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.

Tiger Rex

Two things about me: I love team sports, and I really don't like "dominating" players.

One of the things I love about sports is the drama. The underdog who comes back, the team that puts in that Herculean effort in the bottom of the 9th or in the fourth quarter, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I don't watch a game or a match because I know the outcome, or can predict it. It's one of the reasons I have trouble watching a recorded game after the fact - once I know the outcome, the fun is done. Part of the drama is often generated because it's a team effort; it's difficult for one player to truly dominate a baseball game, for example. Yes, you could argue that Rivera dominates when he comes into a game in the 9th to close out a victory. But the other members of the team had to get through eight innings to allow him to take the ball. Think of Harvey Haddix, who pitched 12 no-hit innings but was ultimately let down because his team couldn't score any runs.

I also like my favorite athletes to be human. I must admit, there's part of me that likes to see them fail. When a golfer hits a drive onto an adjacent fairway, I love it. Maybe because it makes me feel like I'm not that bad of a golfer - but it also allows me to "relate" to them on some level. I found little enjoyment in watching Borg or Lendl dissect an opponent; I much preferred watching Connors or McEnroe struggle and triumph. I'd rather watch Larry Bird with a bad back struggling to participate, than watch Michael Jordan kick another team's butt for four quarters.

So it's probably not a surprise that I have never been a Tiger Woods fan. To me, he's just one small step away from being a robot. When he's on the course, the outcome feels inevitable. You know he'll dominate on Friday and Saturday, making the Sunday final round a reason for an afternoon nap. Some of this may come from frustration. I've followed the PGA Tour for years - mainly because I'm a fan of Brad Faxon. Brad's from my hometown in Rhode Island, a great putter and an even greater guy. Every week, he was out on the course, often in recent years struggling with injury and struggling to make cuts. Yet the cameras rarely focused on him because of the klieg lights focused on Tiger. I have a lot of irritation with those who only watch a tournament when Tiger's in it, who only go out and walk the course at a tournament to follow Tiger. There is some fantastic golf being played away from him on every hole.

Which brings me to Tiger's "fall of grace." I've followed this story pretty closely - but not with malice or glee. It was refreshing to me to see a human side of Tiger Woods. Stripped of his PR team, his inner cadre of protectors, he suddenly looked quite vulnerable. The world suddenly had a glimpse beneath the cybornetic skin, beyond the carefully cultivated image. I'm not judging him. There's none of us who could stand up to such media scrutiny. But I'm also not sorry to see him taken down a notch or two.

The Greeks called it "hubris," and made an industry out of the tragic fall of heroes. Now it seems, TMZ has taken the place of Sophocles. The outcome, however, is the same.

Over and out, Tiger

Photo from the Back Nine Blog

I'm so over Tiger Woods, and have been for quite a while. He is a freakishly fantastic golfer, but once he gets into contention, all the excitement of watching golf (!) is gone for me. I don't enjoy his robotic determination to win at all costs - and apparently at the risk of doing serious injury to himself, as he proved this weekend at the US Open. Oh, how I would have loved to see Rocco Mediate turn the tables on Tiger and beat him soundly. I have to wonder, however, if Tiger had lost, how much he and his PR machine would have spun his injury...

I honestly have lost interest in watching golf since the Tiger surge. I know that isn't true for most Americans, who seem to only be interested in watching when Tiger does play. Me, I like to watch the Rocco Mediates, the Billy Andrades, the Bret Quigleys, the Brad Faxons. Okay, I'm showing my Rhode Island homerism - but so what.

So, now with the Celtics glorious victory behind us and Tiger out for the year, we can focus on what truly is most important in the world:

Red Sox Baseball!!