Tuesday, April 11, 2000
If you root against Tiger Woods,
you are setting yourself up for a heap of heartache
By Joe Posnanski
Knight Ridder Newspapers
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Ah yes, the phone calls
do pour in. They attack from all sides, voice mails and the e-mails
from angry males.
A few days ago, I wrote smugly that Tiger
Woods would breeze at the Masters. I wrote that the tournament
was over before it began. In the end, Woods did not win. He finished
fifth. Yes, the phone calls do pour in.
And all I can say is this: Laugh. You've
earned it. Laugh a little, and then laugh a lot because Woods
indeed showed he is human.
He missed short putts. He hit into the water.
He did not make a real charge on Sunday. Laugh and laugh at all
of us fools who keep insisting on making Woods bigger than the
game. Laugh. And to answer your question: I like my crow grilled
with a subtle teriyaki glaze.
All that's fine. But here's a nickel's worth
of free advice: It won't be much fun to root against Tiger Woods
for the next 10 years. You can do it if you like — hey, it's
your life. But if you want to root against the man, you are setting
yourself up for a heap of heartache.
Understand, Woods played lousy at Augusta.
Shot that 75 on the first day. Made triple bogey at No. 12. Missed
five or six short putts on the second day. He lost his temper,
cursed on the course, acted childishly at times. Every so often,
we still see some of the growing pains of a prodigy becoming a
man. Going into Saturday, Woods was lucky just to make the cut.
The phone callers did love that. Thursday
morning, just a small handful of people called in (“Tiger
Woods is overrated, and you are a jerk,” would be a concise
summary of those calls), but by Thursday night the calls started
pounding in harder, like rain on a rooftop.
By Friday afternoon, they just gushed in,
a torrent of fury and anger, a deluge of people who just wanted
to pass along some wisdom (“Tiger Woods is overrated, and
you are a jerk,” would be a concise summary of those calls
as well).
Mostly, there was laughter.
Funny thing happened Saturday, though. Woods
somehow willed himself back onto the leader board. And wouldn't
you know? The laughter stopped. Suddenly. The calls stopped. Instantly.
Woods still wasn't playing his best golf. But he was back on the
board. And, strangely, nobody called.
Then, Sunday, the front nine, he made a
little charge. Everybody watched. Golf tournaments revolve around
Woods these days. Everybody cheers for him or roots against him.
It was that way when Nicklaus was in his prime. It was that way
when Watson was winning British Opens. It's that way now.
Bigger than the game? Tiger Woods "is"
the game at the moment, the way Michael Jordan was the game, the
way Wayne Gretzky was the game, the way Muhammad Ali was the game.
Love him, despise him, you can't ignore him.
The voice-mail and e-mail lines were incredibly
calm as Woods made his final charge. Not even one brave soul called
during that time. Then, Woods withered, and Vijay Singh played
beautifully. Singh won the green jacket.
At that very instant, coincidentally, the
calls and the laughter returned, more and louder than ever before.
That's OK. Laugh. I deserve that. It was
a glorious moment for all those Tiger doubters, all those people
who think Tiger Woods has been overhyped, all those folks who
have grown tired of jerks like me who write about him as if he's
the only guy on the tour.
Call in. Laugh away. Enjoy. I deserve it.
But all I can tell you is if you plan on
rooting against Woods, well, good luck, because he's going to
break your heart many, many times in the years ahead. He played
lousy, putted worse and finished fifth at Augusta.
He's 24. He has won 10 of his last 18 tournaments.
He has the soundest golf swing in the world, a sweet touch and
the killer instinct. You want to laugh, you better laugh now.
Meanwhile, I'm already picking Tiger Woods
to breeze at the U.S. Open.
(c) 2000, The Kansas City Star.
Visit The Star Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.kcstar.com/
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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