Disconnect In World of Sports
Bill Reynolds of the Providence Journal
Excuse me, but every once in a while I actually open my eyes and think I see what’s going on and then I get up on my high horse. Ever feel like that?
First a quote from one of my favorite local sports writers – Bill Reynolds of the Providence Journal. This is from a piece he wrote last Saturday. Remember that without sports Bill would be out of work and that’s why I love it when he’s not afraid to say ‘the emperor has no clothes’! From Bill’s pen:
“We live in a parallel universe, of course, a severe disconnect between the real world and sports world. And it’s never seemed more obscene. In these troubled times of high unemployment and daily stories of true heartbreak, the sports world continues to operate as if it lives on Fantasy Island, complete with endless stories about $50-million contracts, $80-million contracts, you name it. All paraded around with not even a smidgen of shame. And all in a culture where the prices for tickets and parking and everything else keeps going up, the money always in our face.” click here for more
Admit it, you see it too sometimes. I love golf and I’m not here to knock it down… But there’s trouble in River City and golf isn’t immune. There’s too many guys chasing (and making) too much money. I’m always shocked when I hear how much Glover, Rose, Watney, O’Hare, Poulter and the like make when they don’t win that much. These guys make average Wall Streeters look like paupers. Right now, if you’re in the top 100, you can play 10 years on Tour and retire like a king for the rest of your life. And if you out spend your bank account you can join the other ‘Champions’ and fill it right back up again.
Why does this upset me? To be honest, it doesn’t most of the time. I tune in and enjoy the scenery and shot making and sometimes even the drama. That is until I get a bucket of cold water in my face courtesy of reality. Just imagine for a moment how much someone makes who has to change and clean someone’s elderly mother lying in a hospital bed. It’s not pretty, but boy is it important!
I love golf for what it is, for what it has stood for over the centuries, and for what it demands from everyone who trys to come to terms with it. I don’t want it to get distorted and disfigured like most other major professional sports where the original essence of the game doesn’t really matter anymore and it becomes mostly about human misdeeds and extravagance instead of human dignity and accomplishment.
How do we know when the sport we love is being changed and taken from us? I’m not sure, but it seems to me that a telltale sign is when it starts worshipping money instead of achievement, when players tell sports reporters they are not role models, when the stars start self-destructing and when spoiled rich kids can build a golf course and then think they can buy its way into The Open rota.
My prediction is that golf as a sport will not grow in its old first world stomping grounds. However, professional golf will be able keep its coffers overflowing by an influx of third world sponsors. I submit to the jury that they look at who’s sponsoring the season’s first PGA Tour event in Maui for a taste of the future.
That will keep the big wheels turning for awhile, but what happens if global government stimulus doesn’t really keep the bottom from falling out, when unemployment funds dry up, when state governments start cutting back on everything because they’re bankrupt and penny ante poker with the boys looks prohibitive?
Wouldn’t it be nice to see the folks who run professional golf make some healthy changes before the walls come tumbling down. And wouldn’t it be nice if golf course builders stopped building monuments to themselves as Lee Trevino recently commented and started building level courses of moderate length with tee boxes next to greens so walking is enjoyable and with fees that employees from WalMart, Home Depot and Starbucks can afford?
Call me crazy, but I really believe, as Alister MacKenzie did, that golf can transform lives and cultures for the better if it’s stewards respect and protect its core values. Getting rid of U grooves is a step in the right direction, but there’s an awful long way to go. Now if we can just keep Tiger and John Daly from drawing guns in the locker room…..
Related posts:
- Refreshing Slant On Tiger Woods And Sports
- Pro Golf Takes, But Does It Give Enough?
- Golf and the Haiti Tragedy
- Common Sense & The American Way
- Money, Money, Money…..Money
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Hi John, you have a very good golf blog. Here I can found good post surely there are no B.S. writing. Thanks for your effort.