Sports fans love a good rivalry.
Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali. Lakers vs. Celtics. Dodgers vs. Giants. The list goes on.
If there ever was a surfing equivalent of these more mainstream sporting rivalries, Kelly Slater vs. Andy Irons would undoubtedly be it. For a handful of years, before Andy’s untimely death, the two were neck and neck (and at each other’s necks). And there to watch it all go down was a young Mick Fanning, who spoke about the rivalry below:
On Andy, Mick said:
“Andy surfed on all emotion. You’d be his best mate, then you’d put on that wet shirt, and he would bring something up where you might’ve beaten him in Scrabble or this or that, and he wanted to kill you…like, proper kill you.
“I remember being in a heat with him, and he’s swearing at me, and I’m like, ‘Mate, we’re staying in the same room.’ I’d always do my best not to piss Andy off before a heat.”
As for Kelly:
“Whereas Kelly would just go really deep within himself. He’s got this competitor in his own brain that he’s trying to beat the whole time. He would not only want to beat the person he was [surfing] against, but he’d wanna beat himself. He would just embarrass everyone else because he was so good.”
“They were so different. Andy was just next level. And Kelly is just one of those freaks…he’s just so naturally gifted.”
Mick was a competition machine back in his day, too. His main rivals included Andy and Kelly, but also Joel Parkinson, Gabriel Medina, Adriano de Souza, and others.
But since the Kelly vs. Andy era, there hasn’t been a surfing feud quite as intense, begging the question: Will surfing ever see another rivalry so fierce? If so, between whom?
***
Don’t miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We’re always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels.
Whether you’re a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos.