Outside forces acting in conspiracy

SO there he was, The Offsider, feeling a little out of sorts as he wandered aimlessly through winter's opening salvo wondering if the west coast was ever going to fire again.

He did his best to avoid contact with any local grifters in case they began raving on about the good waves they'd been scoring all over the show, dudes with far too much time on their hands, far too little responsibility, inferiority complexes and even, possibly, addiction issues. The long range forecast wasn't the greatest either, winds from the north for the week ahead at least. Disappointing in terms of southerly swell for New Zealand's west coast thus disappointing for Fiji too which ran back-to-back events in the men's and women's world championship surfing tours over the past fortnight or so.

Brazilian Gabriel Medina eventually won the Fiji Pro - left unbranded after Volcom either bailed or were 'pushed' - to move to the top of the men's WCT standings last Friday morning. The contest was held in 3-5' near perfect lefthanders at Cloudbreak, although the waves throughout remained far smaller than organisers would have wanted at a remarkable reef which is renowned for quite simply getting better the bigger it the swell. So two fluid fore-handers eventually progressed to the final through a beautiful combination of classical, neo-classical and progressive surfing.

The Offsider had teased Old Mate, a natural footer, that it was time for the goofies to step up, tired of watching natural footers dominating WCT events held in left handers. Once it became apparent Medina and Californian Nat Young would face off in the final, the guy texted back, "Clearly goofies like smaller waves." But it had long been apparent no serious swell would arrive. On the bright side, the waves didn't seem that out of reach for a Kiwi who had spent the majority of his 30-plus years of surfing living in Raglan and Ahipara.

The girls, meanwhile, caught the only decent swell of the year so far the week before the men's event (the same swell which passed through Ahipara as shown in the Tuesday edition last week) but were, for the most part, clearly out of their depth which proved frustrating to watch at times. The other highlight for many which emerged from the Fiji Pro came 'off field', e.g. the 10 Questions with Kelly Slater interview. Anyone wishing to hear possibly the most erudite athlete in the world should check it out. Slater's form as a commentator or in front of the mic is nearly as inspiring as his surfing, if not more so. It was almost spooky.

Back in the Far North, the winter monsoons arrived earlier this week, saturating sports fields across the province. Imagining that would result in a number of games being called off this weekend, the Age sportsbuster considered heading west to cover club rugby at Kohukohu on a pitch which some have labelled the Eden Park of the North.

Winter's sudden onset also found him hitting the hay far earlier than usual, crawling under the duvet to read Cheleyna her bedtime story and often ending up falling asleep with her. But he hadn't slept so well in ages, waking well before dawn to listen to the farming reports on the wireless while his brew of espresso chortled away on the stove as the sun rose. Suddenly, the realisation hit him like a slap across the face with a wet fish! The lack of waves, the La Nina weather pattern, the early nights, that underlying sense of anticipation Both internal and outside forces had been conspiring to prepare him - in the same way an astronaut acclimatises for a trip into outer space by spending time in a gravity-free chamber - for a month of 4am kick offs with the 2014 Fifa World Cup beginning tomorrow morning! Asked who he was picking, The Offsider would love to be able to tell his grandkids he'd witnessed Lionel Messi help Argentina lift the Jules Rimet Trophy and lay claim, once and for all, as the greatest player of his generation.

Of course, much was being made in the media of a Brazil in turmoil with public transport strikes, protests against the billions being spent on a sporting event, unfinished venues and police running around the streets in riot gear. It was all shaping up to be a very interesting world cup indeed. Let the games begin!

The Offsider is Age sportsbuster Francis Malley. Respond at sports@northlandage.co.nz