ORLANDO, Fla. — There are countless activities and behaviors that have jumped the shark in the minds of many Americans.

Among them: Social media influencers, reality TV shows, superhero movies and cable news.

But in the myriad of conversations, email exchanges and social media interactions with frustrated fans in recent months, I believe I have identified the No. 1 irritant in all of sports.

No, it’s not Pat McAfee’s armpits.

I’m talking about the spoiled, self-entitled, money-hungry attitude that pervades today’s athletic arena.

The jump-the-shark moment for me came a few days ago when former University of Florida and PGA Tour golfer Chris DiMarco — now on the old-guy Champions Tour — went on a golf podcast and was asked about the state of professional golf with the ongoing feud between the PGA Tour and Saudi-owned LIV Golf.

“We’re kind of hoping that LIV buys the Champions Tour,” DiMarco told Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on the Subpar podcast. “Let’s play for a little real money out here. I mean, this is kind of a joke when we’re getting $2 million. There were like seven guys last week at the TPC [The Players Championship] that made more money than our [entire] purses.”

Really?

Seriously?

Is this where we’re at now in sports?

DiMarco, a 55-year-old golfer who won a grand total of three times on the PGA Tour, is actually whining because all of his fellow over-the-hill pros aren’t making enough money on the senior circuit? Are you kidding me? DiMarco, a former Orlando resident who now lives in Denver, must be inhaling too much second-hand smoke from all of those marijuana dispensaries in Colorado because he is clearly delusional.

DiMarco calls it “a joke” that the old guys played for a total purse of only $2 million last week with Retief Goosen pocketing $330,000 for winning the The Galleri Classic in hoity-toity Rancho Mirage, Calif.? Is it also a “joke” that the Champions Tour has 28 events with $67 million in total prize money this season?

There are some who would argue it’s “a joke” that the over-50 tour even exists. What other professional sports league has a place where retired players have a chance to earn a good living by playing on plush golf courses, being put up in 5-star resort hotels, riding around in golf carts and having a caddie carry all your stuff? In the real world, retirees spend thousands of dollars for this once-in-a-lifetime experience that DiMarco gets paid to experience on a weekly basis.

By the way, somebody should ask Dana Quigley if he thinks the Champions Tour pay scale is a joke. Quigley, who never won a PGA Tour event, became a star and won 11 tournaments after he joined the senior circuit at 50. He earned nearly $15 million on the Champions Tour and is seventh all time on the tour’s career money list. Here’s all you need to know: Quigley won nearly three times as much money playing senior golf than Jack Nicklaus won on the PGA Tour.

If DiMarco wants to earn more money on the Champions Tour, he might try doing it the way Quigley did it — by actually winning. DiMarco has never won on the senior circuit and hasn’t finished in the top 10 since 2020.

Quite frankly, DiMarco’s off-the-cuff arrogance is insulting to those of us who have to go out and actually work for a living every day. DiMarco made more than $22 million on the real PGA Tour and, yet, he’s complaining because he’s not making more money on the old-timers tour.

Then again, maybe we shouldn’t blame DiMarco. After all, he is just a product of today’s times where money and entitlement permeates every level of competition. From teenage high school football players who are demanding seven-figure NIL deals before they have accomplished anything at the college level to multi-millionaire senior golfers who haven’t done anything on the Champions Tour but are still griping about the prize money.

Meanwhile, college football programs are trashing history and heritage and cannibalizing conferences in their insatiable thirst for more and more TV money. NBA players who have $200 million guaranteed contracts are sitting out regular season games with torn cuticles on their pinkies or infected hair follicles.

Chris DiMarco claims that a $2 million purse for playing senior golf is a joke, but this issue is no laughing matter.

Sports are becoming increasingly disconnected from the realities of Mac and Millie Sixpack and all of the other grassroots fans out there. There is an inner battle being waged within these disillusioned fans.

We still love the game, but hate the greed and gluttony that drives it.

©2024 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.