Is there a such thing as “too good”?
I was recently told about this article in the LA Times that is accuses Tiger Woods as being “too boring” because of his successful career with “seemingly” no struggle.
He clearly needs to be more tested. He certainly needs to be more human.
“Right now, there is a generation where there’s about five guys,” he said afterward, but he’s wrong.
This summer, this week, has proved, once again, there’s just him.
Those other four guys he’s talking about? Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh?
Woods has won one more major championship than the rest of them combined.
…During a time when our athletic landscape is dominated by chest-thumping fools, Woods is an example of grace and class.
But also yawns.
For Tiger Woods to go from great to Nicklaus, from prodigious to Palmer, we need to see him in a fight. We need to see him knocked down. We need to see him escape.
Just as Muhammad Ali did not become truly beloved until he was knocked down, we need to see what Woods can do not just from the lead, but from the canvas.
We need to see him sweat. Does he ever sweat?
…Woods needs to be slowed down. Not enough to let anyone catch up. But enough to make it interesting. (more…)
This is a classic example of the lunacy of Liberalism (as seen everyday in the LA Times)–if someone is considered “too good”, keep ‘em back with the rest of the pack.
Now there are a lot of directions that I could go with this story, but I will settle with referring to this article at a later date.
Bill Plaschke (the writer of this article) fails to take into account the untold numbers of hours Woods spent practicing both with his father and by himself trying to perfect his talent of playing and winning the game the way he has done in his career. It is based on this fact that makes Plaschke’s assessment of Woods not “breaking a sweat” laughable.
From time to time I have seen this same assessment levied on certain individuals simply because they work hard and smart (what usually makes the difference). For those that feel intimidated by the well-deserved success of these individuals, they usually label these individuals of having an “unfair” advantage. Bill Gates is a prime example of this label. Too many of us see the success of these individuals but know nothing about the sacrifices that were invested into their success.
So the next time you feel the adolescent urge to accuse someone of having “unfair” talent or skill, take the time to find out from them what it took for them to succeed. Who knows, you might learn something.
July 26th, 2005 at 5:54 am
It is obvious that this guy has never picked up a club in his life. If he had he would know the difficulty of accomplising what Tiger has done over these years. Anyone who knows anything about the tour knows that to win you have to outwork everyone else, Tiger has consistently outworked the competition. If he has been watching Tiger for the last two years he would know that he has been in somewhat of a slump since his partting of ways with his coach (Butch Harmon).
July 26th, 2005 at 7:10 am
Women’s tennis was said to be boring a few years ago when the Williams sisters were winning a overwhelming majority of the tournaments.
July 26th, 2005 at 5:13 pm
It never ceases to amaze me how the media portrays Tiger. Whether he wins or loses he’s being scrutinized. When he wins he’s boring and when he loses (even when he comes in a close 2nd or 3rd consistently) he’s in a slump and the they’re all over him.
Of course the obvious question here is whether or not he would be treated by the media the same way if he was of a lighter hue.
July 26th, 2005 at 9:35 pm
Bill has a small point. It WOULD be good for Tiger’s image for him to win a few majors coming from behind. Can’t hurt, anyway. But he’s wrong about him never having to sweat a win. Did he forget already how Tiger nearly messed up his win at the Master’s this year? Tiger bogeyed the last two holes and had to earn his win in a playoff. Lots of sweating there no matter who says different. So it’s happened. I guess Bill’s concern is now that Tiger’s back in the, erm, swing of things again, he’ll start winning majors again like he used to, playing catch me if you can.
I should speak for myself, but I suspect Black people are more interested in a crushing victory than White folk. Did we want Liston to win on points? Jackie Robinson to hit .250 lifetime? Nope. We want the trailblazer to burn em up. Only certain White people want “competiton.” Me, I’ll take a win any way he gets em, but when it’s a strong, clear victory, I do a fist pump with him.
July 26th, 2005 at 9:38 pm
p.s. didja *have* to throw in the Liberalism bit? Sheesh, you guys never miss a trick, eh?
July 27th, 2005 at 5:36 am
Apparently, I must have been right :))
July 30th, 2005 at 2:31 am
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