ANA
HYPE
EAST ARENA
40
NSA PRO/AM FINALS 1986
When Tony Hawk missed the grab on a McTwist attempt dur-
ing his final run at the NSA finals in the Anaheim Convention
Center arena, his facial expression told the big story. He knew
he'd just left the door to victory wide open for any one of the top
verticalists competing in the final jam. As he knee-slid through
the flat botom of the ramp and the enthused crowd fell silent,
an uneasy smile crossed Tony's face. After all, coming into the
final stop on a stormy season-long schedule of NSA sanction-
ed ramp events, Hawk had been considered the odds-on favorite
to win at Anaheim-having virtually clinched first place in the
overall standings during the four ramp events leading up to the
finals. Even when he placed second to McGill (at Houston) and
Phillips (VA Beach) a spot poll amongst his fellow pro competitors
cast no doubt as to who they were gunning for.
At the same time, an uneasy feeling must have passed through
the collective gut of the 5 NSA judges when they realized the
serious consequences of Hawk's missed que. A skater can't bail
on the last run of the season-ending jam and come up a winner
no matter how you tally it. When the peanut shells finally settled
in the circus-like atmosphere of the arena, the sacred panel award-
ed Texas big boy Jeff Phillips a coasting victory by virtue of his
smooth power lines and varied wall-to-wall attacks. While the
suspense of the final judgement was put on hold, an elite group
of pro invitees participated in a high-air side-event that had the
packed arena of hungry skate fans tearing their hair out over
Christian Hosol's winning 10'6" vault (over and above the 10'
measuring grid).
CEAR
STREET
STREET
WEA
Condong 43
Tony Hawk, gaining height on a tuck-leg Indy air as well as the continued respect of his fellow skaters, was the man to beat in '86