Clarion Content

Syracuse alum Mike Tirico made an interesting and we think accurate point on ESPN radio the other day when he said that the Ryder Cup, staged last week in Kentucky, did more to introduce the current crop of young American golf stars to the sporting public in a week than the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs has done in three years. The Clarion is a long standing opponent of faux playoffs in sports that never had them. (NASCAR are you listening?)

Golf is not a sport that should have a playoff. It is a frivolous and foolish attempt to raise 'excitement' (by which the powers that be mean dollars.) The golf calendar has been for some time and continues to be shaped by the four majors. The Player of the Year in golf is not the equivalent of the Most Valuable Player in other sports. Golf is an individual sport and in fact, the player of the year is more equivalent to the title holder or champion in team sports. Both start again from scratch, they have to prove it all over again next year. To Tirico's point, it is oh so obvious when comparing the effects of real, organically generated enthusiasm: the United States win in the Ryder Cup, and faux advertising dollar driven enthusiasm: the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs.


Side note: Says here that Sooner Anthony Kim (who kicked Sergio's lily-livered behind in the Ryder Cup singles last week) will be one of the top Tiger major championship foils in the years to come.

Labels: golf, Predictions, sports, Sports Economics