You can count me among the tweetin’ Twitterers (or is that the Twitterin’ tweeters?) now: http://twitter.com/MikeVacc
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The defiance was galling, the arrogance appalling. And yet, right there, on the USGA web site at 7:26 a.m., just as the U.S. Open resumed, there remained the printed equivalent of saliva projecting into your eye:
U.S.Open Tickets
Thursday tickets will not be refunded or exchanged. Play will resume Friday at 7:30 a.m., weather permitting. Only Friday tickets will be accepted.
Translation: Bleep you, New York.
This stood to be one of the greatest outrages we’ve ever seen perpetrated on the local sporting populace, ever. The USGA, an organization that made $155.8 million last year in revenue — including $50 million just on the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines — couldn’t see it in its heart to do the right thing here, even though play was suspended at 10:16 yesterday morning, even though most of the people who wanted to see Phil Mickelson never had a prayer since Lefty never even made it to the course.
Later in the morning, after absorbing a firestorm of righteous and rightful anger and outrage, the USGA backed off — ever so slightly, and not nearly enough. David Fay, the USGA’s executive director, announced that ticket-holders who got to see exactly two hours and 16 minutes of soaking, sopping, saturated golf would have their tickets honored on Monday — whether that means an 18-hole playoff or — more likely, given tomorrow’s grim forecast — a full day of regulation golf.
That was a positive step. But while Fay acknowledged that the USGA “considered” the idea of refunds, it stopped short of granting them. So if you planned ahead in order to take Thursday off from work but aren’t in position where you can take Monday off, the USGA’s announcement amounts to this: a whole lot of nothing.
And the fact remains that there is only one reason why they chose not to do the right thing and at least offer the option of a refund: greed. Piggish, priggish, outlandish, inexcusable greed. There were a lot of wonderful columns expressing outrage this morning, beginning with Our Man Cannizzaro‘s here, and Friend of the Post Steve Politi‘s angry screed here, and every word of the criticism is justified and almost underplayed, and all of it surely guilted the USGA into taking some kind of action, if not anything close to satisfactory action.
The Yankees also made their fans sit through the rain yesterday, and they got some heat for it, but because they are the Yankees they not only allowed those who stayed to swarm into the good seats, they honored an old Steinbrenner Tradition and gave rain checks even though the game in question was already played. You know what that’s called? It’s called good business. It’s called caring about your fans. It’s called flipping your fans a morsel for their loyalty.
All the USGA flipped its fans was the bird yesterdaymorning, and then a few crumbs later on, once they felt compelled to do something. If this is the way they do business, they can take their tournament and keep it out of town from now on. Forever.
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There was a little bit of golf yesterday, and Jeff Brehaut was an awfully nice story to get out of it, for however long his mini-Cinderella tale lasts.
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The amazing thing about the Mets’ season is that the rest of the National League seems hell-bent on keeping them afloat until the reinforcements come rolling back. The Mets owe a debt of gratitude to the Blue Jays for sweeping the Phillies at Citizens Bank this week, and also various favors to the Angels, White Sox and Tigers for keeping them tied in the loss column in the wild card standings. You can’t imagine that largesse will last forever.
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The remarkable thing isn’t just that Brett Gardner was able to walk out of the Stadium last night after taking that hit against the fence. It’s that he held onto the ball.
