The LEB Sports
Dallas Sports News & OpinionsTiger Love
America loves the underdog. When March Madness rolls around, no doubt the lead story on Sportscenter is going to be the who the next “Cinderella Story” is. We hate the Yankees because they’ve won 26 World Championships. We hate the Celtics and Lakers because of their history of success. You’re either a Dallas Cowboys fan or you’re not; there’s no middle ground with them. As is the case with all the major sports, they all have the teams that have dominated throughout the history of the league.
Even with the great players, if they aren’t playing for your team (in my case the Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, or Stars), chances are you don’t like them. I hated T.O…until he came to Dallas. I loved A-Rod… until he left the Rangers. I don’t like Kobe because of his dominance of the Mavs. I don’t like Tom Brady because, well, I don’t really know why, he’s just too good or lucky I guess.
However, with Tiger Woods, its different. With Tiger, he’s dominated golf for the past 8 years. Between 1st and 2nd in the World Rankings of Golf, its not even close. Tiger dominates Phil. No question. But why does everyone love Tiger?
While I was watching the U.S. Open this weekend, I found myself rooting for the Tiger comeback. His 3rd round performance was simply incredible. The two eagle putts he had were absolutely ridiculous. Heck, he even uses the flag stick to drop the ball into the cup (albeit a little luck involved).
But as I was watching, I found myself in conflict. I was in conflict because typically, unless its one of “my” teams playing, I’m usually rooting for the Underdog. If it’s a rival of one of “my” teams, then I’m rooting for the opposing team. But why was it that I was rooting for Tiger to sink the putt on 18 to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate? Rocco was a guy that seemed lovable. He seemed to understand that he’s playing a game and to have fun with it. He’s a guy that fits the underdog role well, ranked 158th in the World Golf rankings. This was like the 16th seed going up against the number 1 seed. But why am I pulling for Tiger?
The only conclusion that I came to is that once you recognize greatness, its hard not to love it. We all loved watching Michael Jordan play. And in the same way, we love Tiger too. Well, most of us.
Regardless of tomorrow’s playoff, I’ll be happy I think. I’ll love seeing a guy named Rocco win the US Open. But then again, a guy named Tiger is pretty cool too.
MBR said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 9:58
2 things:
1) i think the main reason there aren’t entire cities pulling for tiger to fail is because he isn’t associated with any city. obviously, golf is an individual sport so you don’t have rivalries dating back to the 40s, 50s, 60s…or even early 90s. when a players career is done…its done. the rivalry is over. that is not the case with team sports.
2a) this may “come as the shocker” but i, for one, couldn’t really stand rocco. other than “get in the hole” the two other phrases that defeated me yesterday were “i’m just having fun” and “this is amazing”…mainly coming from his mouth. i tried keeping count of how many times he said it, but couldn’t keep up.
2b) rocco said that he couldn’t pull for a guy to miss a putt. i’m gonna go ahead and say that is a bold face lie…especially if it is tiger chasing you.
2c) was that really a peace symbol as a belt buckle? seriously?
BJsD said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 14:20
yes, the belt buckle drove me crazy all day.
i don’t know why, but I actually felt releived when tiger’s putt dropped in to force the playoff. the pressure on that dude is unreal and he ALWAYS delivers. almost as clutch as vanderjagt.
BJsD said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 14:21
i will say that i’m already sick of hearing the “dude at the next cubical over” make frequent announcements of what’s going on in the playoff. dude, if i want to know, i’ll find out for myself.
mpp1 said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 15:00
it’s nice to have a tv right now, tiger is putting to tie on the 18th green….this is great.
MDIT said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 15:28
Man, I’m watching sudden death on usopen.com - this has got me so tied in and I’m not a golf fan at all.
MBR said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 15:51
can someone please chart average productivity in the united states and compare today’s reading to an average day? i don’t know a single person that worked a full day today.
mpp1 said on Monday, June 16, 2008, 17:43
To clarify my point, I wasn’t necessarily comparing Tiger to a Sports team or city. It was more or less the “David vs. Goliath” scenario. We always root for the little guy to slay the giant, but something is different with Tiger. Why? Because he’s great, and we all realize it. When we’re old men with saggy b a l ls, we’ll no doubt love the guy.
Mauricio Serrano said on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, 17:58
odo678d26bw91v07