The Augusta Black List

It is really starting to feel like spring for two reasons: Opening Day and the Masters. I thought I would share a funny, yet heartbreaking story about the famed Augusta National. When I got the sports director job at WPDE in February of 2000, I was excited for so many reasons -- one of them being a chance to cover the Masters with it lying right on the South Carolina border. As I went through my usual ritual of making arrangements and getting media credentials, I discovered a harsh reality. Years before my tenure began at WPDE, the station would regularly cover the Masters. I was told that on one occasion, there was a problem securing a photographer or an extra body to help out, and the station did not cover the event and never picked up their credentials. From that day forward, WPDE Sports has been on Augusta National and their "black list". Every other year I have made the attempt to try and make my plea to get us back in the good graces of Augusta National. After all, I was not here when the infraction took place. Augusta likes their tradition and without fail, I have gotten a polite rejection letter whenever I have requested to get back on the media list. I did not attempt to do it this year, but now with azaleas blooming and my envy of hoping to step foot on the grounds one day, I will make it a point to try and get WPDE back into the Augusta National family. I can promise you this -- if we ever do get back in, we will make sure to cover it year in and year out! One thing about Augusta National, they do things their own way. It is why the Masters is one of the most special sporting events in the entire world (these are the kind of lines I write in my emails/letters, yet I am still locked out of the gates!)