No Tiger, No Emotions, No Golf
Where are the roars? Where are the Ali-sized fist pumps, the Brandi Chastain-like screams of celebration, or the Boo Weekly bull riding taunts like he flaunted in the Ryder Cup?
Golf is losing its personality. A sport that can create more tension, intensity, and drama than a Hitchcock movie has been more mellow lately than an AP Literature novel. Frankly, it’s boring. There is nobody to root for, nobody that; on any course, on any given day in any inclement weather, can rattle off six straight birdies to win by one at a major. If there is a leader with a two-shot lead with three holes to play, the stories are already written, the awards already engraved, the round over.
There are too many nice guys out there, afraid to make a splash by showing a little emotion, make a little noise. Lately the courses have been quieter than church pews. The crowds have been yawning rather than roaring, sitting as opposed to standing, and “golf-clapping” instead of bursting into fits of screams and celebrations fit for a soccer stadium.
Golf is a gentleman’s game where manners, etiquette, and sportsmanship are the three golden rules to live by. But rules are meant to be broken, or bent at least a little. Boo Weekly and JB Holmes were without a doubt the best pairing in golf history. They threw in huge lips, took 300 mph rips when they had the big stick in their hands, and opened the gates of hell to the Europeans whom they played with. Golf morals be damned, these guys were going to have fun. They celebrated like they were playing a scene out of Happy Gilmore, galloping around the crowd, giving high fives to anybody who put their hand out.
But that has since disappeared. Tiger’s rapid downfall has put golf in some sort of depression. Fans and players alike pretend like it is the same, but it is not even close. Golf doesn’t necessarily need a Tiger, it just needs some emotion, a spark of life.
Luke Donald recently took over as No.1 in the world, did you notice? Maybe, maybe not. But did you care? No way. If Tiger had retaken his spot on golf’s throne the sporting world would have stopped. The NBA Finals would be pushed into the back of ESPN’s mind, because the king was back. Tiger brought an intensity, an aura, and a dramatic flair of emotions to the game that it desperately needs back. He had that look in his eyes that made Phil Mickelson look tiny, a smile that melted hearts, and a fist pump that could rouse a crowd like they had just seen a first-round knockout.
The Majors and the Ryder Cup are the only place where emotions like that are seen anymore, and it’s a shame that that is what it has come down to. KJ Choi’s sudden-death victory at Sawgrass was an embarrassment, not because he won, I actually like FJ a lot, but because nobody cared, and it appeared that he didn’t really care all that much either.
Maybe it’s our fault as fans, who seemingly only care about the Majors anymore. But the Majors are the only place where the players are really being themselves. They love the game but they only show it four times a year. The rest is just punching the clock to them. Another day at the office.
It’s time to see some bull-riding Boo, some shots that make absolutely no sense yet we all know your going to do it anyway Phil, and just a sign that you care KJ. Golf needs it.
