LIV Golf (Saudi PIF), "Mergers," and More

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, Indy-Archer said:

Okay, I'm watching the tournament right now, streaming to my Apple TV, and I'm not minding it. The pace is good. Coverage seems adequate. Video quality appears good with no lagging so far.  At this point there isn't all of the fluff and interviews that I think plague PGA coverage. Field appears to be every bit as good as the JD Classic this weekend, IMO. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it's holding my attention so far. 

They'll get no support from me. I'm not going to watch. I'm not going to give em even a moment of my viewership. I'm not even going to take the time to look up who "wins". I don't want them in any way misconstruing the facts. I am NOT a fan.
 

[ShawnSum]

I honestly can't believe how overwhelmingly cringe everyone is acting. From the lady doing the press conference announcements/introductions to the commentators during play. Everything is so forced and it comes off very awkwardly. That's not even me jumping to conclusions because I don't support them, that's just my general feelings every time anyone opens their mouths and says literally anything. 

Another thing, Matthew Wolff looks like he's on some hard drugs or something.

[jmanbooyaa]

Wolff doesn’t belong on the PGA Tour. Ride out your endorsement contract and retire. You are not good enough. It is that simple. DJ you can’t win anymore on Tour. Move on. Brooks can’t stay healthy move on 

[70sSanO]

Matthew Wolff is 23.  He has won on the PGA Tour and had some runner-ups.  He's made $7.5M.  Probably not a bust at this stage of his career.

However, it does appear, at least at this point in time, that he may not be cut out for the PGA Tour long term.  The only issue is whether or not he is the anomaly of young players coming out of college, or does he represent a shift in what the top college players want.  I have no idea.

Losing older pros is one thing, but losing youth is entirely different.  Matthew Wolff may have zero impact on the PGA Tour, but how much impact will his decision have on NCAA golfers.  While I'm not in favor of the LIV Tour, this does put the PGA in a quandary.

Banning existing players is one thing, but I'm not sure of the legality of banning golfers who were never members.

John

Edited July 1, 2022 by 70sSanO

[Shindig]

4 hours ago, Indy-Archer said:

The Onion. Now there's a great objective, serious source!

Give them some credit;  they've only had to issue one retraction the entire run of their newspaper.  That's a pretty good track record. 

[RFKFREAK]

4 hours ago, iacas said:

 

 

Oof. 

Must take a certain kind of someone to be able to take blood money. 

[Darkfrog]

Checked out the LIV broadcast on YouTube for about 5 minutes while eating lunch at work today. Taking the Saudi aspect out of the equation, the golf isn't compelling for me at all. I went back to reading TST, home-barista, and reddit to kill time instead.

There was an irritating graphic in the upper right corner that showed a cursor going to the subscribe button, clicking, and then the "subscribe" changed to "subscribed" (like a permanent "smash that subscribe button" comment).

There was some sort of countdown which I didn't understand (and I was watching on mute so heard no explanation).

Still think the leaderboard is poorly designed for golf.

There were quite a few golf shots, however at least during the time I watched it was only covering a couple groups.

I think YouTube said around 9k viewers at the time I was tuned in.

[Shindig]

4 minutes ago, Darkfrog said:

I think YouTube said around 9k viewers at the time I was tuned in.

I have tuned in to Indoor Football streams that had more viewers than that.

[iacas]

It probably averaged 65k. Was 70 when I saw it.

[iacas]

 

[turtleback]

21 minutes ago, iacas said:

 

One of the potential ironies of LIV is that it could just ending up reminding people and refocusing them on the connection between the Saudis and 9/11.  A karmic result that results in sports blaming rather than sports washing.

[mcanadiens]

1 hour ago, turtleback said:

One of the potential ironies of LIV is that it could just ending up reminding people and refocusing them on the connection between the Saudis and 9/11.  A karmic result that results in sports blaming rather than sports washing.

I think the Saudis have to really stick with it and blow a lot of money in the process before the results (such as they are) turn positive. But, we all have short attention spans these days. In time, people may move past it and focus on other things. Of course, that may also mean ignoring LIV altogether. As near as I can tell, nobody gives a poop about it other than golfers and people with rubs against the Saudi government.  

Whether the Saudis ever get the result they were hoping for remains to be seen. Seemed like a lame idea to me from the start. 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

1 hour ago, turtleback said:

One of the potential ironies of LIV is that it could just ending up reminding people and refocusing them on the connection between the Saudis and 9/11.  A karmic result that results in sports blaming rather than sports washing.

Well said and likely the true outcome.

[jbishop15]

I hope they're paying Jerry Foltz well because this man is doing his absolute best to convince the viewers that the LIV Golf League is the second coming of Christ

Edited July 1, 2022 by jbishop15

[jmanbooyaa]

shill. An accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others.

[RFKFREAK]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

 

Anyone know who dialing that number goes to?

[Vinsk]

I bet it won’t be long until they try to drum up the Brooks/Bryson nonsense. They’re gonna want anything that will grab attention and take away from the obvious controversy.

[RFKFREAK]

34 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

I bet it won’t be long until they try to drum up the Brooks/Bryson nonsense. They’re gonna want anything that will grab attention and take away from the obvious controversy.

I guess they'll try anything but at that point, it'll probably feel scripted like out of a reality TV show.