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FuriousGiorge
The Masters
April 11, 2005 at 02:41AM View BBCode
Did anyone else watch? Tiger's shot on 16 was one of the most amazing golf moments I've ever seen. Of course, he damn near choked it away on 17 and 18 before pulling it out in sudden death. They kept cutting to shots of Chris DiMarco's family near the end, including this little daughter of his who couldn't be more than about 3. When Tiger won they of course only showed shots of Tiger's happy family (including his trophy wife) but I couldn't help thinking about DiMarco's family, so happy when he sunk the putt on 18 to send it to sudden death, who must've been crushed to see him lose again. And I kept picturing his daughter looking up into at her mom with her big doe eyes and asking, "Did daddy lose again?" The story ended up being Tiger, but DiMarco has now put himself into position to be considered among those with the dubious distinction of "best golfer never to win a major" and the poor bastard is making a habit of being in the final pairing on Sunday.
max_fischer
--Tiger's shot on 16 was probably the best I've ever seen. The way he placed the ball on the green and then drew it back into the hole made it look so much like he had the ball on a string. Often, when a player hits an iron shot into the hole, it looks like a well-hit shot that got lucky. Tiger's looked astonishingly intentional.
--Tiger's period as a crowd favorite was brief and is over. People will root for nearly anyone else against him now, at least people present at a tournament. DiMarco is a sympathetic underdog, of course, but Tiger seems to lack the warmth and charisma that would make him a fan favorite in addition to his skill. I believe that race has at least something to do with this too (I can't help but wonder if some racist golf fans resent shots of him kissing his Swedish supermodel wife). I know that people didn't like Nicklaus at first and then warmed to him; Tiger's fan-base trajectory seems to be the opposite.
--DiMarco's toddler daughter kept reaching for the microphone during his post-round interview, a moment made all the more poignantly funny by the annoyance of the reporter who kept yanking the mike away from her. Dude, that little girl is way cuter than anything you have to say.
--DiMarco will win a major, and soon. The fact that he caught Tiger from several strokes down, making up a stroke on 18 (I think), shows that he has the fire in the belly. He's lost two major playoffs without really choking. And his putt on 18 to send it to the playoff was ice cold. He's next.
--I'm not convinced that sudden death is the way to decide a major championship. The U.S. Open's 18-hole playoff is probably too much. Is it the British Open that uses a four-hole playoff? Seems like that's a good compromise. Sudden death is too much like a soccer shootout to me.
April 11, 2005 at 11:34AM View BBCode
My thoughts on Sunday at the Masters:--Tiger's shot on 16 was probably the best I've ever seen. The way he placed the ball on the green and then drew it back into the hole made it look so much like he had the ball on a string. Often, when a player hits an iron shot into the hole, it looks like a well-hit shot that got lucky. Tiger's looked astonishingly intentional.
--Tiger's period as a crowd favorite was brief and is over. People will root for nearly anyone else against him now, at least people present at a tournament. DiMarco is a sympathetic underdog, of course, but Tiger seems to lack the warmth and charisma that would make him a fan favorite in addition to his skill. I believe that race has at least something to do with this too (I can't help but wonder if some racist golf fans resent shots of him kissing his Swedish supermodel wife). I know that people didn't like Nicklaus at first and then warmed to him; Tiger's fan-base trajectory seems to be the opposite.
--DiMarco's toddler daughter kept reaching for the microphone during his post-round interview, a moment made all the more poignantly funny by the annoyance of the reporter who kept yanking the mike away from her. Dude, that little girl is way cuter than anything you have to say.
--DiMarco will win a major, and soon. The fact that he caught Tiger from several strokes down, making up a stroke on 18 (I think), shows that he has the fire in the belly. He's lost two major playoffs without really choking. And his putt on 18 to send it to the playoff was ice cold. He's next.
--I'm not convinced that sudden death is the way to decide a major championship. The U.S. Open's 18-hole playoff is probably too much. Is it the British Open that uses a four-hole playoff? Seems like that's a good compromise. Sudden death is too much like a soccer shootout to me.
FuriousGiorge
I did not see this at all. I saw a crowd that was just as much rooting for Tiger as they were DiMarco. In fact, like just about every golf crowd I've ever watched, all they really seemed to want to see was good shots being made. Sure DiMarco was getting a lot of cheers - he was the underdog and, at 17 and 18, he was making a comeback to tie it up. I see a crowd that is still very much in the palm of Tiger's hand, and that cares a whole lot more when Tiger's involved in the final day. Of course there's going to be the inevitable backlash against a guy who, when he's on, makes it look so damn easy. That backlash has existed since 1997. People like to root for an underdog and Tiger is most certainly not that.
