The partisan American crowd is one of the biggest challenges Team Europe will face at next week’s Ryder Cup in New York.
For decades now, Ryder Cups on US soil have been defined by hostility towards European players, and the atmosphere is sure to be a tense one if things are tight coming down the back nine on Sunday.
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Flashpoints like Brookline in 1999 or Hazeltine in 2016 sum up just how difficult it will be for Europe in the supercharged environment of an away Ryder Cup.
The European team have already taken measures to prepare for the atmosphere, with VR headsets being used to simulate the abuse they may face from the stands.
However, it seems as though the US host broadcaster is ready to ramp up the tension, with NBC confirming they will lean in to unapologetic pro-American bias over the weekend.
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NBC to lean into American bias at Bethpage
30 September 2023; Rory McIlroy of Europe shakes hands with Patrick Cantlay of USA on the 18th green during the afternoon fourball matches on day two of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
NBC have said they were inspired by the BBC’s coverage of the Olympic Games in deciding to unabashedly cheer for Team USA at this year’s Ryder Cup.
“A big change we’re making this time is we’re going to have a partisan booth,” NBC Sports’ executive producer Tommy Roy was quoted as saying in the Telegraph this week.
We’ve always covered our sports events in a completely impartial way, never referring to the Americans as ‘we’.
But if you’ve worked the Olympics and you’re in the international broadcast centre, you can dial up the feeds from the different countries’ broadcasts and they are almost all very partisan.
If you listen to the Brits’ track and field, they are literally blatantly rooting for the UK athletes. I kind of used to scoff at this style because I was so brainwashed into impartiality.
But we’re going to give it a shot. This is not going to be the new norm at NBC Sports, but at Bethpage this is what we’re doing. We are all in.
It’s not as though American golf fans needed anything more to get riled up at the Ryder Cup, but it seems as though NBC are ready to add fuel to the fire at Bethpage.
There is sure to be tension across the weekend, especially if the 2023 edition is anything to go by.
Ireland’s Rory McIlroy infamously clashed with Patrick Cantlay on the Friday evening in Rome, before coming out a completely different, fired-up animal for the weekend’s games.
Perhaps a bit of antagonism will play into Team Europe’s hands at Bethpage.
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