I am embarrassed to admit my ignorance on this topic, but I never truly knew or thought about open sporting events like tennis, soccer, and golf. The first time I was told about the format, my first thought was “well, I’m sure your over simplifying it” because there is no way that anyone can just join and compete right? Wrong. At the event where this came up, people settled down and gave me a funny look. Was I being rude and overly picky about someone’s choice of words or did I really not know? I really didn’t know. As I’ve thought about this format, I’ve come to form the opinion that this is true, authentic competition in sports. It is amazing.
Open Competitions
Some sports like golf, soccer, and tennis offer ‘open’ format competitions. In this format, anyone is able to join and show their talents. While certain events do have requirements, outside of those events, you are still able to compete against the highest level professionals in the sport… or at least in the same league. Yes, you need to qualify to play against the pros, but anyone can join the league. THAT is what is special here. If you want to play in the NFL… good luck. If you haven’t been selected and played throughout college, don’t have other professional background, and don’t have connections – your road ahead will be long and arduous. However, if you’d like to compete at the top of the world in tennis, go out, play your matches and keep winning until you qualify.
Democratization of Opportunity
Unlike sports with a draft process, those with open access formats are built on a powerful premise: democratization of opportunity. I think this is an extraordinary quality that reshapes how I see these sports. These athletes have an opportunity to showcase their skills on the same stage as everyone else. The players on the stage are those who have put in immense work and climbed the ranks. This could have started as a child with a dream, picking up a ball for the first time. Anyone from any walk of life has the ability to hone their craft and compete. There is no need to be the coaches favorite, there is no requirement to market yourself, there is only a driving principal of go out there and show what you’ve got, get better, and keep grinding. That is amazing to me. This is authentic competition.
I am not saying that athletes in other sports do not work hard or are not good at what they do. It is simply a different game they need to play to be successful. Afterall, the concept of a player being a ‘bust’ is rooted in missed expectations. If you’re not drafted/traded for/hired at a given cost, then it is hard to be a bust.
Many probably already know an understand this, but I did not. For those who did not know, now you do! For those who did, I still hope this puts into perspective the significance in the distinct difference in these sports.