Rory has no star power

[FarawayFairways]

Alan Bean I know walked on the moon. Who's Neil Armstrong. Did he ride a bicycle?

Al Shepherd played golf on the moon of course

It makes perfect sense that Nike will play their cards according to the market they wish to reach. In the next 10 years the battleground will shift to China though where brand loyalty hasn't been established. It's much more cost effective to get a customer to buy your product first than it is to persuade one who buys someone elses to switch to yours

Nike don't have a great reputation as a corporation in the far east, and American endorsements always carry political risks in China. Who will they lead with? I suspect a bit of both to be honest

[zipazoid]

well, Arnie STILL outearns and is more popular than Jack, so...

so...what?

[Monte the Bear]

Nike would be moronic to not push the guy from the UK that's dominating the golf world. Go to anywhere else, and it's still pretty much Tiger. It'll be interesting to see if Rory can ascend, but it's still not even close and won't be for a while.

Tiger changed golf like Lawrence Taylor changed linebacking, like Jordan changed basketball. Look at how buff Rory is and Fowler is trying to get, that's b/c of Tiger. Rory can't be bigger than Tiger b/c he's using Tiger as a model. The original will always be more interesting than the copycat. Know who Alan Bean is? No, how about Neil Armstrong - both did the same thing.

See, this is your problem. No-one outside of America knows who Lawrence Taylor is. You guys know because he was a 'World Champion' (this always make me laugh...World Champion of one country - I digress). Jordan changed what in basketball? He won, but he wasn't Larry Bird. He just got marketed at the right time - a talented guy who stayed pretty loyal, was a decent guy, did the right thing. He's probably the biggest star in Nike's sky that has not disgraced himself.

Can we say the same thing about Tiger? Have you noticed how small Tiger Woods is these days since Olympic drug testing came in? Do you think there is any connection between golf introducing drug testing and Tiger taking 6 months off? And how all of these injuries keep happening without the upper core strength he had? How far back he is? Do you think that he left the field of play at Firestone because he was injured? Or was it because he was being humiliated by Bubba and by his inability to cut it?

Because that right there, those questions, are the frame of reference for the TW brand today.

And that is why, worldwide, you will see Rory McIlroy's face. And slowly this is what will become the case in the USA. And you know it. And the idea that McIlroy is a copycat for Tiger is so hilarious, they are so different. I don't think Gerry McIlroy is comparing Rory to Gandhi or calling him the Golden Child, able to change the world.

Besides, Woods had a poster of Nicklaus on his wall as a kid. Go figure.

[Monte the Bear]

Fact - Nike (golf) gross sales as reported 31st December 2013: $792,000,000. Projected figures for 2014, as of last quarter: $789,000,000 (0.38% decrease).

Fact - Callaway gross sales as reported 31st December 2013: $842,810,000.

I got my facts from Mergent and the US SEC filings. Where are your facts from?

Or maybe Callaway makes all of its money from balls....

Taylor Made just closed the Adams factory in Cal. All hands fired. They also just fired 15% of the TM staff as well.

Ask any pro in a shop about the horrific discount wars that have been going on between Callaway and Taylor Made - introducing new models every 6 months to appease their shareholders and then 6 months later slashing the price of the same product. Meanwhile Ping (family owned) go about their business nice and quietly, and Nike are selling VRX's at full price whilst the sheep hack away with the latest gimmick. Pro shops have a specific amount of distaste for the way Callaway and TM have gone about their business and underneath being upset for the loss of the 500 jobs from Dicks, a lot of club pro's are quietly quite pleased to see these chop shops go down the pipe.

[boogielicious]

@Monte the Bear ,

Please use multi-quote.

