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Issue No. 120 | October 8, 2024
A happy Tuesday to all (and especially to the scores of Legion XIII fans who may still be dancing in the streets of St. Andrews).
What a whirlwind the last week has been. We published so much and heard from so many of you. Pure excitement for me, even if I barely had a chance to sit back and enjoy it all. If you missed it, here are the pieces we put out since last Monday.
Big news: I left CBS Sports.
Bigger news: I’m doing Normal Sport full time.
Ten thoughts on the future of NS (and the entrepreneurial journey in general).
Why we landed on the side-eye sheep logo.
We have plenty more planned in terms of letting you guys in on this endeavor alongside us. Loads of giveaways, updates and a continued build out of the site.
We are also still working out a general rhythm to the week, and certainly whatever we decide regarding paid membership will affect that rhythm (which newsletters are paid and which are free etc.) Once we get it all locked down, we will let you know.
Half the fun for me so far has been bringing folks in on this roller coaster (™️Spieth) with us. So thank you for reading and sharing the newsletter with friends, and I hope you enjoy a return to more regularly schedule programming.
Winner, Winner
Adam Orfinger took home our first big giveaway — the custom Scotty putter with the Seamus x Normal Sport headcover. Jason mocking this up made me realize how excited I am to see that logo on some gear in the near future.
I asked Adam for his Normal Sport thoughts and whether he was excited to win the Scotty. Turns out — in a stunner — he was!
I've been a Normal Sport reader since the beginning (I always get called a sicko at the end), and I will proudly represent Normal Sport out on the course! Hopefully this will help me putt more like 2015 Spieth than 2022 Spieth.
Ed. note: Can confirm that he has been a reader since February 2023, the launch month of our newsletter. Can also confirm that Spieth used to putt better than he does now.
If you didn’t win, don’t worry, we have plenty of other giveaways dropping, starting with today’s giveaway from Holderness and Bourne. They offered to make some polos and sweatshirts with the new Normal Sport logo and give away a box of them. See a certain HOF pitcher modeling the polo below.
To enter that one, you have to follow the H&B Twitter OR Insta account and be subscribed to the newsletter. Good luck and thanks to H&B for sponsoring the newsletter this week.
One Thing That Intrigued Me
The part of my Rory Q&A that got the most attention was not the part that I thought would (this is always how it goes). Perhaps I am naive or even dumb as it relates to our interaction, but I did not envision the following quote getting the run that it did.
KP: Okay, last thing. Obviously, I'm launching this new business, new company. I've always wanted to ask you this.
What's a question that you have always wanted to ask me or the media? We're constantly peppering you guys with question after question and every detail. And you guys never get to ask us anything. And I'm curious about what you've ever wanted to ask people in the media or me specifically.
Rory: So I would say the one thing that I ... and this isn't you. There's certain people in the game that I would say … how can I put this? We're all in this together, right? We're all in the game of golf together, and we all want to push forward. And I always wonder why some people in the media ask questions that have a negative connotation toward golf, or make golf look bad or put it in a bad light.
I get it. I get that it's human nature and negativity sells. And that's why CNN is the way it is, and why Fox News is the way it is and all that stuff.
But if we're all in this together and we all know that we can benefit by raising the game up, some people in the media I'd love to ask why their coverage of golf is so negative.
At this point I’m thinking, “I disagree with this take.” But not in the same way that everyone else disagreed with it. I thought he was talking about individual criticism, so I pushed back a bit on that.
KP: I think it’s hard. I agree. I've always viewed it as like, ‘Okay, you don't want to be the rainbows and sunshine guy.’ Like when Rory loses the U.S. Open or whatever happens, it has to be like, ‘Man, this is ...’
Rory: No, that to me is fine. Whenever that happens, absolutely. I think it's more to do with the coverage of ... I guess it's true, but viewership is declining, and this is bad, and that's bad, and they hate the fans, and they hate this. I understand where they're coming from, but surely it's in everyone's best interest to focus on the positives of the game where recreational golf has never been better, there's more opportunities to play the game. Just stuff like that. Sometimes I wonder what their incentive is to be so negative at times.
