Joseph Sabino Mistick: Ryder Cup — a good walk spoiled

In 2014, author Noam Chomsky said that one of the functions that professional sports play in our society “is to offer an area to deflect people’s attention from things that matter.” Historians say that Roman emperors used “bread and circuses” to distract and control the masses.

That may still be true, but with 24-hour news channels and constant news feeds on our phones, it is impossible to ignore for long the troubles in our country and the world. Even so, watching sports can be welcome solace from the daily bombardment of incivility.

The behavior of the fans at last week’s Ryder Cup golf tournament in New York could be a sign that even that distraction may be fading. The Ryder Cup pits an American team of golfers against a European team, and it is usually marked by high spirited competition. It went far beyond that this time.

On live television, the crowd shouted F-bombs at the European players, turning it into a group chant that was led at one point by the event’s emcee. A stream of personal insults was aimed at Irishman Rory McIlroy, who eventually snapped and loudly returned the taunt. And some idiot threw a beer at McIlroy’s wife.

“No player in modern Ryder Cup history endured the relentless, systematic dehumanization McIlroy faced on Saturday. It was one of the most shameful spectacles this event has seen — a sustained campaign of cruelty that should embarrass every golf fan and American,” Joel Beall wrote in Golf Digest.

Former American team captain Tom Watson tweeted after the final day, “I’d like to apologize for the rude and mean-spirited behavior from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, Captain, and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened.”

McIlroy, in a cooler mood after Europe’s victory, said, “Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.”

That may usually be true, but this was not something you would want your kids to watch.

When President Donald Trump arrived, the European players caught a break. There were some boos from the crowd but plenty of cheers for Trump, and the vulgar insults were paused for raucous chants of “USA, USA!”

The cost of Trump’s quick trip from Washington to New York to catch a few holes at the Ryder Cup was reportedly around $15 million. But the “golfing president” told reporters, “The team is not doing so well. I heard that, so I said, ‘Let’s get on the plane. We have to try and help them.”

As Reuters reported, “It was a far warmer welcome than Trump received at the Super Bowl and at the U.S. Open.” And it was a far warmer welcome than he received from the hundreds of generals and admirals he spoke to last week at Quantico.

Showing up at sporting events may be a useful distraction for Trump, but it is not working for those of us who turn to sports to escape cultural warfare and political upmanship.

Sometimes you need a break from the serious business of life. Sometimes you just need a golf tournament to be just a golf tournament.