at 50 isn't close but I think it's probably pretty comparable. Mickelson isn't going to win another event on tour and that was just his 3rd win since 2013.

I think in their respective sports it's close... maybe even equal, but surfing at a top level at 50 just seems much more difficult that golfing at a top level at 50. But I've never surfed and will admit I have no idea. 

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ztejas

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12 minutes ago, pops said:

I think in their respective sports it's close... maybe even equal, but surfing at a top level at 50 just seems much more difficult that golfing at a top level at 50. But I've never surfed and will admit I have no idea. 

Athletically I'm sure surfing is way harder and from that standpoint it's probably more impressive for Slater. It's just less competitive. It looks like there are 32 guys that competed in the event Slater just won. And it's a tennis-like 1 v 1 bracket. There weren't 140 guys trying to win on equal footing. Kelly won 80 grand for his placing. Mickelson took home 2.2M.

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G650

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7 hours ago, Updawg said:


How did you end up at Al merricks house?

Very impressive by slater

 

So my boss at the time was Al's best friend growing up. He actually got me hooked up where I would take care of Al's boat in exchange for surfboards. And to be honest the most surreal thing was he was this die hard fly fisher, so every time my 20 something self, who thought of him as this surf God, would be by, he would be in his study with these grandpa glasses and a sweater on tying flies and talking about his place in Idaho to the backdrop of all these pictures of Slater and whoever at Sunset and Pipe.

 

5 hours ago, ztejas said:

. It's just less competitive. It looks like there are 32 guys that competed in the event Slater just won. And it's a tennis-like 1 v 1 bracket. There weren't 140 guys trying to win on equal footing.

 

That's incorrect. There hundreds of people who would/could compete, the entry field is just that selective. Without getting in the weeds of how the tour works, it's equivalent of taking the top 20 or so golfers and a few wildcards and only allowing them to play the Masters. It's no less competitive it just eliminates the chaff.

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Sbbruin

Sbbruin 22142

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5 hours ago, G650 said:

 

That's incorrect. There hundreds of people who would/could compete, the entry field is just that selective. Without getting in the weeds of how the tour works, it's equivalent of taking the top 20 or so golfers and a few wildcards and only allowing them to play the Masters. It's no less competitive it just eliminates the chaff.

Yeah, there is definitely some subjectivity to it, but it is the best of the best.  No one fall bass ackwards into a title.  But his experience there is invaluable.  knowing which waves to take off on and which to let go is half the battle.  But I do think it is one of the great sports achievements for the age of all time. 

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0xdeadbeef

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1 hour ago, Sbbruin said:

Yeah, there is definitely some subjectivity to it, but it is the best of the best.  No one fall bass ackwards into a title.  But his experience there is invaluable.  knowing which waves to take off on and which to let go is half the battle.  But I do think it is one of the great sports achievements for the age of all time. 

That was a huge part of the finals.  There were only a few minutes left when the kid caught his first good wave. Not that there weren't a lot of decent looking waves, he just let them pass.   

He reminded me of some of my surfer friends back in the day... They'd smoke weed before going out and then just sit out in the lineup....no urgency at all.   I went the other way and tanked up on Mt. Dew (caffeine).  If energy drinks had been a thing back then, I coulda been a contender.  

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Mach 1

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There’s a WSL thread on here somewhere. I have the channel on 24/7 when we’re in Maui for Spring Break. It’s strangely soothing despite the intensity the guys put in to each run.

This is really impressive. I can’t recall him even sniffing the finals in the last 10 years or so. I thought his continued competition at his age was to promote his man made wave project. Good for him and the sport.

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