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Is The PGA Tour Ready For A Gay Player?

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Does a gay player on the PGA Tour matter? (photo by Benson Kua / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Does a gay player on the PGA Tour matter? (photo by Benson Kua / CC BY-SA 2.0)

I’m sure we all know by now the Super Bowl is the most publicized sporting event in the country. In the week leading up to the game it seems there is more media coverage at the Super Bowl than any two other major sporting event’s championships combined. Now I know this, and you know this. But it always seems like there’s a player or two who just can’t let the opportunity to say something stupid in front of dozens of writers and cameras slip by. This year, it was 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver.

When confronted with a question from comedian Artie Lange asking if there were any gays in the NFL or on the 49ers, Culliver missed the chance to side-step the question and instead took the opportunity to make himself into the media’s newest villain. Regarding gays on his team, Culliver responded with the following, well-thought out and intelligent reply:

“No, we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can’t be with that sweet stuff.”

And with such a lucid, clever response, one has to wonder where the “dumb jock” stereotype even comes from.

However, I do have to give Culliver a little credit somewhere. For starters, he apologized for his comments (although I don’t feel he needed to apologize for being honest and saying how he really feels – he was just wrong to put it the way he did at the time he did). But I also have to give him credit for opening up discussion regarding gays playing major sports. The discussion has been had as to whether other major sports are ready for an openly gay athlete to make himself known…but not so much in golf.

So what do you think? Is the PGA Tour ready for one of its tour pros to come out? I have my opinion, which I will share in a moment. But in the meantime, how would you feel if a PGA player came out? What do you think the affect would be – positive or negative for the tour? How about the fans reaction overall – positive or negative? Or would simply no one care?

My opinion – Who cares? Honestly, I feel it’s no one’s business and I’d rather everyone just keep their sexual orientation to themselves. Why do I care if you’re gay or not? Just play the sport you’re playing. Keep your private life to yourself. I don’t need straight people to come out and tell me they’re straight. So what makes people feel that I need to know if they’re not? Does it make them any less or more of an athlete? Of course not. And since being a professional athlete is the only reason I know who these people are anyway, then let’s just keep it that way. Would it have some kind of affect on the tour? I don’t know. All I do know is it shouldn’t.

But thanks to Artie Lange and Chris Culliver, this ridiculous conversation that pops up every once in a while regarding gay athletes has been rehashed. What’s our fascination with it? Why do we care? Why do we feel we need to know? Why do we think it matters? We need to let it go and cheer on our favorite athletes for what they are – great athletes. We’re cheering for what they do on the playing field, not what they do in their private lives. Let’s learn to understand the difference.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Every Golf Tournament Could Be An All-Star Game

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So we all know by now that the NFL’s Pro Bowl has become more of a side-show than an actual competitive game.  Defenses haven’t really shown up since 1998.  Star players opt out.  Super Bowl players don’t participate.  The rules are changed to make the game “safer.”  It’s a sham really.  It’s bad football, but it’s still football nonetheless, so I usually watch.

Like any all-star game in any sport, the potential is there.  It has the chance to be such a great game!  How could a game featuring all of the league’s best players at their respective positions not be fantastic if played as hard as the game should be played?  But with the risk of injury, the changes in rules and lazy play, it becomes just the exhibition game that it actually is.  But all of the pieces are there…it’s just missing that meaningful game feel.

But this is an area where the PGA Tour has a leg up on every other major sport.  They have the ability to put together an “all-star” lineup at every tournament if they would simply shake-up their tournament schedule a bit. 

I’ve said it several times before, but the PGA Tour needs a real championship at the end of their season.  Enough of the money leader.  Enough of the ranking system that no one understands.  The players need to battle it out on the course.  And if there was a smaller, more streamlined schedule in which players were required to play in order to qualify for the championship, then every required tour stop would result in a star-studded field.  If this was the case you’d have to imagine the TV ratings would rise, as would the gate.   

But you can’t expect every player to play all of the tournaments, right?  Of course not.  Only a certain amount of the stops would be required – maybe in the 15-20 area.  The rest would be their choice to play either for a shot at the purse, the chance to make some more money or just to keep the competitive juices flowing.  But certain stops would be required to qualify.  Play all of the required stops and you play in the championship.

The point is, the PGA Tour has the ability to field an all-star game every time out.  What if every meaningful tournament featured all of the top players on the tour?  No one skipping out on tournaments because if they did, they wouldn’t qualify for the championship.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t watch golf on TV very much…but an idea like this would certainly get me more interested.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

Golf Requires Teamwork…Sometimes.

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Once again it’s come down to that time of year when the U.S. battles it out with Europe for the Ryder Cup. Although I’m not a huge fan of watching golf tourneys, this one is a little different. Why? Because it involves teamwork, more than just golfer-caddy. In fact, I might even check the Ryder Cup odds and throw down a few bucks on it.

I don’t see anything wrong with wagering on your team. It’s like the Super Bowl for golf except the golfers don’t get paid. I guess it is more of a privilege to be there. An important thing to note about the Ryder Cup is that a good chunk of their profit goes back into helping develop the game.

Supposedly (do we ever really know), the monies earned are split amongst different organizations that promote golf to young kids or build and run training centers for the youth etc, etc… Actually, close to 3,000 free golf lessons were provided via Ryder Cup profits in 2011.

In 2004, the Ryder Cup was restructured and an agreement was formed between the PGA and it’s European counterparts to form the Ryder Cup European Development Trust. It pretty much takes a piece of the net profits and through grants, gives it back to grass roots efforts to spread golf through Europe.

