On Tuesday, January 7, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods’s brainchild will kickstart with its first match at the SoFi Center in Florida. The TGL will be very different from the other leagues since it will be completely tech-based played at the 250,000 square-foot venue with a massive simulator screen. 

The players will be teeing off against the screen instead of the field. And as it turns out, the promotions are still in full swing. They are expanding beyond the golf world. Take the Sunday ESPN interview for instance. Rory McIlroy provided a preview of what the fans could be expecting for the inaugural season of the new league.

During halftime of Saturday’s NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, Rory McIlroy joined ESPN commentator Scott Van Pelt to talk about the Tomorrow’s Golf League – a tech-driven circuit that the Northern Irish golfer envisions will transform how the sport is both watched and played.

He started by saying, “I think the first thing that I would like to have people know is it’s golf, but it’s reimagined. Sort of trying to take golf into the 21st century.” The Northern Irishman went about further explaining the format of the event and what made the venue and everything so special about it.

Now, this might be great news of excitement for the golf fans. But for the NFL fans, the interview was regarded as a sheer disrespect rather than news.

NFL fans were enraged at ESPN for bringing Rory McIlroy in between the match

The entire season of TGL will be broadcast and streamed exclusively on ESPN platforms, featuring 15 regular-season matches, playoffs, and the top two teams battling for the SoFi Cup in a best-of-three Finals Series on Monday, March 24, and Tuesday, March 25. And so, ESPN brought in Rory McIlroy to promote the event on their channel before airing it. But the backlashes were unexpected. While one of them sarcastically wrote, “And now let’s bring in respected ESPN NFL analyst, Rory McIlroy to get his thoughts on that first half…” While another commented, “Rory McIlroy on to promote a new golf league at halftime tells you all you need to know about what ESPN thinks of this #Browns #Ravens game.”

Colt McCoy is a quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. Having joined the team in 2019, McCoy has served as a reliable backup to starting quarterback Kyler Murray. Known for his experience and poise, McCoy has stepped in during key moments when Murray has been injured, providing steady play and leadership. Now, having him during the halftime would have made much more sense rather than having McIlroy there. Taking to this, one of them even wrote, “That man, Rory Mcilroy, popped up on my screen, and u thought it was Colt McCoy for a second ”.

TGL has been receiving a lot of backlash. From not being able to create a good enough logo for the league, to copying practically everything from LIV Golf, fans have accused it of a lot of things. And while the format might sound interesting, a lot of people think bringing in the technology will make it lose the essence of the traditions of conventional golf. Well, the comments section had similar remarks against the league too. People left comments like, “This golf league Rory Mcilroy is plugging on ESPN is just guys playing Wii Golf but with actual clubs” and “Rory McIlroy made a new golf that’s just Top Golf.”

What are your thoughts about TGL? Let us know in the comments section below!