The article “The Pros the Pros Would Pay To See” was an
absolute great read. Sports Illustrated released this article
focusing on professional athletes and which professional athletes they would
pay money to see perform. When reading the article it was interesting to see
that some major athletes were surveyed. From Carmelo Anthony to Donovan McNabb,
there was a showing across the board of well-respected athletes. The top
athletes voted on include professionals like Serena Williams, Michael Vick, Shaq,
Barry Bonds, and Tiger Woods. When broken down, it was even interesting to see
the correlation of votes from athletes from the same sport.
I thought it was very interesting perspective to take when
asking professional athletes who they would pay to see play. The article’s
author, Jack McCallum, really asked some unique questions. After reflecting on
this, it is amazing to think that some of the best athletes in their
perspective sports have enough respect to pay the amount of money to go and be
a spectator. Whether if those surveyed just wanted to see they athletes they
picked for personal interest, out of respect, or based on talent, the athletes
that ranked towards the top of the list were not a surprise to me.
When all of the surveys were turned in from 625 athletes,
Tiger Woods remained on the top of the list. I personally agree with this
result. I believe between what Tiger did for the game of golf, his talent, and
the excitement he brings each round; he is the crowd favorite for many. Now the question I leave for you: what
athlete would you pay to see play?
Tyler Jester
ReplyDeleteAlex, I completely agree with you when discussing how much Tiger has meant to the game of golf. I do not know how many times I have heard people say, “The only way I will watch golf is if Tiger is playing.” Being an avid golf fan myself, I will normally watch golf no matter who is playing, but it is always more interesting when Tiger is playing. A few questions I have about Tiger though would be, is he still the athlete other pro’s would want to see the most, has his status changed since his incident, and is Rory McIlroy, who recently signed a contract with Nike, the new face of golf and eventually going to become the new Tiger Woods?
An athlete who I would love to see, who had a similar impact on their sport is Michael Jordan. I understand he no longer plays, but if there was one athlete in the history of sports I wish I could watch perform live in person, it would be Jordan. Jordan helped put the NBA on the map. It would be amazing to see the way he played the game in person. Just watching the highlights of Jordan glide through the air, dribble past defenders, and have that never quit mentality is amazing in itself. I can only imagine what it would look like live.
Jeremy Shay
ReplyDeleteI also agree with this article being a great read and very interesting seeing all of the different athletes the athletes picked they would like to see. I think that Tiger Woods would be very exciting to see play because of everything that he has done for the game of golf. I personally think that if Tiger gets back to the way he was playing before everything that happened that it would help golf out even more. Even with everything that he went through, the tournaments that he plays in are more exciting then the ones that Tiger Woods doesn't play in.
I personally would want to see Adrian Peterson. With the performance that he had this season after having an ACL tear the season before and everything that he did was unbelievable. It is amazing that he was able to play this season and is a front runner to get the MVP for this season.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with the fact that this article was a great read. It was definitely interesting to see professionals share who they would pay to see play, whether it was in a different professional sport or not. Tiger Woods was definitely a fit winner back then, but I feel that he would have more competition if this survey was put out today.
Dan Pesato
Alex,
ReplyDeleteYou made some phenomenal points here. I think your discussion on Tiger can bring up a good topic. If this study was done today I think the results would be a lot different, however you still have to respect the past career of Tigers Woods. Do you think that athletes are as affected as fans are when it comes to off surface issues? What would be really interesting is to ask the same people now how they feel about their previous picks, at this point in time. As athletes their opinions may be more forgiving than the average fan since they too have to live a similar life of exposure.
Hunter Haas