Rick Clunn Struggling in 2008
There are some that bow out on top of their game such as John Elway and Mark McGwire. Then there are others who stick around for a few years too long such as Michael Jordan and Evander Holyfield. While this can easily happen in most sports because the are more physically demanding than mental, fishing is the exact opposite. It requires more of a mental challenge than physical. For that reason, some anglers do not get into the elite level until they are more seasoned such as Boyd Duckett while others are able to continue competing far past the time when athletes in most sports would have long since retired. One such angler is legendary veteran Rick Clunn.
If you take a look at Clunn’s BASS stats, the list starts in 1974 and is still being added to in 2008. In 1974, some other athletes around the nation competing in various sports included: Reggie Jackson, Gordie Howe, Joe Namath, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If you think that any of these few names I just mention could still entertain the idea of competing in their respective sport than you’re crazy. None the less, Rick Clunn is still doing it. The only difference between the Clunn of then and the Clunn of now is very little. He doesn’t have the luxury of playing as a second string quarterback or being used as a designated hitter. He has to continue to go at it every tournament for the same length of time that all of the vibrant young guns do.
Long at the lead of many debates around every fishing circle is the controversy of who is better, KVD or Clunn. Then it rolls into debate about why Clunn can’t seem to win any more and why he seems to be on a downhill skid. Whatever the reason, there is no question that the All-Time Greatest Angler as voted by us is not putting up “Clunn” type numbers. The only question I have is, If Clunn sticks around for too much longer, will the numbers he’s putting up now remain what many of the younger anglers know as “Clunn” type numbers? My answer is doubtfully. We has anglers always like to acknowledge the history of our sport and it’s founding pioneers that helped create the sport as we know it today. But with that being said, Clunn is still showing signs of struggle in competing for good finishes.
The 35 year veteran with 31 Classic appearances and 4 of them wins, failed to qualify for his first Classic back in 2002 ending his long skid of consecutive Classic appearances and didn’t make another appearance in the Classic until 2005. Since 2002, Clunn has only appeared in 3 of the 6 Classics and it looks like he may be missing another if his numbers do not improve this year.
Clunn is currently sitting in 53rd place with 658 AOY points being led by a years best 41st place finish on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain. Fishing seemed a bit odd for many of us when Roland Martin left and it would seem a lot weirder if Rick Clunn had left, but hopefully that doesn’t happen any time soon. From what I understand of Rick Clunn, he is not the kind of person who would get out because he feels like he can no longer compete for a win. I would think that he truly believes that there is a reason for this. The reason he has been around for as long as he has is because he is a competitor and as a competitor, surely he will continue to try and compete until he feels like he has gotten himself back to where he wants to be. Hopefully he figures it out soon or we will all be watching another Bassmasters Classic with Rick Clunn’s name absent from the roster.
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POSTED IN: BASS, BASS Elite Series, Miscellaneous
4 opinions for Rick Clunn Struggling in 2008
Tim
Apr 28, 2008 at 12:06 am
Great analogies, especially the comparisons to Holyfield and Super Mike. I think Elway said it best when he retired after winning the Super Bowl … “It’s better to go out a year too early than a year too late.”
BP
Apr 29, 2008 at 1:17 am
If you can do it, why not fish as a pro for as long as you can? In terms of tournament preparation Clunn has an advantage on pretty much anyone because he has seen it all and documented it. While it seems that it is getting harder for him to be competitive in the grind of a full tour schedule all he really needs is a couple of top finishes to prove he’s still got it. As long as he has a shot going in to win than he should by all means continue. And the only thing that will keep Rick from having a shot to win is some kind of serious medical issue. As long as the body is healthy, let her rip.
ALDave
Apr 29, 2008 at 7:47 am
We shouldn’t expect Clunn to be doing what he has done in the past. You can’t get much better than what he did early on in his career. Clunn has been right there many times over the past few years…. I think that maybe he has too much information in his gear locker and he may be over thinking much of time.
Tim
Apr 29, 2008 at 10:26 pm
I’m not so sure that it’s that he has too much information as it could be that the sport has evolved so much these past few years that he may actually be lacking in a few areas now.
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