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!
