.jpg ". Occy and a backhand equally applicable to the unpredictable Bells Bowl as the extendable planes of Jeffrey's Bay.")
Strange rivals from another era
Tom Curren was about to board a flight from California to South Africa when STAB called to find out how he feels about his historic rematch with Occy at J-Bay this month.
In case you hadn't heard, Billabong has scheduled a one-off heat between the two greatest adversaries of the 1980s to be held when the waves are at their best during the CT event at J-Bay.
Tom gave us the scoop: not only are he and Occy taking this rematch seriously, but Tom's gonna ride a replica of one of his boards from 85-86 - a 6'3" x 18 3/4" and more than 2 1/2" thick. "Not for any nostalgic sentimental aspect," he said. "I'm riding it because I think it's a good board."
"Is he really?" Occy said later, when we called to poke sticks into the embers of his Curren rivalry. "It must be that black beauty that he had, eh?" Occ's making a similar gesture to classic retro design by packing a channel-bottom into his quiver. "I just thought of it the other day," he said. "I haven't ridden one for ages, but he (Tom) used to ride channels, and at my peak I used to have a few. I'll ride the channel if it's really perfect and smooth."
The rematch has been on the drawing board for years, but it wasn't till last week that the plan came together. Occy's been in training every day since. "I'm taking it really seriously. Someone told me I've got the wood on him (in the win-loss stakes), but I was sure he had it on me.
"I'm not sure how seriously he'll take it, though. You can never tell. He's such a mysto man, you never know how he's going to turn up. I used to have the same anxiety before I'd meet him before a big event. Every time I saw him I'd know how switched on he is just by the look in his eye.
"I'll be looking for the same thing (at J-Bay). But I haven't seen him for years, so I don't know how he's going to turn up."
If you're under 30 and detect a hint in that quote that there is a certain contrast between Occy's and Curren's characters, you're on the money. Every sport's history has its classic rivalries, but few are between adversaries as thoroughly different as these two.
"We're like fire and ice as far as our personalities go," Tom says in a Californian drawl so drawn out that I had to play the tape back on fast-forward to work out what he said. "But maybe in competition we're similar in a way."
"We're completely opposite," Occ says. "I guess you'd have to call him introvert and me an extrovert."
Occ's worried that Curren will have the advantage in this heat, given that he's a tube magnet on his forehand. "He's one of the best tube riders in the world. I'll be pretty wary of that, and I'll be looking for the be too, but I won't be looking as hard as I will be to do some big turns. If that gets me the win I'll be sweet."
The current pros, who will all be between heats at the time, will surely be unable to miss this heat, and it should light up the web too. "Everyone's really excitd about it," Occ said. "Most of the tour will be watching it, and hopefully everyone else in the wide world of webcast dot com."
Occ's now got rematch fever, and is dreaming of paddling out with Tom at the setting for their greatest ever match-up, Bells, where Tom memorably got over Occy in 86. "Hopefully Rip Curl will do it at Bells. It'd be great to see it. no one's said they would, but maybe you should hint that. Billabong's done this. Hopefully they could repay the favour." - Fred Pawle
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Reply #10 on : Sun July 05, 2009, 10:49:18