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Putting Bruce Irons in the Tahiti ASP contest pretty much sums up the eternal struggle between the ASP, it’s corpo-helper-buddies and the fans of surf who would rather get dragged across the reef than see the machine do well.

There are two schools of thought when approaching an impasse such as this. I have some feelings on both of them, but since everyone in the surf media world seems to be going with their hearts on this one I may as well do the same.

At the risk of looking like a snot-nosed little punk, who thinks he knows it all and can’t keep his mouth shut, I simply want to voice my sadness at the fact that more could not be done to #putBruceinChopes. Hosting a world-class event of any type requires countless hours of labor, planning and executing in order for it to run properly. Because of that, I can 100% understand why the ASP and it’s event coordinators would have a hard time trying to accommodate something like this.

That being said, this is where the heart thing comes into play. My opinion of this is a simple one; if you really are fans of surfing first and business people/competitors second then all logic suggests you would find a way to get Bruce in your contest.

Photo Credit Eduardo Decicino

Not only because he is a great surfer and the world deserves to see it, not only because this is “The Dream Tour” and the sport deserves to have this exposure, but also because of the fact that Bruce surfs this wave better than almost anyone AND his late brother, who everyone is claiming to be so fond of and have so much respect for won the event last year, just months before his death.

Imagine this scenario, you call a lay day for a second consecutive time, and people start to get antsy. You wait it out in hopes that the swell on it’s way produces dream like slabs; and then, when it hits, and bombs start rolling onto the Tahitian horizon like soldiers storming the beach, you defend it with one of the best ever.

Photo Credit ASP

Imagine that on the “Dream Tour”, one of the world’s gnarliest waves, one of the world’s gnarliest surferst and the whole world playing audience. Now that’s a dream.

Everyone likes to see Dane boost at Trestles, J.O.B get barreled at home on the North Shore, and Laird tow into madness on an outer reef. So here is what I don’t get, even from a business standpoint, and a totally logical ASP-type mindset, how on Earth can you afford not to put him in?
The idea behind a professional league is to have the best athletes in the sport on display, and at your disposal, so that when the opportunity for greatness presents itself, you are prepared. I see NO better situation for the ASP, Billabong, and the sport of surfer to benefit then to have Bruce floating around and waiting for an opportunity like this to come along.

There are just too many reasonable ways to make this happen to ignore them all. I have the upmost respect for the people in positions of authority with the ASP and Billabong’s events team; you have all clearly earned your spot where you are. So I won’t waste a good post by finishing it with slander, but I will say this.

I am seriously disappointed in the decision (so far) you have collectively come to. And I’m sure I can speak for the majority of surf fans when I say it really doesn’t matter how many good waves there are this week, because if you don’t put him in we will all be left wonder what could have been.

Photo Credit ASP

Rest In Peace Andy, it doesn’t take a contest for us to honor and remember you