JOEL V ANDY… BELLS 2004
Posted in Photos, World Tour
Andy, interviewed in 2009 from Parko+Friends.
“There was always a friendly rivalry between Joel and I. As soon as that horn goes off I wanna beat him as badly as he wants to beat me. And it’s almost a major scalp, and I remember all the wins and losses against him because they mean so much. I used to smoke him in the early days but he’s come back lately. I remember beating him with two fours in the final in Japan, stuff like that. And then he’s got me some really good ones that’ve scarred me, one time at Bells in a semi in particular. I got the inside first and got caught behind on my first wave. I’ve kicked out in time to watch him get a 9.9 or something, and then paddle back out and get a 10. Then he paddles over to me with 25 minutes left in the heat and goes, “I think I’m gonna go in soon cause I wanna be warm for the final.” I went, “This guy is heavy!” I was ready to do a deal with the devil right there for some miracle to happen and me come back and win that heat, just to see the look on Joel’s face. It was like, if you’re going in, I’m going in. There’s no way I’m sitting out here on my own with 10,000 people watching me getting my ass kicked in a triple combo. It was embarrassing.”
Andy Irons




