Where's Bruce Irons these days?

Sadly that's a question almost nobody's asking right now. And therein lies his problem. Bruce has dropped off the radar ever since he threw in his ASP towel. While we were lucky enough to catch a few brief glimpses of his full potential during his competitive days, his surfing left the razor's edge area years ago, when he gave up. And with guys like Dane Reynolds, Jordy Smith and Owen Wright filling the void, Bruce Irons, today, is largely forgotten.

Now Andy Irons may be headed down the same path.

Andy Irons' 2010 comeback hopes have yet to gain any traction. The fire that drove him to three very well-deserved world titles has been -- for whatever reason -- reduced to smoke. After his recent loss in Brazil he's got just two events left to stoke any flames hiding amid the ashes.

So can he do it?

The track record says yes, absolutely. Andy's been to the abyss and back before. In the late 90s he failed to requalify during his rookie year on tour. His trip back to the minors lit a fire under his ass -- a fire he used to scorch the competition en route to his three back-to-back world titles.

The problem is that was nearly a decade ago, when a young Andy Irons had plenty left to prove.

Today is different. Andy desperately wants something to prove -- but he doesn't seem to be convinced of what exactly that is.

In a perfect world he'd have it in him to give Slater and the rest another run. But he's still got some dust to brush off his boards and body if that's to become a reality. And he's got about two more months to do it.

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