Innova Hot Take (And a few questions for you)
Innova is probably making the best financial move by shredding their pro tour team, but I don't like it.
If you are familiar with my posts, you'll know that Innova is my favorite disc golf brand. I grew up throwing them and I have written a ton of stuff about their history / molds.
As a fan, I want to see them have a larger presence amongst players on the pro tour. I know that I am in the minority of disc golfers because I actually care about this, but I am going to actively try to buy less new Innova molds. (You're going to have to pry PFN discs out of my cold dead hands, but those are vintage so its not like they make anything off of those anyways).
I'm not boycotting them nor do I think anyone should, but I made the conscious decision to give more of my money to brands that are actively investing more on touring professionals. That being said, team Innova isn't empty and I intend to buy the tour series molds of the players that I want to support on their team. But for the first time in my 18 years playing disc golf I want to start bagging less Innova.
I know my opinion doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things and I am the exception not the rule when it comes to buying disc molds. Hell, my bag is designed around cool stories that I can tell you about molds. If you ever played a round with me, you'll know that I probably enjoy talking about discs just as much as I enjoy throwing them. Again, I am a drop in the pond and this post does not matter at all.
A few parting questions:
But I am curious, does a disc brand's sponsorships alter your decision making when it comes to buying discs?
Do you think Innova is acting in the best interests of themselves / disc golf by reducing the size of their touring team?
Do you think we are moving closer to a world where Innova is not the number one brand?
Do you think Innova's current strategy is to rest on their laurels, or do you still think that they are trying to push the game forward?
Do you think their other endeavors to grow the game have more impact than finically supporting touring pros?
Seriously, leave a comment I want to know how you feel about this. Disc golf fandom is massively overrepresented here, but I also think that r/discgolf-ers represent a decent chunk of the premium disc buying market. So yeah, who cares if we are in the minority, we are the people who buy the most discs so fuck it, our opinion matters.
Alright hot take over, have a nice day.
EDIT:
I am keeping a close eye comments, and I am going to try to reply to each one. I don't want people to see this as me trying to cause an Innova strike or anything nor do I want you to think that I am incapable of changing my opions.
So if you raise a good point, I'll put it below.
For question #1, I'm in the minority even on r/discgolf. Fair enough, I kind of figured I was. People did raise good points that while they may not have the sheer number of higher profile players that they once had, they still have a lot of younger, FPO, and European talent that they support. Maybe I was a bit harsh in this post, but I think my main point is that I want to Innova discs thrown by the best players in the world as a fan of Innova. Again, I'm in the minority for actually caring about this and that's ok.
Innova is a business and it is not their job to be the main driver in the growth of disc golf.
The retail / start pack sector of disc golf is absolutely dominated by Innova. It would take a lot for that to change.
Maybe I need to consider more than just the pro tour. Innova does do a lot of other things for disc golf other than representing pros. I just want them to sponsor more top pros, but I don't think that they are doing anything morally wrong.
Alright, keep the replies coming.