One of my favorite weekend activities (remember weekends?) is watching the various sports talk shows on ESPN Sunday mornings. I sit with my coffee and the biggest, fattest newspaper of the week and kick back with SportsCenter and the rest of the lineup. For me, it’s like running a pipe-cleaner through my mind every seven days.
I particularly enjoy ESPN’s “Sports Reporters” because they boast a pretty sharp cast of characters, including John Saunders of ABC, Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe and my old friend Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star. But this past Sunday, one of my other favorite pundits, Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News, said something that was extremely irritating and sincerely thought-provoking for all of us in this wacky business of turf maintenance.
During a discussion of the upcoming U.S. Open and how the course conditions at Pinehurst might compare to the recent nightmarish situations at Shinnecock and Southern Hills, Lupica piped up and said something that made my lukewarm coffee blast out of my nostrils onto my dirty, old bathrobe. I’m paraphrasing slightly because I’m generally not in the habit of taking accurate notes at 9 a.m. on Sunday while pecking away at the crossword puzzle. But, in essence, Lupica opined: “No one should pay any more attention to the ‘course setter-uppers’ for the U.S. Open any more than they care about the groundskeeper for the New York Yankees.”
Wow, I thought. In the process of making one argument, he managed to seriously insult superintendents and sports field managers in the same breath! This offhand dismissal tossed off by one of America’s best sportswriters! A guy who should understand the critical roles that turf professionals play in golf and baseball! A guy who should get it! I was pissed.
Then, like the bubbles in a Jacuzzi when the timer clicks off (ding!), my anger subsided because another thought occurred to me. Lupica – a guy who’s up to his steno pad in world-class turf on a daily basis – won’t ever get it as much as we’d hope. Yes, he probably understands and appreciates the hard work of golf and baseball grounds crews. Yes, he probably knows full well that the Blue Blazers from Far Hills are usually at fault when something goes horribly wrong at America’s national golf championship. Yes, he probably even reads the press releases from the GCSAA and STMA on occasion (well, maybe on a rare occasion).
But, he also knows that sports fans (prepare to be even angrier) just don’t care. The incredible, amazing, ludicrously difficult process of preparing a golf course for an Open (or just keeping Yankee Stadium playable day after day) holds no interest whatsoever for the average idiot watching ESPN or Fox or whatever. Sorry folks … but that’s the way it is.
In the past, I’ve compared this terrible shortsightedness to customers dining at a fancy restaurant. Do they care what kind of grueling effort takes place in the kitchen for hours to make a great meal happen? No. They simply respond to and appreciate the plate that’s set in front of them. That’s the reality of the situation, and sometimes reality bites.
Lately, I’ve been thinking that our dilemma is even more comparable to managing a stage crew for a Broadway show. We create the backdrop for great drama. The audience might be wowed by the scenery and special effects, but their first thought is always about the quality of the acting and writing. No review of any play in history has ever begun with, “The staging was just magnificent.” Those words, if the crew is lucky, appear in the tenth or so paragraph.
In short, turf management is about setting the stage so that others may walk across. We are not, and will never be, the stars. But, like those set decorators and prop managers, we can sit back and take pride in our work night after night knowing the audience appreciates what we do – even if they don’t know it.