Hating on the Pros

Some people say Bruce Brakel hates the pros. I really don't. Hate gives me an acid stomach. I cannot spend much time hating anything or I pay for it all the way through the digestive process. There are a lot of pros I know and like, in no particular order other than alphabetical, including, Brett Comincioli, Mark Ellis, Kirk Haggadone, Al Schack, Barrett White, even if i might misspell or mispronounce their names.

I don't have any hate for the pros. I also don't have any money for the pros. Jon, Brett and I [and a cast of dozens] ran an A-tier last weekend with no money for the pros. Discontinuum kicked in $500. A corporate sponsor kicked in $200. Peoria Frisbee Club kicked in a $100. Brett sold $1000 worth of CFR discs for the pro purse. And we sold another $1000 worth of CFR discs to buy everyone a pizza-and-a-pop lunch both days. I wish I had more money for the pros, but I don't.

I'm running Byron Big D Doubles Am-only and this is why: At Byron we pay $15 for green and cart fees. For the Ams, I can take that out of the profit on the tournament. There is not much profit on the tournament after I do that, but I can still run a good show. For the pros, if I take out $15 per player for green and cart fees, that's just a shabby payout.

To show my pure hatred for the pros, this is what I'm going to do: With my Byron Big D disc order this year I'm going to get 25 Big D CFR Destroyers. If you are a pro and you buy one, you will have priority for registering for the tournament in 2009. And if you play in a protected pro division, we'll offer that division in 2009. If you are an am and you buy one, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that in 2009 you can compare your am scores to pro scores and we'll have pros at the tournament. What I'll do in 2009 is apply the money raised to pro green fees, and let in that many pro teams. If Byron Big D doesn't go in 2009, I'll give the money raised to Harvest Doubles in Grand Ledge, so the money will stay in the game for the pros.

Byron Big D Doubles is October 25, 2008. Check out the tournament calender on this site for more details.

[Bruce Brakel]

Every time I've run Big D there have been pros who were angry or disappointed with the payout. I'm going to suspend the pro division for one year and try to raise money for their green fees for next year. That seems fair. Also, for next year, anyone who buys a Big D fundraiser disc will also get an invitation to pre-register before everyone else. I will spend the fundraiser proceeds on pro greens fees and free lunch for everyone.