Master of Your Craft

Master of Your Craft

RIP Robin Williams

Things That Chap My Ass #4

You are driving.  The side of the road that you are on has two lanes.  You are approaching a four way stoplight in the left-hand lane with the intention of going straight through the intersection.  The person in front of you seems to have the same intentions...UNTIL THEY THROW THEIR FUCKING LEFT BLINKER ON EXACTLY AS THEY REACH THE INTERSECTION AND YOU GET STUCK BEHIND THEM AS THEY WAIT FOR THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC TO CLEAR SO THEY CAN TURN AND YOU CAN"T GO AROUND THEM BECAUSE THE DRIVERS IN THE LANE TO YOUR RIGHT ARE CRUISING RIGHT THROUGH THE FRIGGIN' INTERSECTION AND THE LIGHT TURNS RED AND THE DUDE IN FRONT OF YOU TURNS AND YOU DON'T MAKE IT THROUGH THE LIGHT.

PGA Championship Weekend

Jack Nicklaus recently went on record saying he believes that Rory McIlroy could win 15 or 20 major championships.  I am with you, Jack.  I, for one, am hoping to God that this happens.  The PGA Tour needs it to happen.  Badly.

Why do we watch sports?  Or maybe it's better to ask the question "What are not the reasons why we watch sports?"  We certainly don't watch sports because of the Martin Kaymer's and Luke Donald's of the world (at least I don't).  We watch because of the 1982 Cal-Stanford band-on-the-field play, because of the Auburn-Alabama Chris Davis return TD, plays that we never quite expect to happen but always hope to witness.  We also watch to see mastery of one's craft.

Jack Nicklaus' 18 championships is why we watch, and the shriveled remains of the chase for Jack's 18 by the golfer formerly known as Tiger Woods was why we watched.  Whether watching to see records broken (Cal Ripken's Ironman record) or to see them preserved (2010-2013 Miami Heat, 2007 Patriots) the quest for the unattainable is so riveting and lush in entertainment value that we all choose to watch regardless of what side of the argument we fall on.  And that is why the PGA Tour needs Rory to fill the cavernous void left by Tiger's decaying body and fading legacy.

(And I need to digress for a minute here into Tiger's legacy, which is drifting into forgetfulness with every missed cut and new injury that pops up.  With the recent BioGenesis arrests, it seems like there's a more than reasonable chance that somewhere down the line a report will be released directly linking Tiger Woods to performance enhancing drugs.  Based on his lifestyle, his pompous, fraudulent image that he puts on for the cameras, and the injury bug that has now hit him hard as of late, not to mention his lack of major wins, there is nothing to deter my gut belief that Tiger was at one time on some form of performance enhancement.  Even if I'm wrong about that, Tiger's fall from grace still hits that same nerve deep within me when I think of Bonds, A-Rod, and McGwire.   Do you ever think back on the home run records set first by McGwire and then Bonds, and say to yourself, "Wow, what a wonderful, special thing that was"?  I don't.  As a sports fan, these moments should feel as special to me as the Auburn-Alabama come back game, or when Ripken broke Gehrig's Ironman record.  But instead they've lost their luster, like that Christmas gift that once made your universe as a 6 year-old, but now as a jaded teenager you can't quite reproduce that same special feeling you once had for it.  That is where the tale of Tiger Woods' is headed, into the cloudy, distant realm of all things that were once special.)

So, Rory.  You are why I am watching this weekend.  You just turned 25 years old in May and have three major championship wins, joining Tiger and Jack as the only others to win three by the age of 25. You are good enough to be placed in the same sentence as these two.  I am rooting and hoping for you to win your fourth major, and I will root for you to win every one you play in after that.  Please don't let us suffer through another Martin Kaymer U.S. Open again.  The PGA Tour cannot endure this.  Sports fans cannot endure this.  We want to see the pursuit of greatness, your pursuit of greatness.  And I believe you can achieve it.  Unlike Tiger, I believe you are genuine, that you have a respect for the game.  You've also already overcome a bout of adversity while you dealt with off-the-course legal issues last year and your golf game disappeared, something Tiger still can't seem to overcome.  You are capable of special things and I will be watching and hoping for you to be nothing short of that this weekend.