Brandon Tucker - Latest Comments on The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Wendy (UK) [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Wendy (UK) [Visitor] — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:24:06 +0000

Obviously you are coming at the marketability of the LPGA from a different angle to me (no criticism intended), but to me the answer is clearly that Carolyn Bivens is useless. Have just watched a video of her on the state of the LPGA Feb.08 and all she does is whittle on about the new logo, drug-testing, slow play, etc, and asked why the Corona is up against The Masters, simply says as the former is not on US TV anyway it might as well be in "a dark week". I thought one of the reasons she had been appointed was because of her marketing skills - she clearly needs to go back to "Sales School".

Judge Smails [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Judge Smails [Visitor] — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 11:18:27 +0000

Brandon,

I did not say "Asian-looking"; I said Asian. Obviously, Bubbles wouldn't fall into the same category because she's an American and has a rudimentary command of the language. As for personality, not only isn't it lacking in her case, she has an abundance of it. If only it were the right kind.

Brandon Tucker [Member] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Brandon Tucker [Member] — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:12:23 +0000

Asian-looking players can be marketable, look at Michelle Wie, Yamiguchi, Kwan....Of course, being American and fluent in English helps...

While Joe Sports Fan may group "Team Korea" together, in Asia it's a different story. The LPGA should try and embrace the emerging Asian market more. Heck, throw a major over there while it's hot or at least have more events over there.

Judge Smails [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Judge Smails [Visitor] — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:58:04 +0000

Alex,

Yes, there's no doubt that the influx of Asian players has done little for the marketability of the LPGA Tour. Many will think I'm trying to incite trouble with what follows, but in a figurative sense it's true. As Archie Bunker might say, "Them people all look alike." They don't really (and I dated a couple years ago; the second one was gorgeous, and I can tell you that the first one did not look like she did!) My point is that, for all intents and purposes as far as the market is concerned, they are interchangeable, as you indicated. They're all Asian, they generally don't speak English well, and they're lacking in personality. I don't condemn them, mind you; I understand that our culture is somewhat alien to them and that they just go about their business. Nevertheless, the market does not discriminate, except between those who can deliver the goods and those who can't. And here that involves being entertaining.

Anyway, I'm amazed that you were able to list so many of those Asian players. If you had that all committed to memory, you're a better man than I. Or did you just drop spoons?

Alex [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Alex [Visitor] — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:58:40 +0000

Wendy,

You surely must realize that when an astute, erudite individual like the Judge refers to the "best," he means the best competition.

And when I said that the Korean ladies were "excellent FEMALE golfers" I mistakenly didn't put sufficient emphasis on the word "female." Kindly note the correction.

Alex USMC 1969-73

Wendy (UK) [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Wendy (UK) [Visitor] — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:38:30 +0000

Judge Smails - If one only wants to see the "best" why bother to watch any player other than TW when the rest of the PGA players are clearly "second-best" by comparison?

It doesn't matter a fig why women's tennis is popular - can't you sit back, grind your teeth, and let the rest of us enjoy it?

Fleetingly I thought Alex might have a point re the Asian players as I don't know any of them - don't feel for one moment that this makes me rascist, (Whooa, Alex, you accidentally said "excellent.. female golfers"), but I would have watched for my favourite trio of Lorena, Annika and Suzann at the Kraft Nabisco anyway given half a chance. Did better on that one than I did on the gee-gees too.

Alex [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Alex [Visitor] — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:09:17 +0000

Judge Smails,

I think that "The Constructivist" unwittingly touched upon one reason for the relative unpopularity of the LPGA tour when he casually mentioned the names of the two Korean ladies.

Now, there can be little doubt that the influx of the numerous Korean women and girls on the LPGA tour have greatly enhanced the quality of the competition. What is confounding and, in my opinion, in large part responsible for the apathy, are the sheer numbers of excellent Korean female golfers,and the accompanying incomprehensible blizzard of names and lack of personal recognition.

There is nothing personal or prejudicial about this observation, just an obvious fact.

Put it this way: If the names of Mi Hyun Kim, Seon Hwa Lee, Na Yeon Choi, Jee Young Lee, Yani Tseng, Jeong Jang, Shiho Oyama, Ai Miyazato, Shi Hyun Ahn Soo-Yun Kang Il Mi Chung Sung Ah Yun Eun-Hee Ji and Jin-Joo Hong were put to a page along with their photographs, how many American golf fans would be able to match the names with the pictures?

KJ Choi, Shigeki Maruyama, and a few other Asian male golfers are recognizable in the US and Europe because they are excellent golfers AND they are very few in number.

Maybe that assessment may not be kosher to the PC crowd but that's the way it is.

Alex USMC 1969-73

Judge Smails [Visitor] in response to: The lack of LPGA Kraft Nabisco TV coverage is pathetic

Judge Smails [Visitor] — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:13:34 +0000

The Constructivist,

You may have a penchant for watching women's golf despite the poor play relative to the men, but the fact remains that most people want to see the best. You mentioned women's tennis, but what you may realize is that it benefits from an illusion. To wit: that the women are much better than they actually are. I expounded on this here a year or so ago (I was a tennis pro), and I'm not going to take the time again. Suffice it to say, however, that many labor under the illusion that the women are fairly close to the men in terms of ability. And I'm firmly convinced that were it not for this misconception, women's tennis never would have gotten very popular at all.

My point is that as long as people understand that the competitors in a given women's sport aren't as good as the best junior boys, they'll be about as interested in watching them as watching those boys.

Most people want to see the best.