ESPN's 2025 Masters Noah Kahan Promo Sparks Backlash
The 2025 Masters begin on April 9 and ESPN began its promotions by releasing an advertisement that has golf fans aggravated.
Golf's "Tradition Unlike Any Other" acquired a new piece of annual nostalgia when ESPN started using Ray Charles' classic song, "Georgia on My Mind," six years ago.
The tournament that takes place at the historical Augusta National in Augusta, Ga. is rooted in Southern tradition, but the network decided to have Noah Kahan, a folk pop singer-songwriter from Vermont, record a cover of Charles' beloved song for this year's Masters promo.
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ESPN VP of live sports and audience expansion Rachel Epstein confirmed that the angle was to appeal to the Gen Z and Alpha demographic.
General view of the flag stick on the 18th green during the final round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.© Michael Madrid-Imagn Images
'We're always going to be fairly traditional and reverent in terms of how we visually showcase the tournament,' she told the outlet. 'But just knowing that the Masters—certainly Augusta National and ESPN—are constantly looking to engage and reach younger audiences, music just felt like this important and powerful device that we could use…to engage and be relevant with younger audiences.'
So far, Epstein's objective has not proven true as fans have taken to social media to voice their confusion and rejection.
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"they got a guy from New England wearing chunky flannels making sad boy music to sing Georgia on My Mind for the Masters?" one user said on X.
"Not to be dramatic but this offends me in ways I can't even put into words," another said.
"Ray Charles or bust," a third user said.
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