YEAH ANDY!
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AI can ride a barrel. //Kirsten/ASP
Joel, all year you’ve been tipping Andy will make a final, and you thought he was a big chance of doing it in Tahiti, but maybe not in a year when it didn’t get above three foot.
Joel: For sure. I thought he was getting it together enough that he’d be making semis, quarters, and if Tahiti got big I thought he’d be a real chance for sure because he’s a such madman when it gets big. But in those conditions it’s still barrelling, and if it’s barrelling he’s a chance anywhere, even if it is only three foot. But his turns were pretty crisp too today. He looked good.
Have you noticed contest by contest his old rhythm returning?
Definitely. He’s got a bit more spark and a bit more life about everything he does. He’s really good when things are going his way, he goes with the flow and good things happen. That’s what happened today. When he doesn’t need to push boundaries or ask questions and just do the things he needs to do, the heat wins just happen. That’s the classic Andy. A lot of things went his way in this event, it took pressure off him, and he just kept paddling out and he just kept on winning.
He had a pretty tough run there today having to beat Mick, Kelly and then CJ.
Yeah that was tough. After Kelly had that incredible heat I was just thinking there was no way his momentum would stop until he won, but it’s hard to keep momentum when there aren’t a lot of waves. Consistency is a problem. It’s not like J-Bay when you have that consistency and can build during a heat. You can build momentum in your surfing but that does you no good if there are no waves to use it on.
Did you see Andy’s heat with Mick?
I didn’t get up in time, but I just went down the street and got a juice from Mick’s Mum’s shop in the main street and she said it was a really close heat and could have gone either way. She obviously thought it could have gone Mick’s way, but I can’t really say because I slept in a little bit cause I was up late last night at the Titans game.
Andy’s semi with Kelly… what were you expecting when those two paddled out?
When the commentators built it up beforehand, Snips picked Kelly for it on form but I knew that Andy would lift. Andy is the only surfer who surfs against Kelly the way you should. Other people get out against Kelly and crumble. Ace kind of had a shocker against Kelly. But Andy looks relaxed when he surfs against Kelly and he’s probably the only surfer in the world who does. If anything, it’s Kelly who has the monkey on his back against Andy.
It came down to that set where Kelly took the first wave of the set with priority, when most of the bigger scores during the day were being dropped on the second wave of the set. Kelly got a three, Andy got the second one and dropped a nine, and that was the heat. It was almost like it was Kelly who looked more uneasy out there.
I know. It’s a rare mistake. Kelly is always on the best waves out there.
Billabong Pro Tahiti Final – HIGHLIGHTS from Billabong on Vimeo.
Did you see Kelly’s 10 in the quarters?
I saw it. It was insane. It was so well done. A few people in the commentary said no one else would have made that wave, but I was like, hmm, I’m not so sure. The way he dropped into it under the lip was epic, and that’s a bit of a Kelly trademark, but Andy would have done it differently and probably made it, Bruce would have done it differently and could have made it. Different guys would have had different entries for that wave, and Kelly’s way is probably the most difficult way. A lot of guys would have made that wave, but no one would have made it the way Kelly made it.
When Kelly gets a 10 like that in dramatic circumstances he generally goes on to win the contest. Were you surprised he didn’t today?
Definitely, but I think he certainly got beaten in that semi. There was one nine come through during that whole heat and Andy got it and that was the difference. It was a slow heat and a momentum killer for Kelly.
You predicted it would be a chess match and a wave catching competition, did you see it play out that way today?
For sure. You could see guys trying to work out whether they should just bank a five or six and hope nothing bigger would come through, or whether to wait for the eight or nine that will never come. It was a 50/50 call most of the time today, gambling with the ocean.
What was your reaction when Andy won?
Monica was crying and I almost had a tear too. I was so proud of him. He’s come so far. It meant so much to me because I was there when he first decided to seriously come back on tour, I hooked him up with Wes [Joel’s trainer. Wes Berg] who got him training. We spent a lot of time together when he first committed to coming back on tour, and we spoke a lot about what he needed to do. You can’t really motivate someone, they have to do that themselves, but you can light a little fire and I was there at the start when that happened and I’m just so stoked it led to what happened today. It led to a win. I just want to see him do well. I would’ve loved to have seen Mick and Andy in the final, then I wouldn’t have cared who won. I would equally have loved to see Mick win today and mount a big challenge on this title, but at the same time I wanted to see Andy win a contest and become the old Andy again, full of confidence and a guy who will challenge for the title himself.
By the numbers that’s still a chance. How do you see Andy going now for the rest of the year?
He’s going to have a lot of belief in himself, and history proves when that happens he starts winning contests. When he’s on and making heats he has a way of winning heats like they’re a formality, he and Kelly both had that when they were in their prime. If Andy could get back to that kind of thing he could even have a nudge at the title this year.
It’s strange to think that, considering he was a bit sluggish at the start of the year. We’re here now with only half the season gone and he’s in with a shot.
Exactly. And he’s no slouch at Trestles either. That result today has definitely opened up the whole world title for everyone.
What did Andy say to you when he phoned you?
He rang me from the marina where the boats dock. He was so frothing. He was in shock almost, he couldn’t believe how everything had fallen into place for him. You know, when you least expect things to happen they sometimes do.
You got the feeling he didn’t expect to win today?
I think he just wanted to be competitive. I think that was his goal, to let everyone know that Andy is still Andy. He was just trying to be competitive, and while his confidence might not be exactly where it was when he won his titles, he still has the knowledge of how to surf smart heats and the knowledge of how to surf Teahupoo, and that’s what we saw today.
Are you missing not being over there with Andy winning?
For sure. Mate, I wish I was there. Last night I had this full dream that I had my first surf back from the foot injury in my heat at Trestles. The doctor was on the beach and he said, “Okay, you can surf,” and I paddled straight out for my heat.
Were you ripping?
Monica reckons in the middle of the night I was bouncing around the bed in my sleep doing dream reos. It’s starting to get to me a bit. Watching the contest today was hard because even the shitty little ones they were leaving I was looking at going, mate, I’d be all over that, just mind surfing it. I’d take anything at the moment.
3 COMMENTS
Wade says:
September 4, 2010 at 5:08 amYeah soooo stoked for Andy, great to see him coming back to form he actually looks more like Andy the guy now and not Andy the contest head, Hope he can get his roll on now, and hope to see you back soon Parko, am sure Monica does too as I am sure its not fun geting your flying heels and elbows jabbed in her side during sleep, haha! classic! Yeaw!
hugo says:
September 7, 2010 at 6:29 amHello Parko.
I hope you get well soon and come back asap to the comp.
When you finally return to a surf session will you use your small red board? Or you dont even thought about it?
Greetings from Portugal
boşanma says:
August 23, 2011 at 3:25 pmboşanma davası…
aile içi şiddet…