Cornhole on ESPN 2 this afternoon....Where has disc golf gone wrong?

[The Valkyrie Kid]

Lots of years ago, there was a show that aired on Saturdays that showed the professional putt putt golf circuit. I seem to recall that the show always seemed to be filmed in the southern states, North and South Carolina, Georgia, etc.

I have been playing pickleball for about 30 years now. The sport is blowing up, especially in senior communities in Arizona and Florida. It's a wonderful game to play but I find watching it to be extremely dull as every rally is exactly the same. Also, like disc golf and probably most sports, the top players are so skilled, they make it look so easy that viewers aren't terribly impressed.

To me, Cornhole, is like watching paint dry. Watching some average 50 YO housewife toss a beanbag through a hole and having the announcer describe her awesome athletic ability as if she were Russell Westbrook, is so typical of the hype found in every news broadcast now days.

 

[biscoe]

Also, like disc golf and probably most sports, the top players are so skilled, they make it look so easy that viewers aren't terribly impressed.

This is a giant problem for dg in terms of potential non-player viewership and no amount of yellow rope is ever going to overcome it.

 

[lyleoross]

I completely understand dg not being worth the time or effort to broadcast.

But I can't imagine actually watching, and being entertained by, a corn-hole broadcast. I'd rather fold laundry.

I suppose I'm just surprised they pull enough viewership for corn-hole to be worth it, either.

Executive at ESPN: is this production?

Production: yep, what can I do for you boss?

Executive: listen, this weekend, I was playing this game with my grandkids, tossing beanbags at holes cut into wooden boards. I think we should cover this sport.

Production: -very long pause- you sure boss?

Executive: yeah, it will be great.

Production: um, what's it called?

Executive: I don't know, make something up.

Production: okay, we'll get it done. Hangs up phone. Dumb cornhole puncher... Hey, that's an idea.

 

[pmay5]

Fair enough, but horseshoes get the nod for me because it hurts like hell to get hit by an errant throw.

Well, you are a private course owner, so you must be use to being in pain!

 

[GripEnemy]

Oh, this thread again.

>muh televised disc golf
>downloading/streaming/torrenting increasing at alarming(?) rates
>97 different ESPN channels
>mfw

<tangent>
I would argue that both football and boxing are less safe than they were in the 1950s. The heavy gloves and heavy pads allow one to hit much harder. Rugby players do not suffer the brain injuries like America football.
</tangent>

I, too, listen to Joe Rogan on occasion lol

Fixed!

Turtles. Real turtles throw sewer lids

 

[JTacoma03]

What confuses me most is why this many people are made so insecure by cornhole on ESPN. There have been a hundred of these threads between here and Facebook...specifically about cornhole, no other sport.

A. Good for Cornhole! I'll bet somebody did a helluva job pitching and securing that sale. I'd be interested in buying that person a beer and hearing the story behind the scenes of the effort it took to accomplish that.

B. Who the F#*& cares? Our biggest channel hit 100k subs this year and will probably hit 200k before the end of the 2020 season. CCDG will overtake SpinTV and become the #2 most subbed channel by the end of this year, and the number of regularly-filming crews has doubled in the last couple of seasons.

 

[brutalbrutus]

I think 15-20K in concurrent viewership would garner more/better outside sponsorship than 5-6K does. Certainly not earth-shattering by any means, but enough to justify the added expenses of an expanded broadcast? Perhaps.

And maybe if that level of effort stabilizes as the norm, maybe further investment in the broadcast could net more growth. It's an incremental process. It always has been. The unfortunate thing is that incremental isn't fast enough for some folks.

Can you imagine how insane the live chat on YT would be with 15-20k people watching, lol? Its almost too much as it is with the couple hundred that participate in it with 3-5k.

 

[Halcón]

Can you imagine how insane the live chat on YT would be with 15-20k people watching, lol? Its almost too much as it is with the couple hundred that participate in it with 3-5k.

Let's be honest. A good portion of those viewers are not there so much for the disc golf, but to mess around in the chat. (And I don't blame them)

 

[jeffmonty]

Can you imagine how insane the live chat on YT would be with 15-20k people watching, lol? Its almost too much as it is with the couple hundred that participate in it with 3-5k.

It is too much now. Maybe if the comments were in real time, but three or four word comments one right after another on something that took place during the tourney like 5 minutes earlier makes me irrationally upset. By the time someone's "great putt!" comment shows they're already 2 holes ahead of that and the guy just flubbed a 15 footer.

 

[brutalbrutus]

It is too much now. Maybe if the comments were in real time, but three or four word comments one right after another on something that took place during the tourney like 5 minutes earlier makes me irrationally upset. By the time someone's "great putt!" comment shows they're already 2 holes ahead of that and the guy just flubbed a 15 footer.

Yea... too many people don't realize they're lagging behind when they make comments.

 

[JC17393]

Can you imagine how insane the live chat on YT would be with 15-20k people watching, lol? Its almost too much as it is with the couple hundred that participate in it with 3-5k.

I really could not care less about the chat.

