Nov

14

Kelly Slater won his 10th world title in Surfing last week. No other surfer has even come close to the records Mr. Slater has racked up. Since starting on the professional tour, Slater has won 54 events, and has had many runner ups . Looking further into his winning statistics, Slater has won 72.4% of his individual heats in surfing competitions which is equivalent to batting 720 in baseball. Kelly Slater first won the world title at the age of 20 (youngest surfer to win) and he won it at the age of38 (the oldest surfer to win). He first won the Pipeline Masters at the age of 20, and was also the oldest to win it at the age of 38 in 2009. His surfing style cannot be compared to anything ever seen in the sport. He is the most fluid surfer, the most well balanced surfer, and the most aggressive surfer in the history of competitive surfing. His style evokes the finest poetry. Mr. Slater makes surfing look easy and his effortless grace reminds me of the way Joe DiMaggio played baseball. Kelly has repeatedly stressed the need to find the best coaches, learn, and practice, practice, practice.

Originally from Cocoa Beach, Fl, Mr. Slater had a mother who supported his love for surfing and drove him down to Sebastian Inlet every weekend. Sebastian Inlet is known for having a group of the most hard core locals in the world, but Kelly was at the top of the food chain by the age of 14. In fact he was so good, by the age of 11 he had tube riding, floaters, cutbacks, off the lips, aerials , and a ton of other tricks up his sleeve. Slater became very wise to the ways of the ocean and adopted an intellectual approach to the science of surfing. He was a very talented amateur, had a great career, and became a pro at the age of 18. His career took off and since 1990, Slater has been the man to beat, and most have failed trying over the last 20 years or so. In 1992, Kelly took time off from the tour to co-star in the TV series Baywatch.

Also at this time, Slater started entertaining as a troubador showing off his excellent guitar skills and great singing voice. In 1999, he combined forces with a couple of other talented surfers to form a band, eponymously named, The Surfers . They only made one album, but it was certified gold in 2001. Since then , Slater has performed with such great artists like Jack Johnson , Eddie Vedder/ Pearl Jam, Jewel, and Soundgarden. Also, during the 1990s Kelly mastered the game of golf and carries a real 3 handicap. He is well known for his ability to bet really big on his golf games and the added tension of a large wager makes his game better.

In 2004, he wrote a book, Pipe Dreams, and in 2008 he wrote the autobiography For the Love. He has written countless articles and stories for various surfing magazines, Outside Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Esquire, and many foreign periodicals. Mr. Slater is very articulate and extremely well read. He has a sideline career of trading on his good looks as a very successful model.

One could agrue endlessly about the athletic comparisons of NFL, NHL, NL,AL, NBA players versus professional surfers. But comparing Slater's 20 year reign to athletes in another individual sport, tennis, one immediately comes up with names like Rosewall, Connors, King, Navratilova. For every Rosewall or King, there was a Laver or Evert to challenge. None completely dominated tennis like Slater does surfing.

Edwin Moses had a great career in track, won a lot of victories in a row, but only dominated his niche for 10 years.

Many golfers had long careers, names like Nicklaus, Hogan, Snead, Palmer but the opposing talent was very good and they were apt to lose quite frequently. Tiger Woods has had a stellar 13 year career, but his personal problems might mean that he will never win another event.
Boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson, Ali, and Foreman all had careers lasting into their 40's, but nobody completely dominates in a sport like boxing for 20 years and they didn't.

In basketball, Bill Russell and Michael Jordan both completely ruled their sport for periods of a little more than a decade, but had to share the limelite, Russell with guys like Chamberlin and Jordan with Bird, Magic, etc.

Ted Williams, the greatest hitter of all time had a .388 average at the age of 39, but he never played on a championship team.
One could go on and on comparing Kelly Slater to Kobe Bryant, Joe DiMaggio, Carl Lewis, but it would be a moot point. None have so completely dominated their sport like Kelly Slater has dominated surfing. Equally at ease in the smallest waves to the largest macking waves, Slater has won the Eddie Aikau contest at Waimea Bay HI as well as six Pipeline Masters, which is a feat that has never been matched.
The amazing thing is that Slater's career doesn't seem to be slowing down. All of the new blood coming into the sport, talented guys like Wickwire, Jordy Smith, and Dane Reynolds get regularly taken to the woodshead and seriously schooled by Kelly Slater on a regular basis. His career is a juggernaut, and he mows down the competition even at the age of 38.

The most important thing about Slater is that he is the penultimate example of what a good sport should be. He always loses gracefully, and congratulates and compliments the winner with absolute sincerity. He has been known to call a foul on himself for interference for example. During a contest, Slater has been known to hoot and holler and exchange a high five when an opponent scores a particululary nice ride. His polite, soft spoken demeanor, and good manners demonstrate the fact that his mother did a good job of raising him.

Naysayers in the media have said Slater was through in the years, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2006, nd 2009. Mr. Slater has proven them dead wrong, yet he treats those naysayers like old friends always willing to give an interview. He's just so polite.

Kelly Slater may not be the greatest pure athlete in surfing……..guys like Laird Hamilton and Ken Bradshaw are better athletes, but Mr. Slater is the best surfer in the world, no contest. He might also be the best sportsman in the world, but I will leave others to debate that fine point. All I know is that when he was making his run at a 10th world title, I was following pro surfing for the first time in 20 years, and these past few months reminded me of the months Sosa and McGuire were going after Roger Maris's home run record. And, that is a good thing.


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