Thursday, November 22, 2001
Garcia guns for title,
everyday happiness
By Nick Abramo Many juicy waves. No pressure.
nabramo@starbulletin.comThat sums up Sunny Garcia's life lately.
The 31-year-old Waianae boy is the reigning world men's surfing champion, and he's in the midst of defending the title he worked to attain for 15 years as a pro.
But instead of worrying about the final outcome of this year's Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour, he's just going to let his surfing do all the work with as much of an easy-going attitude as possible.
"I don't have that feeling of 'I gotta win, I gotta win,' " Garcia said. "It was a great burden taken off my shoulders last year and I don't feel like I need to prove myself to the world, because I've already done it."
It's no secret that Garcia gets a bit miffed at how the media depicts him as an overly heated, nasty competitor.
"I've been made out in the press to be not the nicest person," Garcia said. "But, my friends and family love me and I don't think I'm a bad guy.
"I fight for what I believe is right, and sometimes I'm taken the wrong way."
For instance, Garcia recalls that when Mick Campbell of Australia said that Americans are "pathetic" during a heat, he wasn't going to stand there and take it. Instead, he responded with a verbal outburst and later called Campbell "insignificant."
The next day, Garcia officially apologized for his remarks.
"I consider myself a Hawaiian and a patriotic American," he said. "So I wasn't going to let someone tell me Americans are pathetic."
The highlight of this year so far for Garcia is beating Kelly Slater twice in the same contest at Bells Beach, Australia.
"Kelly Slater, Kelly Slater, everything is Kelly Slater," Garcia said, referring to the six-time world champion from Florida.
"First of all, Kelly is a really good friend of mine, but I get sick and tired of always hearing about him. ... So it's always nice to get him in a heat and beat him."
Garcia, who lives on Kauai now, calls Backdoor Pipeline his favorite spot to surf, and he believes the best thing about traveling is that he gets to come back home to the meaty Hawaii waves.
Going into the season-ending WCT event --the Nov. 26 to Dec. 7 Rip Curl Cup at Sunset Beach --Garcia is behind ratings leader C.J. Hobgood of Florida as well as Mark Occhilupo of Australia, Cory Lopez of Florida and Taylor Knox of California. Fellow Hawaii surfer Andy Irons is right behind Garcia, and both have a shot at keeping the world title in the state.
Garcia is also vying for his sixth Triple Crown championship, which goes to the best combined performance in last week's G-Shock Hawaiian Pro, the Rip Curl Cup and the Xbox Gerry Lopez Pipeline Masters specialty event from Dec. 8-17.
Garcia loves living on Kauai, because it still has a lot of what he calls the "old-time Hawaii" feel to it.
"It's similar to Waianae," he said. "Not too many people, (not too many) traffic lights."
It's a place for him to relax and relish life.
"Life is to enjoy," Garcia said. "My goals, they've never changed. I've always wanted to be one of the best surfers in the world, and I've achieved it.
"What's harder is to achieve being happy every day. It's easy for people to say, 'He's a surfer who makes a lot of money, he must be happy.' But I wake up in the morning and can have problems just like anyone else.
"So I keep trying to achieve an everyday happiness. That's important to me."
Just like the rest of us, Sunny Garcia has some problems.
And while surfing doesn't cure everything, it doesn't hurt to rip, slash and get barreled in Hawaii's powerful waves to wash away what ails you.
Another world title or Triple Crown championship would be a potent elixir as well.
Tomorrow: Keala Kennelly
Who: Top men's pro surfers Rip Curl Cup
What: Season-ending Association of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour event and second leg of the Vans Triple Crown
Where: Sunset Beach, Oahu's North Shore
When: Nov. 26 to Dec. 7
Extra reason to watch: The 2001 men's world champion will be crowned
Hotline: 596-SURF
Web site: triplecrownofsurfing.com
Men's World Championship Tour leaders: 1. C.J. Hobgood, Florida, 3,094 points; 2. Mark Occhilupo, Australia, 2,816; 3. Cory Lopez, Florida, 2,780; 4. Taylor Knox, California, 2,552; 5. Sunny Garcia, Hawaii, 2,422; 6. Andy Irons, Hawaii, 2,365; 7. Jake Paterson, Australia, 2,328. ASP ratings