The Rearview 6-19

A quick apology for my absence the past month or so. While the nation is a priority, of late, outside forces have ensured that other things like family and career move back up to the top of that list.That doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention or perusing every so often. I guess the good news is, it’s the off season, so unless I’ve missed the latest and greatest on uniforms, favorite former Vols or what we should really do about Fulmer, I should still be in good standing with the faithful nationals.

What is there to write about in June? Not much. Congrats to the Celtics. I don’t care about baseball until September. But one thing is worth talking about. Tiger. As I’m sure all of you are aware, Tiger cemented his already rock solid legacy in golf and in sport in general by going through 3 days of the most intriguing and entertaining sporting events I’ve seen. Now the big news is that he did what he did with the stress fracture, torn ACL, and will now need season ending surgery to repair it. And he won the US Open in a full 18 hole playoff that went to sudden death. It was amazing.

But in addition to all that, what struck me the most was the mental aspect of what Tiger had to do in order to win that championship. To me, it’s the single most important aspect of his game that separates him from everyone else he competes with. How do I know this? Take a look at Phil Mickelson. The hub bub prior to the tournament was all about Phil’s home course and how well this sets up for him etc, etc, etc…. I like Phil, so don’t get me wrong. But there is something between his ears that simply won’t allow him to get to that level. It’s not physical skill. Phil’s biggest problem is in his head. From the decision not to use a driver to the 9 he took on 13, it’s what separates him from Tiger.

So, take all that: the fact it’s the US Open, he’s on a fractured leg, and a bum knee, a course that is playing very difficult, the fact he’s not hitting ball exactly great, and there’s this guy named Rocco that’s laughing an smiling in route to having the 71 hole lead on you, Tiger Woods, who has NEVER lost a major while leading after 54 holes.

What does he do? He birdies the 72nd hole to force the playoff. It’s what he does.

Encore? Ok, play 18. After 89 holes, you are in the same place you were yesterday. What does he do? He birdies the 90th hole to force sudden death. It’s what he does.

Can you imagine the focus and preparation it takes to be ready for a situation like that just once? He had to do it twice in as many days. It really is remarkable, and like him or hate him, it can’t be denied he’s one of the greatest competitors sport has seen.

The only sad part for me now is that we have to wait until next year to see if it can happen again. And even scarier, who is going to be Rocco in the next edition? Let’s face it, that was part of the fun. Rocco was a guy you didn’t hate. No one rooted for him to “lose”. But you have to admire the guy that had the US Open won, twice, only to see the greatest player of our time snatch it away……twice. Ouch. But very gracious in defeat, and he had a very good perspective on what he accomplished. And he did accomplish something folks. If not for him, this wouldn’t be worth remembering. And people will remember who finished 2nd in this tournament.

So I say good for them both. They provided a sporting event that lived up to our standards. It was riveting, there was great sportsmanship, and there was real drama for 3 days.

So, that pretty much sums it up for me. And it should pretty much wrap up the summer sports excitement as well. I know one thing for sure, not only was the rest of the tour probably glad on some selfish level Tiger’s done for the year, I’m sure NASCAR and MLB are also glad as well. With all the talk in those two sports of the new car and steroids etc….the last thing they need is the world’s most intriguing athlete providing drama like this the rest of the summer.

So, with the Tiger injury, the rest of the world of sports can take a collective breath of fresh air and put their best foot forward. And please do, I for one would be grateful to have something to do until Labor Day.