[FarawayFairways]

For my sins, I actually do know who Lawrence Taylor is, largely because of Ch4 on Sundays in the mid 1980's

He played linebacker for the New York Giants (No. 56). To suggest he was a global sporting phenomenon is pushing it, as almost by definition an NFL player can't be, anymore than a game that only requires a short burst of energy every 5 secs in 30 is really that much of a sport. Hell, when they haven't got the ball they all go and sit down and rest

CH4 had quite a good formula as they showed edited highlights from the pick of the previous weeks games. For about 2 years there was this fast moving colourful game that always had an exciting finish. Then someone said lets expand it and show full length games. That's when the balloon burst, as people realised that the NFL was just a glorified commerical break with a little bit of entertainment built round the adverts.

Having said that, there is a hardcore of NFL fans but we're talking minority sport

[boogielicious]

@FarawayFairways ,

Please stay on topic. If you want to bash US sports, start a thread in the Sports section of the forum.

[FarawayFairways]

Well please be consistent in your moderating as it clearly wasn't me that introduced the lunar landings or Lawrence Taylor into this thread. IN fact I was the third person to mention him by name

Threads occasionally warble off for a few posts, can even do so for a few pages, but if there's any substance to the meat of the subject matter they'll return to the original epicentre without the need to keep constantly diving and issuing public rebukes

[CraiginKSA]

Having said that, there is a hardcore of NFL fans but we're talking minority sport

Was that statement meant to be sarcastic?  Because that is absolute nonsense.  Of the 50 most watched sporting events in 2013, 46 of them were NFL games.  The top 26 were all NFL games.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2013/12/2013-ratings-wrap-nfl-dominates-list-of-most-watched-sporting-events/

What do you consider a major sport?

[Silent]

Was that statement meant to be sarcastic?  Because that is absolute nonsense.  Of the 50 most watched sporting events in 2013, 46 of them were NFL games.  The top 26 were all NFL games.

http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2013/12/2013-ratings-wrap-nfl-dominates-list-of-most-watched-sporting-events/

What do you consider a major sport?

USA only this is I guess? Since the Champions League final (football, or what people in USA call soccer) got 150 million viewers (average!).

http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=1957523.html

[boogielicious]

Everyone is now .  The OP and subject is Rory McIlroy and whether or not he has star power.  It is not about the NFL or Football or Lawrence Taylor. @FarawayFairways , yours was just the post I used to try and steer the conversation back to the subject.  Please do not take it personally.

[CraiginKSA]

Rory absolutely has star power!  Just not as much power as the Super Bowl (108 Million viewers), the premeire league final (150 million viewers - Thanks Jorrit!!), or Lawrence Taylor used to have (before he started in on the drugs and underage prostitutes).

I'm trying a subtle segue back to the topic.

Rory will NEVER be Tiger, who almost got into Jordan level when it comes to Q-rating.  But he is getting up there.  With a few more majors and a few more smoke-show girlfriends, he'll blow right by Phil and Post-fire-hydrant Tiger.

Quote:

Before crashing his SUV into his neighbor’s yard near the end of 2009, Woods garnered a 44 Q Score.

“His Q Score was the strongest among active athletes, by far,” says Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations. “He was just behind the iconic Michael Jordan, who with a Q Score of 50 still has ridiculously high scores in retirement.”

Today, Woods’ primary Q score today is 24, still the highest among active golfers. McIlroy’s primary Q Score is 17, third among active golfers behind Mickelson (23) and Woods.

http://www.golfchannel.com/news/randall-mell/mcilroy-moving-area-once-dominated-woods/

[Gunther]

See, this is your problem. No-one outside of America knows who Lawrence Taylor is. You guys know because he was a 'World Champion' (this always make me laugh...World Champion of one country - I digress). Jordan changed what in basketball? He won, but he wasn't Larry Bird. He just got marketed at the right time - a talented guy who stayed pretty loyal, was a decent guy, did the right thing. He's probably the biggest star in Nike's sky that has not disgraced himself. Can we say the same thing about Tiger? Have you noticed how small Tiger Woods is these days since Olympic drug testing came in? Do you think there is any connection between golf introducing drug testing and Tiger taking 6 months off? And how all of these injuries keep happening without the upper core strength he had? How far back he is? Do you think that he left the field of play at Firestone because he was injured? Or was it because he was being humiliated by Bubba and by his inability to cut it? Because that right there, those questions, are the frame of reference for the TW brand today. And that is why, worldwide, you will see Rory McIlroy's face. And slowly this is what will become the case in the USA. And you know it. And the idea that McIlroy is a copycat for Tiger is so hilarious, they are so different. I don't think Gerry McIlroy is comparing Rory to Gandhi or calling him the Golden Child, able to change the world. Besides, Woods had a poster of Nicklaus on his wall as a kid. Go figure.