Maybe it serves a purpose for a single card live broadcast with significant downtime, but if they're showing multiple cards simultaneously, the down time ought to be minimal. I'd imagine the majority of the 15-20K viewers wouldn't even bother with the chat.

 

[chevis]

the best chat was when they had a static camera on the island hole... "splashdown counter now at 15"

 

[DavidSauls]

What confuses me most is why this many people are made so insecure by cornhole on ESPN. There have been a hundred of these threads between here and Facebook...specifically about cornhole, no other sport.

A. Good for Cornhole! I'll bet somebody did a helluva job pitching and securing that sale. I'd be interested in buying that person a beer and hearing the story behind the scenes of the effort it took to accomplish that.

B. Who the F#*& cares? Our biggest channel hit 100k subs this year and will probably hit 200k before the end of the 2020 season. CCDG will overtake SpinTV and become the #2 most subbed channel by the end of this year, and the number of regularly-filming crews has doubled in the last couple of seasons.

My guess is, that of all the sports that certain disc golf boosters feel are less deserving than disc golf of major network attention, yet getting it, they view cornhole as the stupidest. If tic-tac-toe got a live broadcast on ESPN, it would probably supplant cornhole in these threads. If cornhole went away, some other remaining sport would be the subject of them. (Poker had a run, a few years ago).

I'm with you in the "who cares?" camp, though.

 

[perklc]

My guess is, that of all the sports that certain disc golf boosters feel are less deserving than disc golf of major network attention, yet getting it, they view cornhole as the stupidest. If tic-tac-toe got a live broadcast on ESPN, it would probably supplant cornhole in these threads. If cornhole went away, some other remaining sport would be the subject of them. (Poker had a run, a few years ago).

I'm with you in the "who cares?" camp, though.

FWIW, poker's run is still going, although not nearly as much as it was 10-15 years ago during the poker boom.

Also, the Scripps Spelling Bee has been on ESPN for 25 years now.

 

[DavidSauls]

FWIW, poker is still getting its run (though not nearly as much as it was 10-15 years ago during the poker boom). The Scripps Spelling Bee has been on ESPN for 25 years now.

True. I meant that it had it's run in these forums, of people crying that poker was on TV and disc golf wasn't.

 

[JTacoma03]

My guess is, that of all the sports that certain disc golf boosters feel are less deserving than disc golf of major network attention, yet getting it, they view cornhole as the stupidest. If tic-tac-toe got a live broadcast on ESPN, it would probably supplant cornhole in these threads. If cornhole went away, some other remaining sport would be the subject of them. (Poker had a run, a few years ago).

I'm with you in the "who cares?" camp, though.

Agreed. Hopefully my post points out the inherent...oddity...of kissing ESPN's ring so hard.

I'll sound like a broken record here, but we are a sport whose media has come-of-age on the internet, not on cable. Going to ESPN is going backwards, and it's truly only an issue in the minds of people who have an inferiority complex tied to their disc golf love.

The only way I'll be happy with ESPN is if they come begging us. They've had their opportunity, people have reached out, and producers within the network play disc golf and are stumping hard. If the brass doesn't see the vision, well that's their issue. Long term we're actually better off without them.

 

[Alexplz]

Disc golf, as it exists today, is borderline unwatchable by anyone who does not play/love the game.

Disagree, on two separate occasions I've sat on the couch and watched a round of Jomez with two different friends who had never played a round. Drone footage, production value and commentary help, I think.

One of those buddies now plays and even accompanied me to go spectate BSF this year.

That all being said, I do understand that it's not the most exciting thing. I mean, it's golf after all. It's more accessible than most sports I think though, low cost of entry, simple enough rules to understand what's going on for the casual observer. opcorn:

 

[DavidSauls]

Agreed. Hopefully my post points out the inherent...oddity...of kissing ESPN's ring so hard.

I'll sound like a broken record here, but we are a sport whose media has come-of-age on the internet, not on cable. Going to ESPN is going backwards, and it's truly only an issue in the minds of people who have an inferiority complex tied to their disc golf love.

The only way I'll be happy with ESPN is if they come begging us. They've had their opportunity, people have reached out, and producers within the network play disc golf and are stumping hard. If the brass doesn't see the vision, well that's their issue. Long term we're actually better off without them.

It did, and I agree on the ESPN-worship.

Though from a slightly different perspective---I don't believe disc golf will ever be a major spectator sport, for non-disc-golfers, on the scale that "ESPN" suggests. Which is fine with me; we can be an ever-growing participation sport, and the spectator side can grow as far you guys can take it.

 

[Hyzflip10]

What confuses me most is why this many people are made so insecure by cornhole on ESPN. There have been a hundred of these threads between here and Facebook...specifically about cornhole, no other sport...

I'm guessing its just the name, cornhole.

It's like the old John Lovitz skit on Saturday Night Live "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy".

 

[BrotherDave]

This is a giant problem for dg in terms of potential non-player viewership and no amount of yellow rope is ever going to overcome it.

I've noticed that when I show DG to people they are way more impressed if they see a wooded hole. "Where's the target? Through all those trees? There's no way...wait, did he just throw a disc 400' through a forest?! How about that."