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British Open Brilliance

Sportswriters are in a slump…Not Tiger!

By Darth Reagan

As a justice on The High Court of Sports it is my job to help defend all that is right in sports from non-athlete sportswriters (for the sake of this article I will refer to them as Sportswriters N/A). How many times over the past 3 years have we endured the likes of Jay Mariotti discussing the ludicrous Tiger Slump? A better question is this, How in the name of Non-Athletes does Jay Mariotti have a job writing about sports? I could go on about my dislike of  sportswriters N/A but I refuse……I would much rather provide you with some quotes from the past few years that will amuse you while shedding light on the fact that Tiger Woods isn’t, never has been and probably never will be in a slump!

 

For those sportswriters N/A out there please let me state this: The best in any sport become the best because they are willing to try to improve when everyone else thinks they have nothing to improve upon! (Darth Reagan, Circa 2005)

Athletes are a special breed and Tiger Woods is no exception. He defines his own successes and drives himself. He doesn’t need a motivational speaker to get him going. In 1998, when everyone was excited to see Tiger tear up the tour, the Sportswriters N/A were all in line waiting. When he didn’t deliver to their expectations they dismissed him as a flash in the pan. What they didn’t know then and somehow still don’t know now, is he was rebuilding his swing. Yes, he was improving even after he’d blown away the field and bested Nicklaus’ scoring record at Augusta. That’s what the best in any endeavor do, they improve. The reason sportswriters N/A can’t understand such a philosophy lies in one simple fact. They can’t stand the thought of struggling.

 

Tiger invites a challenge and a struggle, in fact, it’s the only thing that will get him out of bed in the morning (And believe me something would have to motivate him to get out of his bed). He wants to compete and win but more importantly he wants to become the player he envisions in his mind not a sportswriter N/A’s mind; he wants to be the perfect golfer. Just look at his response to a sportswriter N/A at Royal St. George when asked about a slump (for the 3 millionth time), “It’s not one of those things I’m really thinking about”……….The beauty of that quote is that he isn’t thinking about it as a slump. Rather, he’s working on his game, period.

 

Successful people always find a positive way to look at things. They feel as if a challenging point in their life is simply part of a process and a direction toward a better time. For instance, look at Tiger’s response to yet another Sportswriter N/A’s question about a slump, “It’s part of the process. It’s part of playing, part of competing...I put myself there. I’ve had the opportunities to win, particularly in the last two years here at this championship. I could have won”……..You can’t beat somebody with this mentality for long because they will always come back stronger.

 

Now as sportswriters N/A see it, Tiger is nearing his old form. Wrong again. Tiger is approaching a new form, a new and improved form as a result of his most recent work on his golf swing. That is scary. While Tiger has been improving his game and refining his swing some of the world’s best golfers have made some improvements as well. In fact, if you look at some of the quotes you might think that they actually believe they had a chance. Look at a quote from Thomas Bjorn(No Majors), “The intimidation is disappearing. People are now starting to realize you can’t get intimidated by him. You have to beat him. I know I can go out with that guy and I can look him in the eye and take him on.” Mr. Bjorn was not available for comment today because he was no longer on the premises due to missing the cut for the 2005 British Open. However, rumor has it that he wasn’t intimidated by Tiger…….

 

Finally, let’s hand it to another worldly sportswriter N/A for his comments on Tiger 3 years ago regarding his so called slump. “But with each passing lackluster performance, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that 2000 was simply a once-in-a-lifetime magical year, the likes of which we may never see again, at least not from Tiger”…..At least not from Tiger? What in the name of getting paid for writing about sports does this comment mean? Well, I will give him a chance to explain with the following quote, “Maybe a Howell or Tryon will produce similarly spectacular play, but it’s hard to imagine Tiger beating these guys senseless anymore”……Again, he’s somehow getting paid for this insight? Two guys with no Majors, one of which doesn’t have his tour card? I shouldn’t be so hard on this sportswriter N/A, so I’ll give him one more shot to redeem himself. Here’s the final quote on Tiger, “But don't expect any more ten-win extravaganzas or Grand Slam flirtations. Those days are behind him.”

 

Somebody should inform Tiger that those days are behind him because he just won his 10^th major today and his 2^nd in 3 tries…..For real analysis turn to The High Court of Sports! We celebrate improvement and excellence rather than beat it down. And don’t forget, we also made a prediction a month ago about who would win the 2005 British Open! A little hint, it wasn’t Thomas Bjorn, Charles Howell III or Ty Tryon!

 

Congratulations Tiger on #10!

The Claret Jug puts Tiger within eight of Nicklaus’ record of eighteen major championships.  Two titles and a second place finish so far at the majors in 2005...not bad for a guy in a slump, eh?  (AP)