This Masters Spot Released During AFC Title Game Made Some People Real Mad

The most shocking moment from the NFL’s conference championship weekend might have been centered around the Masters, three months ahead of golf’s most prestigious tournament.

CBS Sports not only will televise Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, but the network also had the AFC Championship Game on Sunday in Baltimore. The Chiefs-Baltimore Ravens clash is in smack-dab in the middle of a wild run for CBS Sports, one that includes the NFL playoffs, the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament and the Masters.

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The network on Sunday leveraged that premium broadcast spot to run its first commercial for coverage of the Masters in April. Typically, the golf season’s first major is steeped in tradition and prestige. The coverage and promotion of the tournament has typically mirrored the vibe given off by Augusta National Golf Club: old-fashioned, conservative and a little stuffy.

So it took golf fans by surprise when CBS Sports dropped this spot promoting the Masters coverage set to Belinda Carlisle’s 1987 hit “Heaven Is A Place On Earth.”

Heaven on Earth.@TheMasters, coming in April. pic.twitter.com/50aFzmvmal

    What do you think?  Leave a comment.

— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) January 28, 2024

Reactions were, well, mixed. Here’s just a smattering of replies to the Golf on CBS tweet:

“Yeah how about never use that song again”

“What the hell is this?”

“Swing and a miss with the music.”

“Yeah how about you never disrespect the masters like this again”

“Yeah, someone needs to be fired”

As for the negative reaction, Augusta National and the Masters has a say in just about everything related to pro golf, especially its own commercials. If the green jackets didn’t want this song played over B-roll of their baby, it never would have come close to seeing the light of day. Those claiming this is “disrespect” toward the Masters, calling for heads to roll, should look at a very powerful group of people in Georgia.

The reaction wasn’t all negative. As one user on X replied, “A lot of ‘get off my lawn’ people here. You could put just about any song to Masters clip and it does the job. Run this with Macarena and let’s see everyone melt down.”

The “Macarena” might be going a little far, but if there’s anything that can make it work, it’s Augusta.

The Masters gets going April 11.