For the overall game, I'm not talking about ... if someone messes up and you have to be critical of someone, absolutely. I think that is a part of it. I think I, more than anyone, I understand that and I know that. I'm not saying being critical of players. I'm saying being critical of the overall game of golf.
Now my mind runs to … we’ll just call it the Crusty Old Sportswriter Consortium (COSC). If you have been around any sport — but perhaps especially golf? — you know that they all have their group of writers and purveyors of takes who seem to hate covering the sport the same way the rest of us all have shows that we hate watching.
I want to have sympathy for this because I have only covered golf for 12 years, but it has also always amazed me. You get to … travel to the Masters and U.S. Open and get paid to watch and write about these events, and you seem to dislike every minute of it!
What?!
This is not everyone, to be sure. There are plenty of folks older than me that maintain joy and mirth about the job itself. But it is for sure a thing within golf.
So that’s who or what I immediately thought Rory was referencing.
And that was how I responded.
KP: No, I agree. I think that I've always viewed it as coverage being, at least the way that I do it, a celebration of the game by asking questions to people like you.
Here's the thing. I think people come at it from a position of pessimism a lot of times, because I think that a lot of curiosity is out of distrust. People don't trust other people, or they don't trust the way the world works.
And my curiosity is out of optimism, out of joy. I want to know … I've asked you, what brings you joy in the game? Where do you find it to be spiritual? I hope that people are drawn to that because I think it's a much more compelling … there's plenty of other people that do this. I'm not saying that I'm the only one, but I think It's a much more compelling and enjoyable way to live than being distrustful and pessimistic.
Rory: Could not agree more. Could not agree more. And that's why I gravitate toward your stuff because you find the funny side of things. And you … I don't think there's any other game in the world that is as closely correlated to life in general than golf. And you find those little instances more so than anyone else. And I think that's why, like me, I've always gravitated toward your writing and the way you see things. I guess I wish other people in the media landscape of golf would see it the same way. But again, not everyone is the same, and that's fine.
In print, after transcribing, I understand why folks are extremely fired up about the fact that it seems as if he is upset that people are bemoaning the very bemoan-able product of professional golf right now. And maybe that is true, maybe that’s what he was saying. But I didn’t even consider it in the moment because that would have been an odd take from somebody who publicly and privately has agreed with most of the critiques of his sport at the men’s professional level.
Or maybe I’m just choosing this path of interpretation to self-preserve because I’m embarrassed at not thinking to push back more in the moment. Either way, I do understand why people are mad about it.
My general rule with big superstars who speak often — Spieth, Rory, Tiger, Phil, DJ etc. — is that what they say in an interview should be interpreted within the context of all their other interviews and takes.
It has been my experience that Rory is a fairly reasonable person when it comes to all of this. He’s not emotional about people criticizing him personally, and he understands why golf fans are so frustrated with pro golf. Heck, I am critical of pro golf so often, even in this newsletter.
My view is that this was more of a criticism lobbed at folks who seem to only view the world from a place of distrust and pessimism, which is why my mind ran to the COSC. If that is your starting point, then yeah, that is tiring and exhausting. If your starting point is optimism and hope and joy then I think there is tremendous latitude to be had for any well-thought-out criticism that is levied.
Somebody in Rory’s world once told me that his superpower is always finding the sliver of optimism, even when he misses the cut or hits it terribly in a given week. He always finds something good to hope in as he moves into the future.
That doesn’t mean the bad doesn’t exist or isn’t worth talking about. Rory himself has talked a lot about blowing up the equipment and scheduling situations, among other things. Only that if your starting position is always about what’s wrong with the world — and we all know people like this! — then that can be a difficult thing to rally around in the long term.
Normal Sport
1. It’s just getting too easy.
2. Joaquin Niemann has an 8-iron with a tiny face, just bigger than the ball. It looks exactly like it sounds, which is hilarious. Imagine the wear pattern on the hosel if one of us was hitting this club.
3. A take I have that I will not apologize for: Bill Murray is extremely overrated. Also: normal sport.
4. Somebody alert SNL about the treasure trove of content I have for them on this site.
5. This made me laugh. Oh congrats on making the Sentry cut three times!
6. This is actually sick. Colsaerts went eagle-par-par-albatross on the par 5s at Kingsbarns.
Theoretical TIO is the best TIO.
