Mark Madden's Hot Take: Rival leagues are good for any sport

I don’t watch golf. It’s slow and boring. Golf is a participatory sport, not one for spectators.

But I like LIV golf. I won’t watch it. But it stirs the pot. Rival leagues have long been catalysts for improving sports.

The American Football League (1960-70) was the best rival league. All 10 of the AFL’s teams merged into the NFL in 1970. All exist today. The AFL won the last two Super Bowls between the leagues. The New York Jets’ upset of 19½-point favorite Baltimore at Super Bowl III in 1969 gave the AFL and the merger instant credibility and was a big step in football becoming America’s dominant sport. Thank you, Joe Namath. (He guaranteed it.)

The American Basketball Association (1967-76) spawned the 3-point shot, Julius Erving, the slam-dunk contest and “Semi-Pro,” Will Ferrell’s best sports movie. College players could join ABA teams before their four years of NCAA eligibility were up. (The NBA followed suit.) The ABA used a red, white and blue ball. Four teams joined the NBA in 1976. The Pittsburgh Pipers won the first ABA title in 1968 and immediately moved to Minnesota. (That was typical ABA.)

The World Hockey Association (1972-79) opened the door for more Americans and Europeans to play pro hockey, an almost exclusively Canadian endeavor until then. The NHL dropped its draft-eligible age to 18 in 1974, a response to the WHA having previously done so. Wayne Gretzky started his pro career in the WHA. Gordie Howe made a spectacular comeback at 45 to play with his sons in the WHA. Four WHA franchises merged into the NHL in 1979.

The United States Football League (1983-85) didn’t do so well. It only lasted three seasons until Donald Trump screwed it up, if you can imagine. Trump owned the New Jersey team and pushed the USFL to move from spring to fall. But that never happened, an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL netted a $3 award (seriously) and the USFL folded.

The next rival league will be when the Southeastern Conference adds a few more big-time football schools and breaks away from the other Power Five Conferences to go independent. It will be the major league of college football.

Rival leagues force innovation, cure stagnation and get the players more money. (Closer to their fair share, in other words.) Rival leagues are good for any sport.

Especially one that can’t possibly run out of money, like LIV golf. The Saudis have a bottomless pit. It might not seem like it now, but the PGA are underdogs in this fight.