Matt J wrote:
mkq wrote:
Changpao wrote:
mkq wrote:
Changpao wrote:
USCoregonian wrote:
The event clearly needs some changes from the current format. 1) At a macro level, it's not competitive. There's no reason for the US to be a standalone team. If they want a Ryder Cup style format make it Europe vs. World. Even then I'm not sure it's a competitive event
2) At a micro level, it's not competitive. There was one close race the entire day. The majority of the races were over midway through the bike.
3) The event takes too long. They need to find a way to compress the total time down to ~3 hours total.
The reality of long course racing is that races are rarely close and there are very few lead changes, which makes it inherently boring for all but the most dedicated fans. The best hope is that the team competition is close and comes down to the last races, but thatâs hard to engineer. All things considered, I think the PTO did a good job but itâs a tough task.
FWIW, the US dominated the Ryder Cup through the early 90s and itâs been mostly Europe since then so even a presumably successful model has not managed to find a way to keep the team competition interesting in most years. Brookline (â99) was an amazing comeback, but mostly one side wins pretty easily and there is not a lot of last minute drama.
There is a ton of drama in the Ryder Cup, even on Day 1. It doesnât seem that you watch it.
The Americans dominated the Ryder Cup mostly until it became the US vs Europe (instead of GB and Ireland) in 1979. Since then, it is 12-9 in Europeâs favor, I believe. The last 4 have been split evenly. 2 of the last 6 were decided by 1 point which is remarkable, given the number of matches over 3 days.
Yes, clearly someone who references Brookline in â99 doesnât watch the Ryder Cup. Dude, the US went roughly 50 years without losing. Then, starting around the mid-90s it lost repeatedly. Other than the amazing comeback at Brookline, it won maybe once in 20 years. An entire generation of American golf fans watched the US lose to Europe. Now the US has won maybe the last 3-4 straight. The point I was making is that golf shows it hard to set up a system that prevents domination by one country/ region. Iâd love a Collins Cup where the team competition was more open, the winning team harder to predict, and the finish came down to the wire. But the Ryder Cup shows thatâs hard to achieve; the talent of the athletes shifts over time and largely dictates the winner.
Time to look up the Ryder Cup and the results. Google is your friend.
Funny, was thinking the same. I played some competitive golf and followed it pretty closely at times, IMO it has been compelling at times and easy to find the history. Thereâs a documentary about every one, so thatâs easy enough.
To those of you trying to find a way to make triathlon more âcompellingâŚ.â Let it go. Itâs a foolâs errand. Embrace it for what it is and accept that itâs not for everyone.
I spent a lot of time in other outdoor pursuits and the big industry types were always brainstorming new angles. More user friendly, more palatable, more, more, more⌠what?
Itâs hard. Itâs not going to be for everyone. Itâs okay. Some things will never have widespread appeal.
Quoted for truth. Golf is popular b/c you can ride in a cart and drink beer while playing, with no running or swimming required. Triathlon will NEVER be as popular as golf. :)
"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."