In the grand scheme of sports media, I like Jason and Travis Kelce.
Their podcast New Heights is a good listen with interesting guests. Jason is entertaining as an analyst for Monday Night Football. And, obviously, I’m a huge fan of Travis’s fiancee (any Swifties in the comments? No? Never mind).
Having said that, I think we’ve gone about 500 percent too far with the Kelce Bros. infiltrating golf.
It was one thing when Travis played in pro-am events this year at TPC Scottsdale and Pebble Beach. Hey, he almost made an ace on the 16th at Scottsdale. That’s harmless fun!
It was palatable—maybe even enjoyable—when Jason randomly served as a guest commentator for three TGL matches a few weeks ago. He’s an entertaining guy and the fact he has virtually no expertise with golf doesn’t need to stop an unserious enterprise like TGL from including him. I’m all for shoehorning in as many weird TGL cameos as we can.
But now it looks like we’ve hit the point of Kelce Bros. fatigue within golf.
Jason Kelce is serving as an announcer at the Masters
It was recently unveiled that Jason is going to be a commentator for the Par 3 Contest at next week’s Masters. He’ll be handling player interviews as an on-course reporter.
My goodness, is nothing sacred at ANGC these days? I guess once they allowed Dude Perfect to kick soccer balls down Amen Corner, all bets were off …
The Masters mostly gets it right. They rarely miss. But this is one of those rare times.
There seems to be a consensus that nobody asked for this. No golf fan was thinking, “Hey, could we make the Par 3 Contest a little sexier by getting a retired offensive lineman with no golf knowledge to act like it’s open-mic night next to the ninth green?”
I mean, what exactly is the point of this? There are hundreds, nay, thousands of more qualified commentators for this role. Hell, Ken Griffey Jr. is a photographer for the Masters now. I bet he can handle interviews, too!
Am I getting way too fired up over something that is a drop in the bucket? Yes. But, come on. Do the Kelces really have to be crammed down our throats at Augusta of all places?
There are plenty of media where a Kelce fits. The most revered grounds in the game of golf isn’t exactly one of them.
From a sports media perspective, it seems like ESPN is trying to throw one of their top talents at as many of their products as possible. Jason has parachuted into ESPN hockey coverage. He did work around the Olympics, too.
Personally, I would much prefer to hear his football commentary on account of him actually having played the sport but I understand the concept of what ESPN is doing.
And, look, I know the Par 3 Contest isn’t the Masters proper. It’s a family outing, a little tradition where aces (and little children) run wild. I’m sure Jason will do just fine and all of us will forget about this.
I guess I would just prefer for a legitimate golf commentator to have that kind of role.
You know me, I have to get riled up over something.
But wait, there’s more
Just when you though the activations were over …
The Kelce Bros. have a Garage Beer brand that is working with Malbon. Their deal will begin next week around the Masters. We’ll see what that dream team produces.
If you think the Kelce Bros. are following the same avenue as Pat McAfee—becoming overexposed in sports coverage—this probably won’t help much.
Everyone yelling about how golf needs to shrink has plenty of ammunition here. I doubt this is the last time we see the Kelces getting into the golf world.
And, to be honest, I can’t blame this one on them.
Top Photo Caption: Jason Kelce talks to Tom Kim during a TGL match. (GETTY IMAGES/Rich Storry)
Fake
2 months ago
I’m indifferent about the Kelce brothers or Taylor Swift. This seems like a missed opportunity to get ANY celebrity who knows and plays golf to join in, if they’re looking for crossover appeal. Plenty of other athletes are single digit handicap players, and can handle the microphone well enough.