Brazilian fans firing on Australian shores as World Surf League’s Margaret River Pro heats up

They’ve dominated men’s professional surfing for much of the past decade, winning seven of 10 world titles. And now Brazilian fans are taking over on Australian shores as well, having packed the Surfers Point hill on Saturday and at times given it the feeling of a rowdy soccer match in Rio de Janeiro. “In Australia we have great support from the Brazilian fans and it’s really special because it makes it feel like home here,” world No.1 Ítalo Ferreira said after receiving a heroes welcome following his opening heat win at the World Surf League Margaret River Pro. “The Brazilian fans have the best energy. I would love more events in Brazil, but Australia is one of the places that we love to come.” And Western Australia’s south west isn’t the only part of the country packed with surfing-mad Brazilian families and backpackers. Earlier this month at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, an electric final day of competition culminated in veteran wild-card Julian Wilson of Australia and two-time world champion Filipe Toldeo on Brazil going head-to-head for the title. Fans from both countries packed the natural amphitheatre along the shoreline and grew louder with each wave surfed. Toledo ultimately took a narrow victory with a two-wave score of 17.60 to Wilson’s 17.20. He said the atmosphere had made it one of his most memorable wins. “That was insane,” he said reflecting on the victory in Margaret River. “It almost felt like I was in Brazil but at a stadium. Both sides were trying to go louder and louder each wave so it was pretty cool. “Every time we are down in Brazil and have a contest there it’s pretty special but I think it makes it more special when you are out of you country and you still get the support.” Like his countrymen, world No.2 Yago Dora said he felt comforted by the swell of Brazilian support in Australia. “It’s not easy to be away from home for such a long time, especially this year where every event has been back-to-back,” he said. “I’ve been away for almost four months now so it is good to have the Brazilian support here, it makes it feel a bit like home.” WSL commentator Joe Turpel has called surfing for more than a decade and said the explosion of Brazilian competitors, and fans, on tour since Gabriel Medina’s breakthrough world title in 2014 was undeniable. “What an amazing fan-base — they are just fanatical,” Turpel said. “It’s emotional, it’s loud, it’s exciting. Not only are they fans of the sport, they are fans of winning and once they got a world champion all of a sudden they were coming out with the numbers to every event all around the world. “We are here in West Oz, and their fan-base sometimes almost feel like it is half of what the whole crowd is.” Brazil this season boasts 11 of the 35 men on the championship tour with Medina, Ferriera, Toledo and Andriano De Souza combining for seven world titles over the past decade. “For the Brazilian, this has been the best era they’ve ever had in the sport of surfing,” Turpel said. “We are living in this storm that took fire when Medina won the world title and they have produced the most world champions since. “Brazilians bring the fire an the passion and they are not afraid to get loud. “It’s really infectious when you meet Brazilian fans, they are really excited and not afraid to show their joy. That’s been a big part of the tour the past decade.”