Sometimes, a win is about more than the trophy or medals. Sometimes, it’s part of something much bigger.
That’s how I feel about Team USA Bass’ recent gold medal win at the Black Bass World Championship on South Carolina’s Lake Murray. While I’m super proud of this team for winning this prestigious title in a field that included 25 countries from all over the world, I’m also thrilled to see one more advancement in our mission to push this sport to new heights.
I’ve had the honor of being our team’s captain for the past four years, and through our journey, which has taken us from Canada to Mexico to South Africa, I’ve been blown away by the passion, professionalism and knowledge among the other teams.
Even though bass fishing is a worldwide sport, its roots are in the U.S., so as Americans we don’t always think about the other countries that also enjoy this sport. But after seeing teams from Germany, the Philippines, Australia, Japan, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Tanzania — the list goes on and on — my eyes are open.
It’s a bigger opportunity than most people realize. If we can make bass fishing an Olympic sport, which is what our ultimate goal is, and if we can achieve worldwide recognition for bass fishing, how much more will that grow the sport overall?
Just consider how popular bass fishing is in the United States and imagine what that same level of popularity in other countries could mean. You’re talking about worldwide brands and exposure that could expand this sport tenfold.
On a personal level, this event’s format was a lot of fun because only three two-person teams fish each day. As team captain, I had to build the teams and determine who would fish with whom and on what days to ensure our best chances of winning.
Some of the coolest memories I took from this event were from the weigh-ins. We had a lot of fans from South Carolina there, and we’d have different teams from other countries, like Serbia, go up and weigh a big fish and the whole team was screaming and yelling. That was really something to see.
In Bassmaster competition, it’s all an individual sport, so to have a team behind you was something special. For me, that was one of the most enjoyable aspects of this event.
Overall, the enthusiasm I witnessed from so many impressive teams that traveled from across the globe just reinforces my passion for the sport when I see people from other countries that have that same passion. It reinforces all the hard work that Team USA Bass has done and continues to do when we see people from all over the world fall in love with our sport.
I encourage everyone reading this to support Team USA Bass. We’re completely nonprofit, we don’t get any money for winning; we just invest in the travel to participate in these events and promote the sport we love.
I’m confident that this effort is going to help grow this sport tremendously over time. We’re really close to making fishing an Olympic sport, and that’s a whole other level of amazing.