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For the second straight year Brett Simpson is your U.S. Open champion. "Last year was a dream come true, but this just amazing," said an elated Simpson in his post win press conference. "To have the support of all these amazing fans here in Huntington, and the support of Hurley, I mean, what they've been able to do here with this contest is remarkable. I'm just so stoked right now."
2010 U.S. Open Highlights
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Consider it a beach party with half a million of your closest friends. But amidst all the madness there was a surf contest going on, here's photographic proof.
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One hundred grand richer, the hometown hero had to work hard for his money. In the final, which proved to be somewhat anticlimactic considering the fireworks we've seen all week, he had to best a rampaging Jordy Smith, who's currently ranked number one in the world. Coming off two wins in his last two tries, the smart money was on Smith. But he never quite found the rhythm he was looking for."Oh bru, he's having a shocker out there," moaned one of his South African countrymen with less than five minutes remaining in the final.
All told, it was an extremely hard-fought morning. Held in mediocre two- to four-foot surf, of the six heats surfed in the quarters and semis, only one was decided by more than a point (Kelly Slater handily dispatched Granger Larsen in the third quarterfinal). And of all the close heats, it was Simpson's bare-knuckle scrap with Slater in the semis that proved to be the toughest test -- Simpson advanced on a fraction of a point so thin, it was practically abritrary.
"I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders with that 0.04 separating the two," one of the judges was heard saying shortly after Simpson had advanced into the final. "It was so close, but Brett was surfing sharper and faster. I wish he hadn't made a couple little mistakes so it would have opened things up more, but the right guy won that one."
"Surfing against Kelly? It's what you want as a competitive surfer. He's the best, and you want to go out and try to prove yourself against the best," said Simpson. It's a good thing Simpson relishes surfing against the world's best, considering yesterday he had to get passed Dane Reynolds, and today he had to surf through a former event winner in Nathaniel Curran, and then had to top the nine-time world champ and current world number one. That's a lot of pressure for a kid who's on the brink of falling off the World Tour.
It's hard to imagine a heat getting much closer than four hundredths of a point, but somehow the Pro Junior final managed. Evan Geiselman edged his way to the title over Alejo Muniz by a slim 0.03.
After an awkward interference call handicapped Muniz in the early minutes of the final, Geiselman seized control and never looked back. "That's the closest final I've ever had," said Geiselman afterward. "It's crazy how close things were there in the last few minutes. I don't know, somehow I hung on. Winning something like this in front of all these people, I'm blown away."
By the time the Men's final took the water a slight northwest cheese breeze had textured the surface of the water, and the set waves were far and few between. Simpson's obviously spent ample time out at the pier and is well tuned in to its many moods. As the conditions deteriorated his surfing got better and better. With thousands of people lining the pier and the beach, all cheering him on, he probably could have punted a four-foot air reverse off a jet ski wake. "It's the biggest stadium in surfing," said Simpson. "How can you not get pumped up in front of a crowd like that?"
"It wasn't exactly J-Bay, it's Huntington, it's never going to be perfect," said Smith afterward, not all that impressed with the conditions. "You've got to kind of adapt to everything and Brett did that the best. It's a big event and Brett has done it again, congratulations to him."
Considering all the madness, it's been one hell of a show down here in Huntington. While I was left a little confused by the two groups of protesters on the corner of Main St. -- one carrying signs that read "Jesus Saves," the other hoisting pickets that said "Legalize Pot" -- I was told last year's attendance record was shattered in the first three days of the 2010 campaign, which means well over half a million have shuffled through this Surf City on the sand. Last night a free Weezer concert drew somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 to 30,000 people. Bob Hurley described it as a "sea of humanity." Considering all the horrendous tattoos, near-naked teeny boppers, and the 40-year-old woman vomiting in the trash can, I'd say that's a relatively generous assessment.
But at its core the U.S. Open is about surfing, and this week we've seen the biggest prize purse in history go out to the women, while the Pro Juniors proved that age is no barrier when it comes to high performance surfing. And as for Simpson? Well, seeing as he's won two hundred thousand dollars at the U.S. Open in the past year, I think it's safe to say he doesn't mind hosting all of this chaos in his backyard.
US Open of Surfing Men's Final Results:
1. Brett Simpson (USA) 13.97
2. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 8.33
US Open of Surfing Men's Semifinals Results:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.00 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.80
Heat 2: Brett Simpson (USA) 13.37 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.33
US Open of Surfing Men's Quarterfinals Results:
Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.66 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 16.10
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.26 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 16.07
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.94 def. Granger Larsen (HAW) 7.43
Heat 4: Brett Simpson (USA) 10.14 def. Nathaniel Curran (USA) 9.74
US Open Pro Junior Men's Final:
1. Evan Geiselman (USA) 12.57
2. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 12.54
3. Kolohe Andino (USA) 8.23
4. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 7.67