Now that the dust and public shock are settling after U.S. Bank pulled out of its sponsorship of the golf tournament in Milwaukee, it may be time for a little reflection.
I began covering this tournament in its very first year, so I have a little bit of a connection to what I always call the Greater Milwaukee Open.
For years, the GMO has been the little tournament that could. It has always had bad dates that conflicted either directly or approximately with the British Open. It never got appearances from a lot of the big names. Occasionally, someone you recognized would drop in, but over the years even that has disappeared.
Put bluntly, nobody cares about the players who now come to the GMO. Nice Guys. Good Golfers. Caring Fathers. Civic Boosters. But, a collection of nobodies.
These guys are real "Slumdog Millionaires" and there's only room for one of those in our lives.
Bill Bertha, who heads U. S. Bank's operations in Wisconsin, was very candid when he announced the withdrawal of sponsorship.
"We're not blaming anybody," Bertha said. "Other companies didn't see the value of entertaining clients. No revenues were being generated above operating costs, other than what we were subsidizing. Nobody cared.
"A very good analogy is that we threw a multimillion-dollar party for Milwaukee and Wisconsin, in a park with tents, refreshments and entertainment -- all the bells and whistles -- and nobody showed up. It was just apathy out there."
Dan Croak is the executive director of the golf tournament. He's a great guy and has done a magnificent job making the tournament as good as it can be. But he's whistling past the graveyard.
He says he's confident that a new title sponsor will be found. Like I said, whistling past the graveyard.
The rumors persist -- and they are growing -- that the PGA Tour wouldn't mind if the Milwaukee tournament died a quick death. I think the Tour is happy that Milwaukee is willing to put something on for the other guys to play while the best in the world are at the British Open. We are being used.
Milwaukee ought to tell the PGA Tour to take a hike, run to the LPGA and begin working to bring the women to Brown Deer.
The LPGA has so much more than the men. They've got the culture clash of Asian golfers versus American golfers. They've got sexy golfers. They play a game that is much closer to what "average" golfers play than the PGA players do. They would absolutely love the Brown Deer course.
If they play it right, the Milwaukee guys could have one of the best tournaments on the entire women's tour.
Here's the choice. You are a guy who is playing in the pro-am. You have a choice of getting a pro to play with your group. You have a choice between Richard Johnson and Natalie Gulbis.
Hmmmmm....
It's time Milwaukee recognized the handwriting on this wall. Nobody cares about this tournament except for a tiny group of people who spend their time and money on something hardly anybody cares about.
The time is right to make Milwaukee a very special stop on a professional golf tour. It's just not going to happen with the men.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
