editor’ s note
the forgotten runners-up
Quick question: Who finished second at the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup? If you followed the Cup tournament coverage at FLWFishing. com back in early August, or if you already flipped through the pages of this issue of FLW Bass Fishing magazine, then you ought to know that the answer is Michael Neal. The east Tennessee pro finished 4 pounds, 3 ounces behind champion John Cox. Here’ s another one: Who finished second at the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup? How about in the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup? And at the first Cup in 1996? Any guesses? Probably you’ d have to scan the annals of FLWFishing. com’ s tournament database to find the answers because nobody remembers second place except the guy who finished in second place.
It’ s just the way it is in championship bass fishing. To the winner goes the glory – and the big check, the sponsorships, the lifetime title of Cup champion, the spot in the history books, and so on.
Finishing runner-up is still a great accomplishment, and with regard to the Cup, there’ s a lot of history in second place. Or rather, there’ s a lot of“ almost history” in second place.
Tournament veteran Tommy Biffle has the most impressive runner-up stats in Cup history. Over a four-year span from 1997 to 2000, Biffle finished second at the Cup three times – a record. He’ s also finished second at the Bassmaster Classic twice. That’ s five runner-up finishes in 26 combined championship appearances. I’ d call him a bridesmaid, but the bristly Oklahoman is not the kind of guy you dare call a bridesmaid.
Quaker State pro Scott Canterbury has suffered a similar plight recently. The Alabaman finished second in the 2012 Cup and did it again in 2014, the latter by a scant 1 ounce behind Anthony Gagliardi at Lake Murray. Canterbury lost what would’ ve been the winning fish on the last day at Murray. It was heartbreaking not just for him, but also for the thousands of fans who watched the video clip of Canterbury’ s subsequent come apart.
Elsewhere on the list of runners-up is Mike Iaconelli, a Classic winner who nearly became the sixth pro to win both major championships in 2009, and two former Cup champs who each narrowly missed becoming the first two-time winner: Darrel Robertson in 2007 and Jacob Wheeler in 2013. Wheeler, who won the Cup in 2012, was beaten in 2013 by Randall Tharp, who took second in 2011 to Scott Martin, who took second in 2004 – proof that second chances do come around in our sport.
There are other pros on the list of Cup runners-up that have slipped from the tournament scene entirely or are still fishing but, in several cases, never really achieved the level of fame that would’ ve come their way had they finished one place higher. I wonder how often those pros that came so close to making history look back and wonder what might have been. A fish here, an ounce there. One bad decision. What small thing was it that separated them from that big silver Cup?
For Neal, such questions are fresh in his mind. While Cox basks in Cup glory, Neal will either spend the coming weeks and months pondering the could’ ves and should’ ves, or he’ ll shift his focus to the approaching 2017 season and its new opportunities. After all, how great pros react to such setbacks, and perform in the future, ultimately determines how they will be remembered.
curtis niedermier, editor-in-chief
publisher Irwin L. Jacobs
editor-in-chief Curtis Niedermier
production manager / graphic designer Michelle Dowling
senior editor Kyle Wood
associate editor Jody White
editor emeritus Colin Moore
field editors Rob Newell & Matt Williams
contributors Tyler Brinks, David A. Brown, Dan Johnson, TJ Maglio, Sean Ostruszka, Tom Redington, Paul Strege
editorial intern Dominick Schenewerk
graphic designer D. W. Reed II
graphic designer / illustrator Matt Pace
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6 flwfishing. com i october-november 2016