Some of the key areas effected by this trust are to make golf available at schools, develop and organize a system for junior golf and make the game accessible to all. I have to say, I was not aware the Ryder Cup had this much of an impact. Talk about teamwork!

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the PGA Draft

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Anybody catch the NFL Draft this past weekend?  If you’re a football fan, then you probably watched at least some of it.  Even if just to see what your favorite team did with it’s top pick or two.  I know I was tuned in for quite a while.  And I thought breaking it up over three days was a mistake, but boy was I wrong.  Some co-workers and I, who all happen to be Patriots fans, we’re discussing the first round on Friday morning in anticipation of the upcoming rounds.

It seems kind of funny doesn’t it?  Watching teams just pick their players, some of whom will not even make the team.  But that’s how big the NFL is.  It sometimes seems the draft is second in the sport’s popularity to only the Super Bowl.  And it’s only getting bigger.  Now it’s in prime-time, broken up over three days.  And this year, an unprecedented five international players were drafted (players not from the U.S. but attended college and played football here) as well as an American born player who attended college in Canada.  The sport is now truly going global.

About a year-and-a-half ago, I asked the question “What if PGA Tour golf was a team sport?”   Now, after tuning into the NFL draft for a while, it got me thinking about it further.  As I said, the draft is a big event for the NFL and it’s fans – maybe second only to the Super Bowl.  Well, if golf was a team sport, then why not the same intrigue there?  After all, the PGA doesn’t have a “Super Bowl” of it’s own (although it should), but it does have four majors that are always popular.  And, like the Super Bowl but on a much smaller scale, these are the only tournaments that non-golf fans really care much about at all.     

Now when I say teams, I don’t necessarily mean that teams such as the Florida Whiteshoes or California Earthquakes have to be created, although that would be great, wouldn’t it?  But it could be something like Nascar does with teams – owners, but still individual drivers.  Or, they could be sponsor teams such as Team Callaway, Nike or Ashworth, etc.. 

Imagine Team Nike drafting someone out of college or the amateur rankings with the #1 overall pick.  Follow that up with Team Callaway trading out of the #2 spot in exchange for the #5 pick and another player on the tour.  I don’t know about you, but this sounds like fun!  Although, obviously individual player sponsorships would probably get in the way here.       

Additionally, it could also be a good way to bring attention to college golf.  See, you don’t have to be a football fan to know who Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III is.  But truthfully, I can’t name one college golfer right now.  I’m sure there’s a college golfer who is somehow ranked as the #1 golfer in the country at that level…but I have no idea who he is.  That seems wrong to me.  But something tells me that if there was a big event to introduce these guys to all the PGA Tour fans, that would probably change.   

Ahhh, listen…I’m just a football fan who’s excited about my teams draft picks.  I’m one of those people who feel the draft is pretty exciting.  To me, it’s almost like an unofficial kickoff to the preseason, or at least a halfway point between seasons.  After all, the first preseason game is just over three months away.  I always look for ideas to inject some excitement into golf and try to help increase viewership and popularity among the younger generation.  And judging by the current state of the game, no one else seems to have too many great ideas.

Swing ’til you’re happy! 

Golf On Super Bowl Sunday?

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Well, that was my favorite day of the year. People always ask others, “What’s your favorite holiday?” Generally I answer with Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas, depending upon…well, actually I don’t know what it depends upon. My answer just tends to change. But I think I’m going to start being more consistent with my response. From this point on, my answer is going to be Super Bowl Sunday.

After all, I think more people celebrate, or gather for Super Bowl Sunday than any other holiday. People of all race, religion and sex celebrate the championship game of the greatest spectator sport going. Even people who aren’t really into football are there for the celebration! And whether the game is competitive or not, it doesn’t make a difference. My eyes are pretty much glued to the TV until the final whistle…and then some.

But even on Super Bowl Sunday, I’ll still make some time for another love – golf. Not a real round, it’s too cold for that and it takes too long. I can’t have any potential interruptions to either the game or the preparations leading up to it. I’m talking about indoor golf. Or, more specifically, the golf simulator.
,br>Now, I’ve mentioned before that I believe the simulator is more of a giant game video game than it is a useful tool. It’s inaccurate distance-wise, doesn’t have a real “golf course feel” obviously, and I’m not sure how accurate it is a far slices and hooks. But that doesn’t make it any less fun! And much like regular golf, that’s all I’m really there for. So when the invitation was extended earlier in the week, I was in immediately.

But I think using the simulator is more than just a game too. It’s a way to get a few swings in over the winter. It will help me to stay in “golf shape” so I don’t hit the course next season looking like I’ve never swung a club in my life. But then I think to myself…”Who am I kidding? I don’t really give a crap about that. I just want to play a big video game!” I’ve still got a whole lot of kid in my heart, so the simulator is right up my alley…and I’m not going to pass up the opportunity.

But…the tee-time was beginning to cut things a little close. After all, it is Super Bowl Sunday still. But for the golf simulator I’m willing to risk cutting into a little bit of prep time. We had to change the tee-time twice. One more change and I may have had to backout. I have also mentioned before, for me, golf takes a backseat to football. And that’s real golf! The simulator has no chance!

But I was there. I was there on Super Bowl Sunday. On the greatest day of the year for sports fans, I made sure to squeeze in a little bit of golf. Even if it was just a video game, nonetheless, I was there…

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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