Where are the people? I had a minute to check in and watched the start of the MLF broadcast where they showed the anglers fishing today at launch. I saw a couple walking their dog on one of the docks... no spectators at all. That’s got to be a lonely deal for those anglers. I wonder how long it will be before Thrift starts missing the fanfare? Big name, big fish, and nothing but a lonely camera man and marshal to help him celebrate his kicking butt and taking all their money.

Thrift doesn't fish for the fanfare. He fishes to pay the bills and because he simply loves to catch bass. He's one of the few people who can actually live on his tournament winnings. He will flourish in any format that he decides to fish.

Thrift loved the fanfare he received at FLW and deserved every bit of attention he got. I was surprised he accepted the invitation to fish BPT after turning them down a year earlier. I personally believe he would have been way better suited for BASS and would have been an instant crowd favorite. Dudley, I understand why he went, it would have been extremely awkward for him to go back to BASS considering his past history, but Thrift, he would have easily thrived and qualified via the opens.

I hope the dude takes all their money... he’s going to school them all. It’s just a matter of time before he tires of only hearing the frogs and birds after his wins.

Just curious, why don't you like MLF? Don't give me the format stuff, that's not a reason to dislike them, like you do. Did they cause you some kind of loss or something?

There's been a lot of talk in pro sports about the gradual decline of fans attending events, instead preferring to watch on tv. Google it, easy to find.

BASS and MLF both know this...neither is banking on fans at weigh ins. The "gold" as some call it is streaming and tv time. There is absolutely no doubt about that.

I don't disagree with the sponsorship angle of crowds at most weigh ins. They are basically meaningless to the sponsors and represent a very very small minority of the actual fans keeping up with the event. In regular season events the crowd is nice but I don't think it is critical to the success of the event. However, for a championship event I think the crowd is critical, and their is an opportunity for much more fan interaction with sponsors. The classic wouldn't be the classic without that final weigh in with an arena full of fans. I've been to several and it is a great event. I think the redcrest will struggle to ever be an event you can compare to the classic. Their format just doesn't lend itself to ever hosting a major fan friendly event. That doesn't mean that MLF can't be a success. I just don't think their championship will ever be considered a major event like the classic unless they modify it's format.

The Classic is awesome and currently the crown jewel for BASS 100% but to make any forward statements that MLF can't or won't create a meaningful or even better Championship event is simply not something anyone knows, it's just an opinion and time/patience can always solve for that. In the meantime we can all enjoy both formats and their respective Championships.

LMFAO - you’ve been at the B. Duckett kool-aid station for too long. Sober up!

I like this. Until there comes a time where fans lose perspective on what the Classic is MLF will never have a single event that will rival it. Good news here is they don’t have to. They just need to do what they do and everything will work out fine. There is no reason to try and compete with a single tournament. I said in a previous thread that I would like to see all 3 tours come together and have a set of *majors* much the same as golf so that each tour has a qualification process for anglers from each tour. Follow the rules of the hosting tour. It would be in the best interest of the industry to never let the Classic die or become just another tournament along with building up Redcrest or whatever name they want to give another tournament. All things can be made better than they are. They just have to want to do it and work together.

Is there even a Redcrest anymore? Did I miss the press release that they’ve reinstated it after cancelling the event and snatching the 2020 purse away from the angler? If you listen to some, the frogs and birds chirping at the empty boat ramps at launch and end of tournament days is the new “sponsorship gold”; that’s what draws in the customers! MLF is just ahead of their time, but that’s where they and their marketing sales geniuses are predicting, where every sport is moving towards; fanless events are the future!

It was started and is being run by a group of shysters that tried to conspire and take down the organization that gave them their fame and fortune. When that didn’t work, they destroyed the other trail that was being legitimately run and then to show their true colors ripped off a bunch of anglers in the process.

I don’t like crooks and exposing them is something more people should do. There would be less of them in the world if people stood up and shined a light on them and their agendas and tactics.

Is that clear enough?

Speaking of shining a light on agendas and tactics. How about you get in the spotlight? You may even gain some traction.

I know you think Duckett is the devil and MLF stinks, but for anyone else who might take what you type here as truth:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...orts-teams-running-out-of-fans/39667999/



https://nymag.com/intelligencer/201...-in-person-and-no-one-seems-to-care.html



The facts are, people are staying at home more frequently, and at an increasing rate, than ever before. There are a lot of reasons for that, but, as much as you think fan attendance at a bass tournament matters, the key is reaching customers (fans). Fans are glued to devices, including TVs. You grow the sport by increasing access to your product. I’m not driving from Texas to Alabama to watch a weigh in at a tournament. And if that tournament is close to where I live, I’m still going to fish, or do something else with my time. But I know more about the guys fishing MLF after six days of watching because they’ve got a camera in their boat speaking directly to me about what they’re doing. That’s more intriguing to me than sitting in a plastic chair in the sun 100 yards away from a stage and a weigh in. I watch the weigh in in real time with MLF.

What are the numbers at BASS weigh ins now compared to 30 years ago? Any change in numbers?

Show us the proof MLF “snatched” the purse for the Redcrest, please.

Oh my.