Simon's Q&A in advance of Dynamic Discs Open Coverage (CBSSports Network)

[robdeforge]

Have you considered that he's more competitive against himself, than against others?

I feel like your comment is borderline disrespectful towards people who would rather be competitive with themselves.

"In the weight of balance, showing off and actually competing and focusing on winning. is that the prize money in disc golf is not that big of a deal for the top 10 guys. like, we don't play for the prize money. what helps us is the bonuses we get from sponsors, any other sponsor deals like our bags or our shoes, any equipment we use on the course. like all those deals are usually a much bigger deal to us than the thousand or 3 thousand we get for finishing top 3 in a tournament.

so yea, my money I've been winning from tournament prize money has actually been like a very very small piece of my yearly income. so I had to like weight out is for me important to be on the podium, win tournaments, get titles, or is it more important to be the guy that everyone enjoys watching. to be the guy that people talk about. be the guy that the camera crews wanna film and people like commentating about me. just stuff like that that always seemed more appealing to me.

like I noticed very early on that winning and the attention of being the inner and having to do a speech at the end... that kind of stuff, I never liked that. and I always thought I was wrong for not liking that. but everybody is different. but just because i'm a professional athlete doesn't mean I have to do everything I can to win. I take the approach for making the sport look attractive and entertaining and fun to watch."

It's really interesting to me that he's making that in to an either/or proposition.

 

[mark996]

Simon is growing his brand which is great for him, but in terms of disc golf 10-15 years from now who is going to be remembered? Paul McBeth/Ricky Wysocki or Simon Lizotte? Do we all know who Ken Climo is? Who was the distance champion/longest thrower in his prime? (If you know kudos, don't cheat and look it up). My point is people remember the champs.

And side note disc golf needs to restructure payout at least for the DGPT. Stop paying the top 80-100 players and start making the prize money something people actually want to compete for.

 

[perklc]

What else was there to remember from Climo's time besides the champs? Brand building and social media wasn't really a thing then.

 

[araytx]

Watched most of the vid, didn't see the connection. Can you elaborate? Thx.

Two things. The DD branded cornhole boards in the background didn't escape me. Probably just a "happened to be there while filming" kinda thing, but the way some people b---h about cornhole getting way more coverage than disc golf, I found it amusing.

The connection is that he states prize money is way down his list of concerns if he wants to continue doing this. It's building the social media brand. Probably something they CAN learn from Brodie.

 

[roggenb3]

Love him, hate him, doesn't matter as here you are watching his video and talking about him.

Point, Lizotte.

 

[mark996]

Is there really anyone that hates him though? Serious question. He's great for the sport and has a great personality. If he doesn't want to devote every aspect of his life to winning...so be it. He's still winning on his own level.

 

[nothinbuttree]

Why is sports the only profession where being the absolute best is the only acceptable goal?

Think about what each of you do for a paycheck. Isn't enjoying your work while providing a stable income good enough? Would you want to be bashed if you stated being the best at your job wasnt necessarily your number one goal?

 

[Nick Pacific]

Love him, hate him, doesn't matter as here you are watching his video and talking about him.

Point, Lizotte.

Steady always said, right from the beginning, he who has the most fun, wins. Simon is killing it. The guy has figured out the most important thing about the game decades before many often do. Many don't figure that out until well into their master's years. Some never do.

You need to enjoy your moments and time on the course, the years go fast. Well done Simon.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

Dude puts significant labor into his YouTube game. Call it building his brand. Call it connecting with his fans. Call it growing the game. Call it whatever you want but he is the best in the biz at something that takes commitment, labor, and investment.

I'll never understand the people annoyed by his attitude toward athletic competition. Sure, he doesn't compete how you would like him to or how you would, hypothetically, if you had his talent. But he doesn't owe you using his talent the way you would use such talent if you had it.

 

[autocrosscrx]

I think my point may have been missed earlier.

I love Simon. I love watching him play. I love his personality. I'm totally okay with him being focused on having fun or on building his brand.

However, as a competitor, when you are saying that you say or imply that you could be winning more, but winning isn't important and that you don't like winning, you are taking credit away from the efforts that others put into winning.

Absolutely nobody likes working hard to accomplish something, then being told that your accomplishment doesn't really mean anything.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

I think my point may have been missed earlier.

I love Simon. I love watching him play. I love his personality. I'm totally okay with him being focused on having fun or on building his brand.

However, as a competitor, when you are saying that you say or imply that you could be winning more, but winning isn't important and that you don't like winning, you are taking credit away from the efforts that others put into winning.

Absolutely nobody likes working hard to accomplish something, then being told that your accomplishment doesn't really mean anything.

That seems like a logical leap to me. I don't think he he is discrediting anyone. People can think he is full of hot air and we'll never know, if he keeps the same priorities.

He seems universally liked on Tour. I doubt any of the people beating him care what he thinks about his ability to win more were he to care to. He'd certainly win a poll of Tour players about who could win more, I'd bet.

Are those who like to win upset that he doesn't compete to his full extent every time? That would be the more interesting question to ask.

 

[mark996]

I think the super important take away for Simon is...that's how HE feels about HIS game. I really doubt he'd tell anyone they're doing it wrong/living wrong or be disrespectful towards their work ethic. Most people at the top seem to always say awesome things about Simon.

What's scary to me is Eagle is like a Paul/Ricky/Simon mix. He's getting that eye of the tiger attitude during events but still seems to have fun and throw insane shots.

 

[warmuth]

He just seems to love throwing discs. Tournaments are something he's expected to do and it'll always be that way for anyone who wants to gain clout and make a living at it.