#TBT: Dennis Busenitz Winning Tampa Pro Run 2011

At every contest I’ve ever been to, after the first couple people have skated really well, the announcers will without fail turn to each other and say, “I’m glad I’m not a judge.” At Tampa Pro 2011, I was one of the judges the announcers were happy not to be. The story went like this: Nyjah had already put in what was without a doubt the contest-winning run. And then Busenitz dropped in for his. A couple things worth mentioning, Nyjah had placed second behind P-rod in 2010 with a flawless run, and even a year later the debate still raged as to whether the results should have been different. Busenitz already had his Tampa Pro victory from 2005, and so he was prequalified straight into the Semi Finals. Dennis being the humble low-key type that he is, used the opportunity to avoid the park all weekend and show up totally unexpectedly and out of the blue on Sunday morning. No warm ups necessary. Notice the run he took. It didn’t’ consist of the hardest tricks ever done, but the way he did them, and the way he strung that line together, and the way he used every obstacle, made it for once, really easy to be a judge. Busenitz took his second Tampa Pro and it would be another three years before Nyjah would stand on top of the podium. - Paul Zitzer