Did you watch that round 3 heat of the Ripcurl Pro Bells Beach with Kelly Slater and Nic Muscroft?  If you didn’t I suggest clicking this link and watching it.  Kelly does it again for the ….thousandth time.  Nic dropped a 9.5 leaving Kelly in second and needing a mid ranged 8.  Kelly had just broken his board and after a quick swap was back in the line-up.  With under 3 minutes Kelly baits Nic into the first wave of the set and op’s for the 3rd wave.  He fly’s down the line and goes for an air without success.  With most people you would say game over, but Kelly isn’t most people.  With around a minute remaining Kelly paddles hard back into the lineup and takes off on a wave with 5 seconds remaining.  He throws his first turn with tons of power and spray.  He threw multiple cutbacks to the inside and then the magic happens.  He throws a Air-reverse in an insanely critical part of the wave, at a wave that’s not typical known for airs.  He is rewarded with a 9.23 and moves on to the next round.  Kelly won this event for the first time in 1994 and eighteen years later he’s on track to win it again.  It’s only round 3 but you can never count Kelly out for a win.  It goes without saying that Kelly is the best surfer and one of the best athletes in the world.  I am forever a fan of Kelly.  Many people dislike him because he wins too much and they want to see other people win.  We feel bad for those who have to surf against him because he has dominated for such a long time.  I feel like it should be an honor and challenge to compete against Kelly and have a chance to beat him.  Those few who have won titles while Kelly was on tour should be twice as proud as those who were not.  May the best man win!  For more on the Bells contest click here.  

(Video: Kelly pulls the air of the year at the Quiksilver Pro New York in 2011)