And I've never understood this notion that people dislike Tiger (or whatever athlete is being criticized that day) because they're bland and uncharismatic. First of all, Tiger is much more charismatic than people give him credit for - when it's over and he's won, on top of that big goofy smile of his he is more than happy to talk frankly about the match, which is more than I can say for most golfers. Hell, Tiger's way more charismatic than Chris DiMarco, who rarely smiles or shows much emotion at all (17 and 18 notwithstanding). And second, people LOVED Michael Jordan, and that guy's about as warm and charismatic as a corpse - Tiger has it all over him in the "real person who you can relate to" department.
April 11, 2005 at 02:58PM View BBCode
Originally posted by max_fischer
Tiger's period as a crowd favorite was brief and is over. People will root for nearly anyone else against him now, at least people present at a tournament.
I did not see this at all. I saw a crowd that was just as much rooting for Tiger as they were DiMarco. In fact, like just about every golf crowd I've ever watched, all they really seemed to want to see was good shots being made. Sure DiMarco was getting a lot of cheers - he was the underdog and, at 17 and 18, he was making a comeback to tie it up. I see a crowd that is still very much in the palm of Tiger's hand, and that cares a whole lot more when Tiger's involved in the final day. Of course there's going to be the inevitable backlash against a guy who, when he's on, makes it look so damn easy. That backlash has existed since 1997. People like to root for an underdog and Tiger is most certainly not that.
And I've never understood this notion that people dislike Tiger (or whatever athlete is being criticized that day) because they're bland and uncharismatic. First of all, Tiger is much more charismatic than people give him credit for - when it's over and he's won, on top of that big goofy smile of his he is more than happy to talk frankly about the match, which is more than I can say for most golfers. Hell, Tiger's way more charismatic than Chris DiMarco, who rarely smiles or shows much emotion at all (17 and 18 notwithstanding). And second, people LOVED Michael Jordan, and that guy's about as warm and charismatic as a corpse - Tiger has it all over him in the "real person who you can relate to" department.
youngallstar
Sergio Garcia had a chance to take that distinction away from Tiger a few years back but he screwed it up with that idiotic wiggle and below par play
April 11, 2005 at 03:08PM View formatted
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Tiger will be the most popular golfer playing in the PGA until he retires.
Sergio Garcia had a chance to take that distinction away from Tiger a few years back but he screwed it up with that idiotic wiggle and below par play
Meathead44
April 11, 2005 at 06:16PM View BBCode
A quick thought on Tiger's popularity. He suffers a bit from the anti-bandwagon syndrome where people root for under dogs and against the favorites just because. Where's the fun in rooting for someone who is favored by 20 strokes and wins by 30? People like their dynasties, but they would much rather see one come crashing to a halt by some lowly underdog.
skierdude44
April 11, 2005 at 07:12PM View BBCode
Tiger is definitely still the most popular player on the tour. I do agree with Meathead though that there are people who root against him in favor of the underdogs. People rooted for Mickleson more last year until his win at the Masters because he had never won a major but since he has won his major he is no longer a threat to Tiger's reign as the most popular golfer on tour.
Duff77
Anyway, I didn't watch, and while I feel bad for this DiMarco guy, all I can say is that coming in second in every major championship is a damn good way to make a living. $756,000 ain't chump change.
April 11, 2005 at 11:49PM View BBCode
Shouldn't some of the Tiger-mania have worn off by now? I mean sure, people have favorite players, but like FG said--you'd think most golf fans would come out to see good golf, no matter who was playing it.Anyway, I didn't watch, and while I feel bad for this DiMarco guy, all I can say is that coming in second in every major championship is a damn good way to make a living. $756,000 ain't chump change.
Cubsfan13
April 12, 2005 at 12:44AM View BBCode
All I saw was the sudden death and I checked on the score occasionally. I don't watch golf much, but I probably would have watched a lot more if the Cubs hadn't gone to 12 innings.
skierdude44
April 12, 2005 at 02:23PM View BBCode
The ratings for the final round this year were up 41% from last year. 41% is huge especially considering all the hype surrounding last year's final round with Mickelson in contention and eventually winning his first major. I think that it shows that people are just more interested when Tiger is in it. Either because they want to root for him or they want to root against him but either way he attracts more attention than anybody else.
youngallstar
A trophy indeed
April 12, 2005 at 02:39PM View BBCode
Originally posted by FuriousGiorge
(including his trophy wife)
A trophy indeed
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