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| Sport is about the event,
not just commercials |
Allie Woods
Staff Writer
Sports Beat |
Technology has taken advertising at sporting
events to a level I never thought possible. At baseball games, through
the magic of computers, advertisements can be changed every inning
or after every pitch if desired. The Super Bowl is a media frenzy
that some people watch only to see the new commercials, and naming
rights to stadiums is as big a business as the concessions at the
stadium.
On Aug. 30, Augusta National Golf Club, host of the Masters Tournament,
struck a blow for everyone who enjoys sporting events for what they
are, a fun way of escaping reality.
Last Friday Club Chairman, Hootie Johnson, announced that they would
be dropping all their corporate sponsorship for the 2003 Masters.
This will make it the only sporting event carried out completely
commercial free, in both the obvious and not so obvious ways.
In the television deal with CBS, only four minutes per hour were
allowed for commercials. This already made it the least advertised
sporting event. They also allowed no displays or corporate tents
at the event, so you would not inadvertently catch a poster for
Coca-Cola behind the green.
Not only is the Masters the least advertised, it is also traditionally
the highest rated. Could this be because we don’t have wade
through the swamp of corporate bloodsuckers to find the actual event?
The decision to go sponsor free was made after Martha Burk, head
of the National Council of Women’s Organization sent a letter
to Johnson urging him to add women to its membership. She also sent
letters to the Masters’ only three sponsors, Coca-Cola, IBM,
and Citigroup, urging them to exert their influence at Augusta National
to add some women members.
The club contends they have no exclusionary policies but have never
had a woman member in its 69-year history.
As a believer in the positive influence of sports on a person’s
life, I am a supporter of Title IX and equal rights for women, but
I feel the grounds for the NCWO’s request is outrageous.
Adding a female member to a private club simply because they have
none would be like adding a plumber to the membership simply because
they have none.
If I were to send a letter to the President of Meredith College
and demand to be admitted because they are a female-only institution
they would probably try to have me committed because that is insane
and would never work.
Augusta National’s decision to go sponsor free is a good one
because it shows sports fans like myself that unlike events like
the Super Bowl, MLB and the college bowl system there is still a
sport that is played for pure enjoyment and to entertain.
I have no doubt that sometime probably in the not so distant future
there will be female members at Augusta National Golf Club. By taking
these actions it shows that they will not be influenced by the numbers
on Wall Street but will continue to do things the way they have
been for 69 years and every private institution should be able to:
their way and on their terms. |
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