The Original Tiger

Three Guys Golf Blog: Matt and I butt heads on a lot of subjects, but one thing we agree on is that Tiger Woods is a bad ass.   Last week, Matt went “on the record” with his take on Tiger.  This week I thought I would follow up with mine.

I did not grow up a boxing fan but back in the late 80’s when Tyson was in his prime, I would do about anything to watch his fights.  Whenever there was a Tyson fight, I could be found frantically looking to cheese in on a house that had Pay-per view.  The draw was simple,  Tyson was a force of nature, a terror, a man among men, a wrecking ball that could not be stopped.  Unfortunately, the sport only got to see a few brief years of brilliance before it all went to hell.

Like most boxing comebacks, it did not end well, but never once did I root against him, even when it was clear he was a bad, bad man (need evidence-check this out).  To this day I am still a huge Tyson fan and will remain so until he decides to eat a small child (which is not out of the question).

The original Tiger

Now the reason I bring up Tyson is because I think there is a great similarity to how I feel about Tiger.  Back in the early 2000’s, Tiger would tear up the field with thrilling shots, heart-stopping putts and a will to win not seen since #23.  Then nearly 2 years ago, it fell apart and Tiger has never been the same.  With each start, our collective hopes rise anew but sadly we have yet to seen any flashes of greatness.  I know some people have turned on Tiger believing him to be a bad man no longer worthy of their fan-dom.  This line of thought just befuddles me.  I mean, do you really expect a guy who was told he was the best ever to not get a little on the side?  Is the moral bar higher for a golfer than a boxer because they compete at exclusive country clubs?  Either way, what I do know is that I absolutely miss the fear he would instill in the field, the mind boggling shots and drama that he brought to every tournament he played in.

While Iron Mike has long left the building and we have likely seen the end of a dominating Tiger, I am hopeful we have a few moments of greatness left.