The Ryder Cup is being held in suburban Chicago this week. Zorn is there and he notes the drawbacks:
To get a good view of the action you need to stake out a prime viewing space -- those bleachers that surround many greens, for example, or a perch right against the ropes by a tee box. And when you stake out one such spot, you're in for hours of waiting and the knowledge that, all around you on the course, interesting things are happening.
You can try to follow interesting matches or golfers around the course, as I did for Tiger Woods' first seven holes, but you'll be trying to little glimpses here there over the heads of early-arrivers and, again, knowing that you're missing important developments elsewhere.
I haven't played golf in years but, even when I played regularly, the possibility of attending a tournament as a spectator never appealed to me in the least. I'd always assumed all of the problems Zorn describes, but perhaps the underlying problem is that I never loved golf, even when I played.
My problem isn't only with golf. I'm officially not a real American male because I don't enjoy watching or attending professional (American) football games, though I enjoyed attending open practices a long time ago when the Giants held open practices at Fairfield U in CT. You could get right down in there on the sidelines and feel the mind-blowing power and athleticism and, here and there, run for your life as a receiver ran out of bounds.
What sports do I enjoy attending live? Almost anything, but favorites as a spectator are hockey and soccer.
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