Why would you want to be sponsored?

[smarkquart]

The woe-is-me tale that I chose, and with no regrets, is that I am married with three children. We live off of my income only because my wife decided to stay at home to be available for our autistic children. I am a teacher, so that says right there how little money we make.

How that comes back to the farfetched dream of being sponsored, even if on a part-time basis, is that when I am off from teaching, it would be wonderful to see more of the country. Ideally, throw me an RV, cover gas and give us a food allowance and I would be happy to pay for tournaments and leagues. If I need to be an on-the-spot salesman as well as a highly visible player, no problem.

One time we came into a little money, we took a family vacation for our daughter's graduation. From Minnesota to Arizona - that was a big deal for us even though it was a mad dash to the Grand Canyon and an even madder dash back home. The scenery from Texas to Arizona back up through Colorado is something I will never forget. We got a lot of trees and lakes in Minnesota, but that is about it (although do not get me wrong, my ideal winning the lottery fantasy is purchasing several thousand acres way up north). I was able to sneak several rounds on that trip and it was a blast playing new courses. Fond memories.

Conveniently our vacation was planned the same weekend the Disc Golf Experience was at Arrowhead Stadium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkle74sgLfY&t=131s

So, you throw me a little sponsorship and I would go full-blown on (social) media output with video and pictures. Give me an RV with a food and gas allowance so I can bring my family with, you will see almost non-stop vlogging from me hitting every course in the country in less than three months.

 

[Orioles_Lefty]

I'm not a belonger. Not a loner either, but I don't get a any sense of membership out of hobbies. Being sponsored by a company at a low/ambassador level wouldn't do anything for me. And I'd be a horrible ambassador starting with I don't care to be a walking billboard.

But I know a few guys from the local scene who do seem to get something from it. It matters to them. They find value in it. I haven't asked them at length what it is they get out of it intrinsically (as compared with free discs) but they've never given me some Ponzi scheme sales pitch, so fine by me.

Does such low-level "sponsorship" exist in other sports?

 

[Nova P]

I didn't grow up in the participation trophy generation, so external validation of my efforts is a reward to me.

edit: And it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, reputation-wise with my sponsor. They get to say "hey, this Nova P gal who makes videos and Red-Hot Tip-Top Tips and appears on that ladies' podcast, and seems pretty nice, and plays a tonne of disc golf and is a mediocre pro but an enthusiastic one is one of US," and I get to say "hey, this disc golf company that makes a heckuva great product and is doing great things is worth checking out!" We promote each other!

 

[elmexdela]

I didn't grow up in the participation trophy generation, so external validation of my efforts is a reward to me.

edit: And it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, reputation-wise with my sponsor. They get to say "hey, this Nova P gal who makes videos and Red-Hot Tip-Top Tips and appears on that ladies' podcast, and seems pretty nice, and plays a tonne of disc golf and is a mediocre pro but an enthusiastic one is one of US," and I get to say "hey, this disc golf company that makes a heckuva great product and is doing great things is worth checking out!" We promote each other!

and the edit is a paragraph and the OP is one sentence

 

[Nova P]

and the edit is a paragraph and the OP is one sentence

David Foster Wallace's footnotes really rubbed off on me.

 

[LateWesternSky]

David Foster Wallace's footnotes really rubbed off on me.

Isn't that the guy that invented water?

 

[Nova P]

Something like that.

 

[Hampstead]

Surely you jest, infinitely.

 

[Geneva]

Personally speaking, the main benefit I would get from being sponsored is getting a part of my tournaments expenses covered. Apart from that, I would look cool with my Team XX sticker on Facebook and have access to team-exclusive products. It's also a nice recognition for the practice time you spent.

But, I would have to post all the time about how good the products are and how confident they make me feel. And that would be way too annoying for me.

So, I would probably turn down any sponsorship offer if I ever get one. And honestly I don't expect to get one, because despite my 4-digits rating, I'm far from being marketable enough in terms of tournaments played, social media posts and tournament results, and far from doing enough to grow the sport.

And I won't even talk moneywise, since it's a no brainer. My engineering degree is more valuable than most of the sponsorship deals (apart from the top 10).

 

[texasissouth]

I didn't grow up in the participation trophy generation, so external validation of my efforts is a reward to me.

Hey now, which generation was the one handing out these trophies to the children anyway?

 

[Nova P]

Hey now, which generation was the one handing out these trophies to the children anyway?

Behold! All of the children I have raised and all of the participation trophies I have awarded:

 

[DiscFifty]

And it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, reputation-wise with my sponsor. They get to say "hey, this Nova P gal who makes videos and Red-Hot Tip-Top Tips and appears on that ladies' podcast, and seems pretty nice, and plays a tonne of disc golf and is a mediocre pro but an enthusiastic one is one of US," and I get to say "hey, this disc golf company that makes a heckuva great product and is doing great things is worth checking out!" We promote each other!

Sounds like you should be on team DD.

 

[Nova P]

Sounds like you should be on team DD.

I'm content where I'm at, thanks. <3

 

[texasissouth]

Behold! All of the children I have raised and all of the participation trophies I have awarded:

It's a blanket statement as to the absurdity of a complaining about the "participation trophy" generation when those trophies were given by the parents. It's not like all these kids were part of some plot to give all of themselves trophies.