Rory McIlroy: Transforming the Tours. Rebranding Golf.



Rory McIlroy
 (From CanadianGolfer.com)

"It's nice that people say that he could be this or he could be that or he could win 20 major championships, but at the end of the day I've won one." - 2011 US Open winner Rory McIlroy

That quote, modest as it was, spoke volumes as to not only how much Rory McIlroy has already changed the dynamic in men's professional golf -- both on his home European Tour and here in North America on the PGA Tour -- but how much capacity he and his fellow "New Kids on the Block" hold to re-brand the sport itself.

When a 22-year-old wins the US Open the way McIlroy did last weekend, the sports world takes notice. When a 22-year-old does it with the grace, eloquence and class shown by the Irishman, the sports world has every reason to celebrate.

McIlroy is a big story because of his record-breaking US Open win, an eight-shot rout that saw him go 16-under par at the Congressional. He's a bigger story because he did so to shake off the choker label that has followed him since he detonated and folded at the Masters in April. In my books, he's an even bigger story, however, on the strength of his approach to the media, his fellow players and, ultimately, the fans of the game of golf.

Dealing with the media is part of the territory that comes with being a professional athlete, coach or executive. Dealing with it well is unfortunately still the terrain of far too few personalities in professional sport. Even at the age of 22, McIlroy already appears to understand the axiom of excellence when it comes to media and public relations: That the way you speak to the media is ultimately the way you come across to the fans.

The best in the business realize that the sports media is the conduit of players, coaches, executives, franchises and leagues to their fans. That's true even in this Internet era of expanded controlled communications.

Rory McIlroy gets that. He is an exciting prospect for golf not only because of his obvious talent and dedication to his craft, he is a golden asset to the game of golf because of his poise at the microphone.

If he and the other New Kids -- names such as Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Martn Kaymar, Graeme McDowell, Charl Schwartzel and Luke Donald -- are as good with their publics as they are on the course, golf will do just fine thank you in the years after the era dominated by Tiger Woods.

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Vancouver's Olympic city brand takes a hit

Vancouver saw the worst of two worlds collide Wednesday night - the heart-breaking disappointment of Stanley Cup defeat and, worse, the stinging embarassment of public disorder gone wild.

On the ice, the NHL's Vancouver Canucks were shut out 4-0 by Tim Thomas and the Bruins, giving Boston its first Stanley Cup championship in 39 years and denying the Canucks franchise their first in 40 seasons and 41 years.

That in and of itself is disappointing to Canucks fans and the team's corporate, broadcast and merchandising partners, and the many other businesses who rise and fall with the NHL team, let alone the very brand equity of the franchise that had been building at an impressive rate this anniversary season.

Yet disappointment around the Canucks missing a golden opportunity to win the 2011 Stanley Cup paled in comparison to the disappointment – the utter embarrassment – the City of Vancouver suffered off the ice in the aftermath of Game 7.

In three hours of rioting, vandalism, looting and violence, Vancouver saw its global brand – one so elevated by the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games – badly diminished. The tremendous global goodwill and image generated by Vancouver 2010, almost all but gone. The local economic impact of two months of Stanley Cup playoff hockey – arguably north of $45 million – fully erased by the negative exposure the city received across Canada, throughout North America and around the world.

The few million dollars in damage and costs directly associated with Wednesday night are mere water drops when juxtaposed against the wave of damage done to the city’s reputation nationally, continentally and globally.

The ugly side of the public celebrations that made Vancouver such a fun place to be for a Stanley Cup spring have undoubtedly bruised the city’s civic pride.

Yet it is that same ugly side -- both the criminals who may have triggered the riots and the other disaffected, angry young people who elevated and sustained the disorder -- which cannot be allowed to shape the future of the city in particular and the region and province in general.

Many are concerned about the public plazas that seemed to anchor the post-game stupidity, but in my view the best defense against hooliganism is to continue building civic pride through public celebration, not reducing it out of fear.

Protecting the city’s capacity to stage big events and hold public celebrations began with those who rose on Thursday to help clean the streets of downtown Vancouver and it is something we should stand behind. The follow through to protect future public events -- Stanley Cup-related and others -- will require smart security measures, inspired public policies and leadership, and creative public-private partnerships, not to mention more of the spirit and community caring shown Thursday morning and into the weekend.

It will also require more of us to embrace sport as an essential element in the fabric of any community and in society at large...belief that the infrastructure of professional sport creates value for a community, ranging from the tangibles of jobs and economic impact to the intangibles of continental and global name recognition and, closer to home, civic pride.

First and foremost, civic pride contributes to our sense of identity. The privilege of gathering to celebrate and share as a community is worth protecting because it’s in large part how we are defined as a civil society. It’s how we feel at home in our community and it’s how most of us best express the pride we take in living in Vancouver and in being Canadian.

It would be senseless to compromise that civic pride and it would be wrongheaded not to continue to leverage the many positives that spin off of professional sport by making the most of hosting opportunities such as the Stanley Cup, the Grey Cup and other special events. 

Losing that would be the biggest cost of all.

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