Ryde or Die ⛳

Ahhh, The Ryder Cup.

Was I one of those crazy a**hole USA fans you read about on TV?

Well, it depends. This video probably doesn’t do me justice…

Somehow this event turned into the most controversial sporting event of the year.

The Ryder Cup is sort of an up-and-coming product for sports fans.

Just a decade ago, the casual sports fan had essentially no understanding of the event. And now it’s as big as it gets in the sport of golf and rivals other major sports for viewership (5M+ on TV for Sunday’s round) and live attendance (200,000+ attendees over the weekend).

The Ryder Cup isn’t meant to be quiet golf claps and soft whistles like at Augusta National. It’s golf’s version of a football game for fans (as the traditional golf media portrayed over the last two years - important note).

It’s rowdy.

I’m not going to explain what the Ryder Cup format is and waste your time there, but I will say it’s pretty much the only team event in golf that matters. It’s America vs. Europe. 12 best players from each side face off for The Cup. No money on the table for the winners.

Naturally, there is national pride on the line.

Naturally, fans are going to go all out and get absolutely fired up for it. 

Some would say too fired up. Some would say it was awesome. Rory McIlroy would say he is disgusted with you (well, me) and to “shut the f*ck up”. MLB Hall of Famer Chipper Jones says deal with it.

Well, I was boots on the ground for World War 3 and here’s my perspective…

Yes, this wasn’t sent on a Wednesday. Life is getting busier with football season, and I don’t want to send out a crappy product to all of you. So there may be some delays on editions in the future but know it’s not laziness and more so me wanting to create better content for you. Luckily there is no boss here telling me send these out. I am my Diary final boss.

One Big (Prideful) Thing

Some fans kept the cheers and chirps PG-13 and fun. Some crossed the line with their words and actions.

I don’t support fans hurling homophobic slurs and screaming f-bombs as a guy stands over the ball whatsoever, obviously. You’d have to be a complete idiot to believe that’s cool to do.

But I will say, there is nothing I love more than a hostile sports environment between two great teams in a massive moment supported by two extremely passionate fanbases. There’s simply no atmosphere like it on Earth.

Don’t let the handful of dickheads let you think the Ryder Cup was a complete and utter disaster.

Because it was still awesome.

I mean look at these American Eagles we ran into. They were making bird noises and yelling “freedom”. Doesn’t get much better than that.

I have attended two Super Bowls, a couple NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Finals both at TD Garden in Boston and many Red Sox playoff games. I don’t say that to brag but to show I have the experience of contributing too many electric sporting scenes.

And honestly, I haven’t seen many more thunderous sporting events than Bethpage Black on Long Island this past weekend. Truly incredible stuff.

Can fans do a much better job at expressing their passionate fandom? Yes, of course.

I take pride in myself being able to toe that line of fun, passionate cheering vs. being disrespectful and just dumb.

Nothing hits better than a fun, calculated chirp. Or just being super loud to the point where you know the players will hear.

Feeling like you can have an effect on the game as a fan, is the best feeling in the world. And as somehow who buys a ticket to the event you have the right to do that as long as you don’t cross a line.

The Ryder Cup is meant to be uncomfortable for the away team.

Yeah, I wish those handful of people never bought tickets and aren’t allowed back, but still that was an incredible performance by the fans after the actual US golfers weren’t giving us much to cheer for.

Nothing would make me happier than the Europeans in Ireland at the 2027 Ryder Cup giving the American players hell all week. As fans, that is their job.

BTW - USA got absolutely smoked on the course and Team EU embarrassed us on our home soil.

So personally, I agree with MLB legend Chipper Jones.

When you walked into the hostile environment of Long Island, New York for an event that is known for its crazy fans, what did you expect?

I’d like to see less complaining from the players and just embrace the madness.

Rory McIlroy specifically.

I understand fans crossed the line and that’s not cool and unfair.

