Thanks Tiger


Like the rest of the sports world, and maybe the whole world, I’ve been watching Tiger Woods. Everyone’s paying attention to his play at the Masters.  Considering what he’s been through, all of this is quite amazing.  The fact that Tiger is even walking is unbelievable. And to watch him actually play golf is unthinkable.  He has said that we can’t imagine what he’s gone through to get here.  I agree. 


 As we soon learned after his automobile accident, Tiger came  close to losing his life, and very close to losing a leg. I believe if the person in that accident had been anyone but Tiger Woods, their leg would’ve been amputated. And let’s don’t forget he had major back surgery in December.  After the accident, Tiger spent 3 months in a hospital just trying to relearn basic motions.  And now a little over a year after his release, he’s playing golf in the Masters. Hollywood couldn’t write a story like this. 


I think the accident has changed Tiger - not only physically, but  emotionally as well. It seems that he’s a different person now.  He’s thankful, appreciative.  Tiger just seems more… human.  Maybe that’s what happens to a man who looks death in the eye.  We saw the new Tiger when he became a doting Dad playing in the father - son golf tournament with Charlie.  Woods acknowledges the galleries now. He’s much more relaxed with the press.  He laughs. He will even sign some autographs. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still fiercely competitive.  There is nothing Tiger would rather do than whip his fellow professionals like a rented mule.  But, now he’s become likable.


Tiger’s not the only one who’s changed. A lot of us have  changed too.  When Tiger was at the height of his power, so many people didn’t like him.  Count me as one of them. I felt the same way about Tiger as I felt about  Jack Nicklaus when he took the crown from my hero,  Arnold Palmer.  It took a while for me to become a Jack fan.  And I think it’s the same way with Tiger.  It  was impossible not to admire his talent, even though for years he seemed like an emotionless assassin. Tiger was, in my mind, arrogant, unapproachable, and unlikeable.   For example, a friend of mine said he would never root for Tiger after he saw him ignore a kid who asked for an autograph during a practice round.  


But my, how things have changed. Now, so many people are pulling  for Tiger to make an improbable comeback.  If you think about it, this is nothing new.  All Americans, regardless of skin color or political affiliation, love a redemption story.  That’s why movies like Rocky, Rudy, and The Cinderella Man have been big hits.  From Seabiscuit, to Richard Nixon, to Harry Potter, there’s just something in our collective fabric that loves stories like these.  We’re all suckers for the noble quest.  


And now one of the most recognizable people in the world in the world is trying to make a comeback against all odds. It has actually bound all of us together.  And with everything happening in our nasty ol’ world right now, this is a breath of fresh air.      


So Godspeed, Tiger.  Keep on fighting the good fight.  You need to do this for you - and for all of us. 



Please like and share! 


Follow me at: Joe Hobby Comedian - Writer


Check out my other posts at: mylifeasahobby.blogspot.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Water Aerobics - H2 Oh - No!

Image
Since I had knee surgery earlier this year, I’ve been looking for a low impact method of exercise.  Actually, my wife has been looking for me. My choice was no exercise - that’s low impact, right?  Of course, she  completely ignored my comments and promptly enrolled me in her water aerobics class at the YMCA.  I should've reported her to the DHR.  Whoever paired exercise with swimming pools should be forced to wear a Speedo that’s three sizes too small.  Pools are made for slothful activities like sunning on a lounge chair, or hanging on the side with an adult beverage in hand. Swimming laps or diving (unless it’s a cannon ball), should be against the law.  Nevertheless, I agreed to go to water aerobics because I could use this for leverage the next time I wanted to go on a golf trip. So in a couple of days, I walked in the Y, flashed my ID, and for the next hour, was SOL.  I changed, went outside, and was greeted by a swimming pool chocked full of people. It looked like Gu
Read more

Joe Willie, Finebaum, And Me

Image
  When my cell phone rang, the name on the screen flashed Paul Finebaum. This wasn't an unusual occurrence because I had been writing jokes for Paul to use at his many speaking engagements.   We also occasionally ate lunch together.   No death threats please - I like Paul. While I don’t always care for his schtick, I know he’s not like his radio persona.  For example, once during a conversation, I told him how much I liked Pat Conroy, the great southern author. A few weeks later, Paul called me and said, “I’ve got Conroy on the show tomorrow. Why don’t you come up and meet him?  You can talk to him during the commercial breaks.”  An act of kindness I’ve never forgotten.   I digress. Unusual call or not, my curiosity was piqued. I picked up my cell, and after some chit-chat, Finebaum told me why he phoned.  “You know about that charity roast of me coming up in a couple of weeks?”  Of course I knew. The airwaves had been hawking it for over a month.  “Well, I just got just got
Read more

Field of Screams

Image
If it had happened today, it would have been a major sports story - no, a major news story.   There would have been iPhone videos on the nightly news, and commentary on ESPN. Paul Finebaum’s callers would have been obsessed with it.   Coaches would have been fired, and lawsuits filed. Someone may have even been publicly flogged.   But none of that happened in 1968.   It went unnoticed, unless you were one of the players on the football field when it happened. They remember it the same way people remember where they were when Kennedy was shot. It was spring of my freshman year at Huffman High.   The school was brand new, so new, it didn’t have juniors and seniors. Just a freshman and a sophomore class. That meant when we had spring training for football, it was a small, inexperienced group that was participating.    And for whatever reason, we thought it was supposed to be fun.   It was a game, right?   Weren’t games played for fun?   Wrong. This was the heyday of Bear Bryant
Read more