Lest We Forget, It's National Golf and Catfish Month

I'm not sure how many things can be recognized nationally in one month, but I'm aware of at least two in August.  One of my recent and favorite blog discoveries  is Coca-Cola Conversations.  Phil Mooney, archivist and historian for Coke for three decades, serves up some wonderful brand-related Americana on the blog, and a recent post about this being National Golf Month was an excuse for Phil to show off Coke's long-time relationship with the sport.  The picture here is from a 1905 magazine ad.

It's a shame golf can't enjoy the fruits of its month, as a Golf.com article reveals the huge downside to the sport sans Tiger Woods.  Even with this past weekend's  exciting PGA Championship, TV ratings were down more than 50 percent over last year's PGA tournament, one that Tiger played in, and of course won as well.  It just goes to show that in the sport of golf, Tiger IS the show, and his absence is affecting everything from tickets sales at golf tournaments to the rates TV networks can charge ad clients.

Moving on, we pay homage to that lowly bottom feeding beast, that fries up oh so very well: the catfish.  Go to this Youtube link for a little Raised-in-America catfish fun, at the expense of Chinese catfish, and courtesy of the Catfish Insitute, which promotes U.S. farm-raised catfish.  And given China's recent history in food and product safety, I prefer the U.S. variety, thank you.  For the complete history of National Catfish Month (designated by Congress in the 1980s), and details about the catfish industry in America, go here.    

Comments

[Phil Mooney]

Jeff - Thanks for calling my Coca-Cola Conversations blog a nice recent discovery! I appreciate it. I only started the blog in January and am happy to hear there are a few fans! I laughed when I saw your post, because I was actually going to talk about Catfish Month later in August! I try to cover Coke's role in everyday life around the world, and am glad the random holidays I celebrate have caught your attention! -- Phil

[Jeff Crites]

Phil:

Your blog is great. Coke picked the right person, and the right focus for the blog. For all of us who've grown up with a coke bottle in one hand and a baseball or any number of things in the other, it's a treat to be reminded of great and interesting moments in history, and a brand we think so highly of. I'll be looking for your catfish post!