On the heels of Tiger Woods’s victory Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Ed Smith wonders why he can't warm to the guy ...
Tiger Woods represents the apotheosis of the professional age. Maybe that’s why I can’t warm to him. The problem seems unique to me. In professional cricket, we were often asked to fill out questionnaires, “Which character in history would you most like to meet?”—that sort of guff. More than half used to say Tiger Woods. Not Grace Kelly, not Churchill, not Angelina Jolie—no, they would rather have some face time with the Tiger.
What exactly did my colleagues plan to ask the great man? Perhaps it was just golf banter. “There’s this par-4 on my course, Tiger, dog-leg left-to-right, concealed pin at the front, fast greens, so where should I aim when I’m stuck in light rough on the edge of the fairway?” Alternatively, maybe professional sportsmen think that genius is contagious. Perhaps they just want to hang around him, hoping to absorb a splash of his mental toughness, as if by osmosis. You see, Tiger Woods is the pro’s hero as well as the fan’s hero. He has it all: talent, determination, work ethic, self-belief, brilliant PR, phenomenal mental toughness, countless millions, 14 major titles and a clean sheet in terms of personal history.
Maybe that is the problem. There is something too studied about him, as though everything he says and does has been not only considered, but also evaluated on a psychological profit-and-loss sheet. You don’t need to be a dyed-in-the-wool romantic to admire a natural streak, even in the ruthless world of elite sport.......
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário