Surf Line 83

Bitter truth: there was a moment in Tahiti, after Joel and Mick had lost, but before Taj had bested CJ, when Hobgood had a clear path to a legitimate world title. It was Teahupoo, for fuck’s sake! The last venue on tour in which the cards are clearly stacked in CJ’s favor. But the moment slipped away, and the opportunity was lost. As expected, CJ surfed his heats with a keen awareness of what it takes to win at Chopes: pits. But things fell apart against Taj, as the regularfoot looked more aggressive in the deteriorating conditions. Throughout his heats, CJ’s cutbacks lacked flow and purpose, as he tacked on Donovan-esque style slouches and two-stage positional finishes. Fair enough, as the judges weren’t really scoring the cutbacks, anyway – just ask Bobby, who fell almost every time he tried to put it on rail. But against Taj, CJ’s rail-apathy might have cost him.