The Flyer: What Follows The Five Rings

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Flyer

So this is how surfing in the Olympics begins, not with a bang but a whimper.

Something that promised so much - So much spectacle! So much schmaltz! - just passed by in a puff of meh. I wasn’t overwhelmed, I wasn’t underwhelmed, just whelmed. A feeling that passed mere minutes after the final hooter sounded.

Leading up to the Olympics surfers broke into two distinct camps.

In the red corner were the angry old walruses saying surfing in the ‘Lympics was lame. That it symbolised the death knell of a lifestyle. Surfing isn’t a sport, they argued emphatically, and even if it was a sport then a one-comp world champion is a nonsense. Together they hurrumphed, or made whatever noise it is that walruses make.

And in the blue corner were the effervescent cheer squad. Happy to back their boys and girls, to cheer ‘em to glory or commiserate their losses, to vicariously ride the roller coaster of human endeavour, maybe even throw a li’l Irukandji sting amongst the good-natured carry on. In times of COVID you need something to smile about.

I saw these two teams coming and thought I’d have material for weeks.

In May I had a conversation with a sometime-surfing journo who shared my sense of the coming extravaganza. “For surfers of our generation it’ll be the craziest thing we’ve seen,” said he, and I concurred. Together we were thinking mainstream media superlatives, Bradbury moments, instant superstars, maybe even a drug scandal to spice it up - stories that would indelibly alter the sport forever.

And on some level the Olympics delivered. Kanoa greasing that frontside 360 to beat Gabs was one moment that brought the chicken skin, Amuro Tsuzuki claiming bronze on home turf was another, and of course Italo’s finals performance.

Yet when I look around the mainstream media, or even within the Olympic broadcast environment, there’s very little recognition of the surfing event, and I don’t know if it’s the size of the circus, or the subdued nature due to COVID, but none of the above plotlines seem destined to last.

In fact, zooming out to the wider culture, surfing post-Olympics doesn’t seem destined to change much at all. The ISA boosterism appears an unlikely outcome, meaning the lifestyle the old walruses love won’t change much either - notwithstanding the newby COVID crowds of course.

I’m not entirely sure if this is just my interpretation or not. You see, I’m five weeks into a bastard lockdown and I’m aware the restrictions are colouring my outlook. Yet moments of lucidity arise, and though it was only three days ago, surfing in the Olympics already seems like a sideshow.

Perhaps Teahupoo in 2024 will be the spectacle I was expecting.

- Stu

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Comments

wally's picture
wally's picture
wally Saturday, 31 Jul 2021 at 9:27pm

There is little evidence that Olympic interest translates to post-Olympics interest. History shows, post-Olympics, we will not be turning up at local rowing, beach volleyball or athletics meets. And, as far as I can ascertain, the general public didn’t find the surfing very compelling, Actually, they preferred the skateboarding, which no general viewers will be following after the Olympics either.

frog's picture
frog's picture
frog Saturday, 31 Jul 2021 at 9:43pm

If I was a 12 year old and saw Italo's heroic, potentially knee / ankle wrecking spins out onto the flats, and the washing machine surf in the Olympics it would have made surfing look quite intimidating.

Too much like watching parquor to appeal to the masses as the next big thing.

Way back in the early 70s it was the photos of dreamy aqua blue peelers in surfing magazines that planted the seed in my mind.

The Olympics surfing were good to watch mainly due to the challenging surf and the acrobatics but i can't see them being a game changer for participation or pro surfing.

Spuddups's picture
Spuddups's picture
Spuddups Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 10:10am

It was the cover of The Beach Boys 20 Greatest Hits that did it for me. Haha!

Blowin's picture
Blowin's picture
Blowin Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 1:04pm

I was was introduced via the gateway drug of boogie boarding. We’d always played at the beach an body bashed but when my mate gave me a go of his boogie board that was it. One wave and I was a shot duck. Before too long I was moving into heavier substances- namely fibreglass.