You have some serious USA envy son.

[CraiginKSA]

See, this is your problem. No-one outside of America knows who Lawrence Taylor is. You guys know because he was a 'World Champion' (this always make me laugh...World Champion of one country - I digress). Jordan changed what in basketball?

Hey Monte, did you check out the 2013 Snooker "World" Championships?  You had one guy from China, one guy from Hong Kong and the rest from the UK.

How is that a world championship?  But whatever, nobody cares because it's not even a sport.  It's a parlor game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_World_Snooker_Championship

[Crim]

I couldn't care any less how good or bad they are on the mic... this isn't the WWE.  Rickie's interview during the rain delay again who gives a rats ass...

People that like to be entertained.

I like fist pumping, I like interesting interviews, I like anything that turns these guys into golfing super stars.

Rory has these things, and many MANY people give a rats ass about them.

[boogielicious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte the Bear

See, this is your problem. No-one outside of America knows who Lawrence Taylor is. You guys know because he was a 'World Champion' (this always make me laugh...World Champion of one country - I digress). Jordan changed what in basketball?

Hey Monte, did you check out the 2013 Snooker "World" Championships?  You had one guy from China, one guy from Hong Kong and the rest from the UK.

How is that a world championship?  But whatever, nobody cares because it's not even a sport.  It's a parlor game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_World_Snooker_Championship

If you all want to start a thread bashing each others sports, please do it in the Sports section.  We will start deleting posts otherwise.

[Valleygolfer]

First off...derail much? Second off, most americans on here (including myself) don't like Bubba. Third, if you'd like to turn this into a bash american golf post, I'm quite confident we can turn the tables here because the likes of Donald, Westwood, and Poulter would give us more than enough underachieving ammunition to start. Nick Faldo is the greatest golfer your continent has ever had. That's just sad.

Monte's posts are a mix of media spin and half truths. It is not worth arguing with it. It's like chasing your tail. Rory's should be as popular as Tiger if he can accomplish similar feats of domination. It is too early to tell if he's going to accomplish these things. I think that the popularity for Rory well be better received given the global nature of the world now. He is very entertaining to watch, humble, somewhat loyal (not sure about the whole Oakley thing) and seems to be a nice likeable guy. I don't think any country has gotten out of the patriotism of having "one of their own", winning mentality so as far as American popularity goes, he will not have the following a Tiger, Arnie or Jack. This being said, the fact that Tiger was partially Black made it difficult for many of the middle aged white golfers accept him initially. I remember hearing statements along those lines early on, sadly. If Rory keeps winning and shows continued domination in the sport the fact that he is not an American will be less noticed and he will be appreciated among American golfers, but not so much among non golfing Americans.

[ScouseJohnny]

Quote:

Nick Faldo is the greatest golfer your continent has ever had. That's just sad

Hey, lay off Sir Nick. The bloke's a legend. That's my childhood hero you're talking about. I remember being allowed to stay up late on my 13th birthday and watch him trounce Ray Floyd in the Masters' playoff. I'm happy for him to be the greatest golfer from the United Kingdom (I predict there will be howls of outrage from Seve fans if you imply he's the greatest golfer from the European continent of all time).

However, I rather suspect that Rory will soon match Faldo's six majors, and at a much younger age than Faldo was when he acquired his last.

And, to be fair, I do believe that Rory certainly has more "star" power than Faldo ever had as a player. He does, at least, seem more personable. And it's hard to be star in a Pringle jumper.