Loss of a tradition

Although I'm pretty fanatical about the Red Sox these days, there was a time when my sports obsession focused on golf. During the 80s, I was a total golf geek. Every weekend, I'd spend my afternoon plunked in front of the television, enjoying the ups and downs of all the players.. My favorites were Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Fred Couples, and, of course, my hometown "buddy" Brad Faxon. But I knew most of the Tour members by name, and most by sight.

Over time,I remained a casual fan, until the coming of Tiger. Although I thought he was a good player, I hated the way the golf press fawned over him. They took all the fun out of the game for me - you rarely saw those other favorites and the other competitors on the course faded from the public eye. I found no joy in watching Tiger, and slowly, I stopped watching.

Still, I was looking forward to catching some of the Masters Tournament this weekend. It's a much-loved rite of spring - seeing the azaleas blooming in Amen Corner, enjoying the pageantry, admiring the golfing prowess of the players. But, but, but. This is the time that Tiger has decided to return, hoping to overcome his problems of the past six months and triumph in Augusta.

Yawn.

I really can't muster any enthusiasm for the Tournament. Barely a glance at the leaderboard this morning, only to note that Fred Couples is in the lead. But you wouldn't know who was leading unless you looked at the scores. All of the news articles are focused on Tiger. Tiger humbled, Tiger excited about the response of the fans (who he has ignored his entire career), no one booing Tiger, blah blah blah.

So, PGA Tour and CBS, you've lost this once faithful viewer. I'll be watching baseball this weekend, or a movie, or enjoying the beautiful spring. Anything except watching you fawn over Mr. Woods.