Ryder Cup does little to stir our passion

It was Sunday afternoon when a friend texted to say the Ryder Cup had concluded, that the United States indeed blew all of its 10-6 lead entering the event's final day and lost to the Europeans, 14½-13½.

I immediately checked the Internet on my cellphone ...

For a score of the Redskins-Buccaneers game.

I'm guessing it's a reaction most American sports fans would have, one of feigned interest when it comes to the biennial golf competition that Europe owns us in as it does the whole wine-and-cheese industry.

I believe the U.S. players cared, that their captain - Davis Love III - hasn't slept much since the collapse at Medinah, that those fans cheering wildly up and down the Illinois course were genuinely passionate about their patriotic allegiance.

They were rude enough with their comments toward the Euros that Paul Lawrie whined about it to reporters upon returning home.

Good job, Medinah.

But in no way did I feel compelled to begin analyzing all the strategic moves by Love that might have led to the defeat. I didn't care enough.

An overnight TV rating for golf of 4.1 is excellent, and it was the best for a Ryder Cup in 13 years.

The 49ers and Jets also played one of the most boring and one-sided games of the season during the same time slot. It doubled the Ryder Cup numbers.

It's true you can't compare anything to the NFL when it comes to this country and the sport people watch most. It's not fair on any level. A regular-season NFL game will kick the snot out of a World Series game in the ratings.

It's Jon Jones against your 80-year-old grandfather in the octagon.

It's beast against boys.

But while the fervent golf fan dutifully will follow the Ryder Cup and live and die with each point, there remains a disconnect for many toward the event, especially in those years it is played abroad.

Some of it has to do with oversaturation of the product. There are four majors and the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup one year and the Presidents Cup the next.

I would think the average American sports fan couldn't tell you the difference between the two main team events in golf, that the Ryder Cup is U.S. vs. Europe and the Presidents Cup is U.S. vs. an international side minus Europe.

I'm all for the U.S. vs. any team that does not include Colin Montgomerie's commentary.

I don't believe it's the same here as 10 to 15 years ago, when many viewed golf solely as an elitist sport that couldn't draw a large mainstream interest level, but it is true team events don't resonate with the majority.

The Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open begins today at TPC Summerlin, and included in the field is Love, who like Corey Pavin in 2010 and Tom Lehman in 2006 and Hal Sutton in 2004 and several others before them now is among those U.S. captains to have been on the losing end of a Ryder Cup.

As the Europeans took gulps of champagne while draped in their national flags Sunday, Love defended his Ryder Cup game plan and those decisions that were second-guessed more and more as the U.S. lead slipped away. You could spend days picking apart the reasoning. I would have to care more to do so.

It was enjoyable, however, to watch the Americans pump up the crowd and implore those cheering to be louder, even during tee shots. It reminded me of Andy Murray winning a gold medal in tennis at the Olympics, when the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon turned into an all-out party scene.

Nelson Silverio works for the PGA Tour, and his father wonders why golf doesn't adopt baseball's tradition of introducing players to fans by blasting music clips.

You know, like "Taking My Chances" for Phil Mickelson, or "Nobody's Fault But Mine" for Tiger Woods.

I think Silverio's father should be running the PGA Tour.

Fun is good, which the Ryder Cup seemed to create for those watching in Illinois. I just never took the loss that seriously, especially when you consider one point separated Love from being glorified or vilified. He seemed to make good decisions Friday and Saturday.

"I think in the end, the enormity of it all, we might have been better off tied" entering Sunday, Love said. "We might have played better tied than trying to protect the lead."

Maybe. He would know best.

What I know: The Buccaneers were a bad pick.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on "Gridlock," ESPN 1100 and 98.9 FM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.