The world's greatest athlete, dude

Geez. It feels like The Real Fitness Nerd's been pickin' a lot of fights over the last couple weeks. How about we end the week with a little stoke?

My friend and fellow beach-dweller Emily turned me on to this cool article on the GrindTV blog about Kelly Slater, one of the greatest surfers of all time and, as the author suggests, possibly the greatest athlete of all time.

Nine-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater won the Hurley Pro Saturday at Lower Trestles, the same San Clemente, Calif. venue where he won his maiden victory as a pro nearly 20 years ago to the day.

Of course, if and when any mention of his win makes the mainstream sporting press in the U.S. it's likely to be shoehorned between coverage of the latest hot dog-eating contest and a brawl between college mascots.

Yet this win in particular should be acknowledged because it marks a milestone in sports that's rarely -- if ever -- reached. I'm biased, of course, so I'll ask you to shoot my theory down by answering the following question off the top of your head: Please name an athlete -- any athlete -- who's been the dominant force in their respective sport for a span of two decades?

If you don't know about Slater, this is a great place to start. If you know him well, it's cool bit o' hero worship. Even though I'm not much of an advocate of professional surfing, this guy blows me away. I've seen him surf live a number of times and the synergy he has with the waves is incredible. He just belongs out there.

I also met him once at an airport in Melbourne, Australia, where I was living at the time. I was with a few other surfers on the way out of town. The Rip Curl Bells Beach Easter Classic was happening that week, so top shelf waveriders from all over the globe were pouring in and taking over our breaks. As much as the idea of sitting in the line-up with the cream of surfing's crop sounds groovy, it also tends to reduce the amount of waves you catch, so we were getting as far away from the comp as possible.

Unlike other sporting professions, the life of a pro surfer can be somewhat austere at times, so it wasn't all that surprising that the short, blinding handsome guy traveling all by himself, struggling to balance a quiver of half-a-dozen boards on his baggage cart, was Slater. But we weren't 100% sure, so my friend Damian walked over to him.

"Hey," said Damian.

"Hey," said maybe Kelly Slater.

"You Kelly Slater?" asked Damian.

"Yeah," said now-confirmed-to-be Kelly Slater.

"Cool," Damian mumbled and walked back to us, just as Slater's boards pitched the right, sending him scrambling. I suggested we help him, but Damian said no, we'd just embarrass him. And he was right. Kelly Slater had conquered every monster wave on the planet, completely on his own. Self reliance is crucial for a guy like that. The last thing he'd want was a bunch of sycophantic board caddies.

Personally, I would have appreciated the help. No pride here when it comes to luggage - even carry-on items. That's probably why he's a world champion and I'm just a guy who surfs.

I have just as much fun in the water, though.