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
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contributors Tyler Brinks , David A . Brown , Dan Johnson , TJ Maglio , Sean Ostruszka , Tom Redington , Paul Strege
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graphic designer / illustrator Matt Pace
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6 flwfishing . com i october-november 2016