But as the face of golf and the true leader of the sport, you need to try your best to be the bigger man. Telling the media '“you’re really f*cking good” and screaming at the fans to “shut the f*ck up” is only going to rile them up more.

Just try not to make yourself look like the victim in every situation and step up and handle the situation with true leadership. No need to cuss at fans and the media after a hostile day. You were the better golfer, let the game speak for itself. If you don’t want rowdy fans, don’t give them fuel. You can address the craziness of the fans but do it in a more tasteful way than just complaining.

Credit Shane Lowry from team Europe. Dude thrives on this type of environment. And it shows because he hit the winning putt on Sunday in our faces and cellied so hard. Respect.

But if you didn’t attend Bethpage this weekend, and you read that “fans were a**holes” and the event was an embarrassment… don’t believe everything you read.

And if you want to say golf is a game of “respect” and different than any other major sport, then sure. Just know that’s not the environment that was advertised by golf media for the last two years leading up to the event.

Not every golf talk show can go say “this tournament is going to be wild with the fans!” and then expect the American fans to come out and not live up to the hype.

You egged them on.

It was one of the most fun sporting events that has ever been held on US soil, and I was honored to be a part of that crowd.

Now here is the part where I brag about my weekend.

How’d I even end up standing 10 feet from the first tee box and on TV after every single player walkout from the tunnel? How’d I end up giving Scottie Scheffler a great speech pre-tee?

I was once again very lucky last weekend.

I was sitting on my couch at 7pm on Thursday night watching hour 12 of the Golf Channel covering the Ryder Cup (continuously saying the fans will be crazy) and my phone rang.

Was my good friend Duncan Robinson, who I wrote about a few weeks ago.

As an NBA player, you get some cool perks sometimes. Well, he had an extra VIP ticket, and he told me if I could get to Long Island for 4am the next day, the ticket was mine.

Obviously, I booked the last flight outta Boston. Packed a suitcase within 5 minutes and landed at JFK around midnight.

Slept about 3 hours max with a 3:45am alarm and we were off to the races.

We got to Bethpage Black at 5:30am on Friday morning and walked the red carpet:

And headed to the “most electric environment in sports” which was the first tee:

We had our own little tunnel walkout to the first tee box area. I felt like Tom Brady coming out for a Super Bowl.

The fans were beautiful, but nothing more beautiful than this sunrise over the first green on Day 1 of the opening round.

Michael Jordan strolled in, Maine’s MJ was there in Cooper Flagg (2025 #1 overall NBA draft pick), and even the greatest Olympian of ALL-TIME was in the mix yelling louder than I was:

The chants, the energy, the competition. It was all glorious.

This 48 hours on Long Island was one to remember.

I wasn’t at Bethpage on Sunday for the USA’s attempted comeback, but I was still bringing the juice shirtless as my grandparents and family were very unimpressed.

P.S. YANKEES SUCK!!

My NFL Power Rankings - Week 4

Super Bowl Contenders

1. Buffalo Bills

2. Philadelphia Eagles

3. Green Bay Packers

4. Detroit Lions

5. Kansas City Chiefs

Frisky Playoff Squads

6. Los Angeles Chargers

7. Los Angeles Rams

8. Tampa Bay Bucs

9. Baltimore Ravens

10. Jacksonville Jaguars

11. Washington Commanders

12. Seattle Seahawks

Wild Card Weekend Hopefuls

13. San Francisco 49ers

14. Indianapolis Colts

15. Pittsburgh Steelers

16. Denver Broncos

17. Dallas Cowboys

Interesting but not good

18. Minnesota Vikings

19. New England Patriots

20. Chicago Bears

21. Atlanta Falcons

22. Las Vegas Raiders

23. Houston Texans

24. Cincinnati Bengals

25. New York Giants

26. Arizona Cardinals

Really Bad Football Teams

27. Cleveland Browns

28. Carolina Panthers

29. Miami Dolphins

30. New York Jets

31. Tennessee Titans

32. New Orleans Saints