What is pro? When people enjoy watching you skate I'd say.... All kinds of other things you could use to qualify though I suppose.... wins contests..... stacks footage.... gnarliest of gnarly..... skates every (single) day..... Pushing the "limits" of the "sport". Ability to pull out anything in your bag from any time of your career, currently...? I seem to be picking up on the recurrent vibe here with a lot of people's resentment toward pros who hang around. As if they're concerned for their dignity... To use a jock analogy (not that we want to be like them), you have retired players with their names on jerseys, shoes and even shoe brands themselves... Does this mean said players think they can go bang with the current pros? No. They would readily admit that too..Their contribution is what they have done, not (clearly) what they are doing, and whatever it is people have decided it is to be pro. Some of what they have done themselves in past they can no longer do now. Point taken. Who here isn't sparked when Gino or Carroll drop something new on IG? Koston or Guy? Could be a 20 second clip. We all want to see it. Does that mean they're pro? To me it does. It just happens to be that that stuff is rare now. That same interest makes people want to support them, again, for what they have done... not what they are doing. The fact I want to see a BS tail slide on an 8" ledge from someone who isn't at the "forefront" of today's skating just as much as I can appreciate the dude who I've never heard of, but is doing things I would've thought impossible 25 years ago is exactly why they're (still) pro. And frankly, you have a dude who ripped it from 25+ years ago (I'm old ok?) show up at the park, you'll probably stop watching all the younger dudes throwing hammers and watch him... He could look like he hasn't skated in that long too..... You'll still watch. Because you know what that guy has done, and in turn could do. Thats what I'm talking about. Not to sum it up in a shitty cop-out way either, but when their name doesn't move boards, they won't put it on there. No one is getting left out because of these guys, no one is losing shine, no one is "losing out" because they're "hanging on". Whether its a notion of "fairness", "deservingness", "earning it", "having pro integrity" or whatever. Give it up. I'll buy their boards if I can. I'll support a product or brand if I know someone I respect (or used to) is behind it. I'll watch video of them when I can. There is no formula or matrix for measuring "pro-ness". Thats what makes skating what it is, its not neat or tidy. I like to gossip about skating too, thats why I'm here, but I'm totally mystified by all the chatter about people needing to hang it up. Just doesn't compute to me. All that said, I don't think everyone who's ever had their name on a board "earned" it. But most the names I see mentioned here predominately have in my opinion. Maybe someone can put it a way I could relate?
Topic: 2018 the year of retirement (Read 6638 times)