Gripe No. 26: Demanding ‘no spoilers’ on disc golf social

What tiny-brained planet do these people live on?

Whatever it is, they’re at the center of it.

Should enough people read this article, my sincerest hope is that my words act as a metaphoric asteroid that goes all “dinosaur” on the thing, obliterating it into a million different pieces.

Disc golf is a sport.

Whether you follow others or not, next to nobody disputes this fact. And if you’re one of the “hobby” naysayers out there, at this point, the game’s been featured on ESPN enough times to squash any argument you might’ve scribbled on a napkin with a crayon in the past 15 minutes.

In all the world of sports, regardless of the type of competition, not a SINGLE soul complains about spoilers – not one. Maybe pickleball will get there one day. Add cornhole to the list, too.

But this is (largely) a disc golf problem.

There are a few reasons for it:

• Truth No. 1 – Most sports are viewed live.
• Truth No. 2 – Most sports have multiple media outlets.
• Truth No. 3 – Most sports use social media for fan communication.

The problem?

Disc golf didn’t start with live entertainment: It began with post-produced coverage. In fact, to this day, many out-of-touch souls continue to prefer (gasp) post-produced viewing. On top of that, only a handful of media outlets cover the professional disc golf scene. Because of this, there’s a false belief spoilers can be avoided, as there’s not much serious media out there.

And yet, social channels are STILL where the “conversation” happens …

This results in spoilers for the whinier amongst us.

In the rest of the sporting world, with live action the only way to watch, without complaint, people get onboard – they know nothing else. In disc golf, however, old habits die hard.

Allow me to clear the air:

Post-produced disc golf is dying …

And in five years’ time, it’ll be completely dead. In its place, as it outright owns it, the Disc Golf Network will simply slice-and-dice its live footage. The result will be a 15- to 30-minute recap on YouTube without any of the current, one-card nonsense viewers are forced to stomach. JomezPro (and the like) will branch out into different stuff: series, podcasts, documentaries, etc.

Here’s perhaps what’s most maddening, though …

If you really want nothing but JomezPro’s day-after offering, stay off social media. Not only is this well within your rights, but it’s not all that complicated, either. Yes, your tweets might read as if they’d fallen from the lips of God himself, but trust me: We’ll all survive for a weekend.

But to impassionately demand that ALL disc golf fans on ALL social media platforms must play along with your ridiculous, outdated charade is self-absorbed lunacy as its absolute finest.

Bryce Harper said it best:

“That’s a clown expectation, bro.”

Close enough.

If you’ve been guilty of this, take a good, long look at yourself in the mirror: Let this be your line-in-sand moment. Choose today to make a permanent change for the better – to be less sucky.

And if you don’t, nobody cares …

You’re on your own.

Have anything to add? Take to Twitter to let us know – we’ll actually (for real) get back to you.

Editor’s Suggestions:

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• Disc golf: What causes putter flutter? (and why it’s not a big deal)

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