Take of the Week
Speaking of being critical of pro golf, these two things happening on the same day should tell you everything you need to know about where pro golf is (years behind) in terms of its evolution in the media world.
Pro golf: Here’s Beau Hossler but a limited number of questions even though he’s just strolling around a field.
Pro baseball: Here’s one of our biggest stars talking about his emotions after hitting a bomb at home in the middle of a playoff game.
Idea of the Week
This one definitely caught my attention. I consider monetizing people’s emotion generally a bad idea, but with limits, I actually think it would be incredibly amusing and interesting and compelling on Twitter.
Like, if Porath and I were coming to blows on Jay Don Blake’s second round score in this week’s event (in which Jay Don Blake is playing!), we should be able to wager $150 on it with Twitter taking a cut and other people commenting.
Like Venmo, but with transactions you actually want to show people.
Would be kinda sick!
X should enable user vs. user prediction markets.
Imagine monetizing the spite and arrogance on this app.
You'd print money!
— Austen Allred (@Austen)
4:07 PM • Oct 4, 2024
Take of the Week II
Shane and Andy discuss the Alumni Championship — a hypothetical scenario Shane proposes in which players from different schools would compete in a pro version of the college match play championship.
I am all the way in.
This is a tweet that I think about an inordinate amount.
The counter is: Well if match play is so great then what is the best moment in Dell Match Play history?
Two points on that.
There are too many players involved in the individual match play event, which reduces the number of heavyweight matchups.
A lack of teams neuters the emotion players play with. In other words, Si Woo isn’t doing the night night in a one-on-one match with Keith Mitchell.
Still, individual match play is still better than individual stroke play. The match play format is — I don’t even think it’s close — the best format for golf in the world, and the fact that we see it for 3.5 days every year when golf is on for, like, 300 of those days is insane!
Corrupt Golf Media
👉️ This Phil impression is unbelievable. The part that makes it really work for me? The way he takes off his glove.
👉️ This website called Writing Examples is really cool.
👉️ Taylor Lorenz — who I don’t follow and had not heard of — wrote this week about why she’s leaving the Washington Post to start her own business on Substack. Given my recent plunge, I thought it was interesting.
The journalists I’m most inspired by today are those who have taken their voices back into their own hands— independent content creators who challenge powerful institutions and carve out their own space in a crowded media landscape.
By going independent, I hope to do more of what I love: helping people understand the world around them, inspiring them to build a better internet, holding power to account, and honestly, having a lot more fun!!
👉️ This breakdown of the Mr. Beast leaked memo is really good. Not sure Mr. Beast is aspirational for most of us, but there are some principles in there that are really solid and the overall analysis is excellent.
How is This App Free?
• This absolutely destroyed me.
• Perfect.
• I think I just got normal sported.
• I found this to be a compliment!
Love Your Work
I love this question.
I’ve said this probably a lot recently, but I think most media companies dislike — or at least are gravitating away from — writing. That is good news for me, someone who prefers writing to talking on a podcast or video.
And I’m convinced that people can tell when you love it vs. when you’re just doing it.
One thing I was thinking about recently and actually discussed on a podcast with Baylor golf coach Mike McGraw, which will drop next Monday (and which I will link to) is the idea of creating smaller ponds.
Am I the best golf media person in the world? No.
Am I the best golf writer in the world? No.
Am I the best golf newsletter writer in the world? No (but closer).
Am I the best golf newsletter writer in the world about funny but also heartfelt things? Probably yes.
The two ways to attain excellence and value in your profession are to improve or to shrink the pond you’re in. Doing both is preferable. Even better when the industry — which is constantly moving away from writing — is doing one of them for you.
Love Our Work
One of the 10 most accomplished golfers in the world over the last 2-3 years is now sponsored by a burrito company. So yeah, a sport familiar with v normal ad partnerships. If you're a burrito company, or if you're interested in getting your business or product in front of 14,000+ sicko golf fans, you can check out the Normal Sport media kit and fill out our form right here.
Thanks for reading until the end.
You’re a sicko, and I’m grateful for it.
But please do send this to one friend who you think will understand any of it.