Remigogo's picture
Remigogo's picture
Remigogo Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 8:02pm

Beach Boys achieved a dreamy vision of 40 foot Waimea a breazy day out but over the loud speakers during the 'lympics would really have sucked...

mattlock's picture
mattlock's picture
mattlock Saturday, 31 Jul 2021 at 9:56pm

On the money there Wally. I've enjoyed watching a bit of the lympics with the kids. Watching some different sports, my seven year old girl has especially been loving it. The bmx freestyle was good today.
Outside of that, the only sports I really watch are surfing and downhill skateboarding. But they're not really sports in the classic sense.

tank's picture
tank's picture
tank Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 8:34am

Heh Wally ....according to you that you can ascertain that the general public didnt find surfing very compelling .... people amaze me with their ascertainations .... if say 6 million people watched that section of the olympics and you you talked to say 10 of your mates you come to your conclusion .... how do you construct a formula from that .... I watched the surfing and yes it was pretty ordinary but I couldnt guess what the general population thought

wally's picture
wally's picture
wally Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 10:47am

Ha ha.
That’s why I gave the big qualifier, “as far as I can ascertain”, which is not very far. My assessment is mostly derived from the seeming total absence of any comment about the Olympic surfing outside of the channel 7 telecast and a little bit on surfing sites. When something captures the public’s interest, you tend to know, because the public tell you, online and in the street. Torvill and Dean, it wasn’t.

Anyway, my primary point was, even when something does capture the public imagination, like beach volleyball at the Sydney Olympics,

it rarely converts to interest after the Olympics. For example, I saw what happened when Aussie beach volleyball tried to capitalise on their Olympics ratings triumph by running a national tour in the summer months straight after the Olympics. People couldn’t even be bothered to turn around on their beach towels to have a look.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 10:54am

Like that synchronised swimming bounce?

Roker's picture
Roker's picture
Roker Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 11:05am

Senior journalists and presenters from The Age and The ABC have penned an open letter to the IOC and the AOC. The letter calls for the organisers to send the world a powerful and positive message by staging the remaining events in the Tokyo Olympics without the presence of competitors.

Roker's picture
Roker's picture
Roker Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 11:10am
AndyM's picture
AndyM's picture
AndyM Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 12:20pm

Nice one Roker.

#blessed
#livingmybestlife

mibs-oner's picture
mibs-oner's picture
mibs-oner Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 1:10pm

The pro tour is so shit to watch except for pipe and chopes now. I wanna see them shitting bricks and getting piped off their heads instead of spinning and claiming.
Surfers are a narcissistic bunch. You watch them all puff their chest and claim an oop and then you see the skaters drop a hammer and every other competitor is high fiving and frothing for them. That kind of thing is epic to see.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 3:05pm

Haven't read the article or comments yet, but I think the Olympics have proved beyond doubt that Australian sporting greatness is enhanced by the athletes having a mullet. If you look at our successes, there's been a lot of winning mullet.

Balbero's picture
Balbero's picture
Balbero Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 6:13pm

And in the Gold corner, are the surfers that don't give a fuck about who wins or who losers, Medal or no
trinket just watch to be entertained by the current crew that are sending it in this moment of time.

Remigogo's picture
Remigogo's picture
Remigogo Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 8:19pm

Gold corner.. I'm with that mate.

Under the Southern Cross.

Balbero's picture
Balbero's picture
Balbero Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 6:12pm

Kanoa (chicken skin?) You've been out of the water too long mate...

poo-man's picture
poo-man's picture
poo-man Sunday, 1 Aug 2021 at 9:27pm

I watched lots of the surfing and found it quite fascinating as the format and waves were quite different to the normal WSL. The surfers clearly saw it as a big deal and NZs best described it as the best experience of his life. I don't see it as taking anything away from the normal tour but something additional every 4 years. Going to be interesting the crew that qualify for chopes in likely small waves in ISA events in 3 years time. And I was quite surprised how many non surfers I know actually watched the surfing. One of my golf mates asked me if I could do one of those whirly 360 things

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Friday, 13 Aug 2021 at 3:44pm

"The environmentally friendly sport also helps attract an audience that events like dressage and fencing struggle to reach".

https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/olympics-surfing-brilliant-riders-lo...

Appears to be a compliment.