Fandom on the Fairways

Golf is truly a beautiful sport. The groomed course combines natural beauty and human genius, creating something that is awe-inspiring. I love the science behind the tools of the game: precision crafted clubs and balls. I find the amount of skill accumulated by some of the top talents to be stunning.

I was able to attend my first ever golf tournament this past week, attending the Memorial tournament for the Pro-Am on Wednesday. I was excited to see some of the great golfers warming up, and some celebrities miss-hit a few balls.

We got there later than we had originally intended (go figure). Even though it was not tournament play, the streets were packed with spectators. We finally found a place and began our trek onto the course. After an hour of weaving through the crowd, hampered by our stroller, we finally found the place we had intended to be: the hill at number 11 and 12. It was a pretty spot that gave us visibility of those coming into the green on 11 and those teeing off onto the par 3 green of hole 12.

And the best part was that there was hardly a crowd.

More than the golf, I spent my time watching the crowd. I found the crowd dynamics to be fascinating.

Mobs of people came and went like waves on the beach. They followed their favorite players and celebrities. They shouted the golfers names as they walked by, begging for a picture or an autograph. They sprinted from place to place, hoping that the next time the celebrity crossed the walking path they might be close enough to garner attention of this special person.

The biggest crowd came towards the end of the day. A large mob surrounded the fairways and greens, following their favorite players Curry family. They got loud applause after every hit. The crowd crushed into the ropes to get as close as they could to the superstar family.

It had been so long since I had gone to a sporting event or a concert or anything with the culture of celebrity. I had forgotten what it looked like. And I was disappointed.

I do believe that people should be celebrated for excellence. And, as someone who is terrible at golf, I can appreciate that even the amateur celebrities are much better than I at the game.

But this was not about appreciating excellence. It was something else, a diseased version of appreciation.

Olga and I are admittedly removed from popular culture. We do not listen to new music, or watch tv, or scroll social media. It has totally cleansed our palate, to the point where it is hard to notice celebrities as anyone but a normal person.

We walked by people not knowing who they were until after the event when we looked them up.

We were arm lengths away from some of the largest singers and athletes in the world and yet would not have been able to tell you who was a celebrity and who was a groundskeeper.

I remember a time in my life where I thought certain celebrities had a glow about them that allowed them to stand out. Turns out, the only thing glowing was the screen I stared at for hours with their face and accomplishments plastered on it. Aside from the sheer time and attention given to these folks, they looked a whole lot like normal, everyday people.

The question that should be asked is whether they deserve that attention, attention being our most valuable resource that we can give.

If people spent as much time and money and attention actually golfing themselves as they do on watching people play golf, they might become excellent at golf in their own right.

If we taught our kids to value and keep their own time and attention, using it to develop a craft, rather than give it to celebrity, then our own kid might become excellent.

Instead, for the masses, the only skill they develop is consuming. They pursue entertainment over their ambitions. They develop a sense that they never could become as good as these people, when in reality there is nothing too extraordinary about their superstars.

What if, instead of spending so much money and attention on sports stars and singers who entertain us, we used those same resources to support and bring attention to those who are superstars in our own communities. The bus drivers. The third shifters. The plumbers. The farmers. The stay-at-home moms. The teachers.

The only reason we don’t already is because these roles are not entertaining.

Our entertainment culture is diseased. Not that entertainment or pleasure is bad, but that it has become the only thing that people want or chase. But there is so much more to life than feeling good.

You were made for more than simply applauding someone else who chased down their dreams.

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