Dateline: Durant, Oklahoma
They wore no shoes.
They wore no clothes.
20 men stood left foot planted, right foot slightly behind, toes bent.
All heads down, they were they fastest, they were the strongest, they were the best of ancient Greece.
700 years before Christ was born, there was a race, a foot race, the length of the foot race was measured based on the size of the feet of Hercules.
I don’t know if we know the names of the first 20 who raced in the footsteps of Hercules, but I do know this, when their right foot moved, when their right foot crossed the line, the Olympics were born.
When their right foot crossed the line, organized sports, began.
The race was called the Stadion, and popular it became, fans showed up to watch, the Greeks built a building to house the race, Latin changed Stadion to Stadium.
In 2,700 years nothing much has changed, we still sit in stadium seats.
We still come to watch.
Waiting for Hercules.
Every sporting event post Stadion is based on one simple principle, the thrill of watching someone do something athletic in an extraordinary manner.
If we all could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee there would not have been an Ali, but he could and we can’t and that is why he became The Greatest.
It took me a year or so to figure out what this BASSfest thing was all about. It frankly shocks a whole bunch of people what I pay attention to and what I don’t.
Here’s what the B.A.S.S. brass says it is about:
Eric Lopez is the dude who puts all the pieces of the shebang together, he lays it all out, manages a thousand details, none of which I understand when he tells me, but I stopped him mid-trot between details and said, “Huh.”
Pay attention to this sentence from Eric: “The Classic is our biggest event of the year and is special to everyone, BASSfest is not at that level, yet, not at the level of a summer Classic, but that’s the goal, the goal for this to become.”
Trip Weldon, also a friend who displays above and beyond the call of duty patience with me: “A Classic berth is on the line here for the winner, that’s different than the other tournaments, there is a higher payout at this…”
And then both said this (I won’t put quotes around it since that would be akin to saying something that ain’t), it’s also all about the fans and their experience.
BASSfest is simply this, we took the seats out of the Stadion.
It can’t always be, just about us.
There has to be room for it to be about you, too.
And while there may be bass fish, and while there may be Elite anglers, there would be no game without you in the stands.
You the fan.
When those who take to the field of play forget about you, there will be no more fields to play on.
You may not know it but YOU control professional sports, and know this, EVERY sport is PAY to PLAY, if no one pays, no one plays, and for the most part most of that money comes from YOU.
Some will argue that point, will say that this sport’s economic model is based on the fee the anglers pay to play, and that is certainly a big part of it, but if you don’t watch, or read and don’t buy the baits used, the rods and reels used, the boats used, tournament bass fishing will sink.
It is just flat out ego-centric to think otherwise.
I am proud of B.A.S.S. for doing this BASSfest thing because on Saturday here FOR FREE you can come and walk in the footsteps of Hercules.
Our turn to give back.
No quid out of your pocket and you can hear the best of the best tell you their secrets, er, at least some of those secrets.
I’m not aware of any other sport that takes basically a time-out during the middle of the season so that the GENERAL public can go and mingle and learn from the athletes they come to watch play the game.
I’ve been at the MLB at the turn, the All-Star Game, and sure they have lots of fan “experiences” but trust me on this they are not going to let you in the locker room.
We are.
As I see it: Learning the secrets of the game is great, but for me what far outweighs that is this, I’d like you to meet and get to know these guys because I will say flat out, in 25 years of covering athletes, these dudes are special.
They actually want to meet you.
They actually want to help you get better at what they do.
They actually care.
And I’m not blowing smoke up anything when I say that. To be honest I get paid whether these dudes talk to you or not, like you or not, care about you or not.
So I’m not selling snake oil when I write this, they could be 100 or so complete jerks and my direct deposit would still happen twice a month.
But they are not and to me that is the real value of this thing we call BASSfest.
No need to wait for Hercules.
Hercules will be giving a seminar, and waiting for you.
As I See It,
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