Golf is a dying sport too.

Our golf courses are empty normally. Golf courses all over USA are going bankrupt.

FYI.

I blame the economy slowing down and the sport growing too fast (entry fees) at the same time.

Ammo sales are up though...

Priorities have changed....

the PGA is still bankrolling along with it's players

Didnt a Japanese pro live in his truck at Fork before making it?

Rich man's sport. I can't afford those courses!

(I was pointing out on average golf courses are hurting along with everything else. PGA IMO has it going on.....payout is huge and no entry fee for the Pros. That's the real deal!

Maybe we have devalued ourselves as fisherman.

You don't see Tiger get on stage and say "If it wasn't for my Cadillac getting me to the golf course, my Rolex keeping me on time, and my Titlist golf clubs beating the ball further and straighter than anyone else today."

complex, but interesting topic.

most tournament bass fishing is skilled gambling, everyone antes up, house keeps a little, the best get back more than they put in.

there are donators in many sports like this, people that have the money to play and often buy the name "pro". sports car racing is like this even at the highest level like 24 Hours of Le Mans. today I can go buy a ride to compete in 24 Hours of Daytona and call myself a pro. there are more talented young racers, but team owners need to make money more than subsidizing a young guy.

In most other "sports", the athletes are just a face piece for the product and they let their actions in their chosen arena do the talking...

Yep ^^^

Makes you/me wonder.

Jeff, i need a boat deal. Lol

Bass fishing on tv would really have to change to get the big sponsorship dollars.

And also to draw more interest in watching.

For example, how long is a golf tourney on tv? A NASCAR race? Alot longer than the 1 hour we get for tournament coverage.

When Espn had BASS they could have done more, and I do think they did alot but didn't try hard enough IMO.

If the television coverage was longer it does two things

A: provide more airtime for sponsors products and advertisements to be seen(more appeal to sponsors/advertisers)
B: give the viewership more reason to tune in, to be able to follow the tournament as it plays out, the struggles , the high points. (this leads to more viewership, which in turn leads to more sponsors/advertisers. )

As it is now tournament coverage is more like a recap on sports center than actually covering the tournament.

But he does do commercials for Buick and his Nike clubs.

Bass fishing is not a sport, it's a hobby. Sports are for athletes, competitive bass fishing is for guys who can afford a $60K boat or get someone to back them/transform themselves into a floating billboard.

you sir could not be more wrong

Many new tackle companies only sell to their "prostaff" it's their business model. They can sell to thousands of staffers at 15% off and make more than discounting to a dealer level of 30-40%. Makes for lots of free advertising and sales.

Why would they need to pay anyone to represent them when hundreds would pay to be part of the "staff" ???

Whoever writes that stuff doesn't have nearly enough knowledge about how things work on the biz side of this sport. Ain't a thing in the world that can't be better, bass fishing included. But yelling at your car won't get it fixed....