Major League Fishing "has seen a 14% rise in viewers from the last tournament -- up to a half-million streamers over six days -- [and] may indeed be the most popular U.S. spectator sport still going," according to Chris Ballard of SI.com. MLF is "one of the three highest-profile professional bass tours." The current tournament, stage three of the eight that constitute the season, began last Friday. Meanwhile, competitor Mark Daniels Jr., the leader heading into Wednesday, "estimated that '75 to 100' fans were showing up daily to boat dockings." Daniels said, "You don't want to disappoint them, so we totally interact with them." MLF President & CEO Jim Wilburn added, "We can't stop a fan if they come out to a dock." Ballard noted for the most part, the "reality of the national crisis didn't appear to have caught on at the lake yet." Wilburn said that with viewership up, he has "received 'only enthusiastic responses' from businesses and competitors." He said, "I have heard that one of our sponsors is announcing a campaign." But Ballard wrote for now, the anglers of MLF are "trying to stay in the moment, however fleeting it may be" (SI.com, 3/19).
