If I Could be Like
Six years ago I took a short trip to Europe with a few friends. One evening I was talking to one of them and he asked me a funny question. He asked if I could be any one person in the world, who would I want to be.
Without even a second’s thought I answered Tiger Woods. My friend was surprised. He knew that I was a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and assumed I would say Kobe Bryant.
When he told me that, it made me reconsider. Who wouldn’t want to be Kobe Bryant? This was the summer of 2000, right after the Lakers had won their first championship since 1988. While Shaquille O’Neal had been named the Finals MVP, Kobe had played well and was already being compared to Michael Jordan. This was before the Colorado incident, before Kobe helped drive Shaq out of LA, and before Kobe became won of the least popular athletes in the country.
Upon reflection I explained my initial answer. Yes, Kobe Bryant seemed to have it all. He had money and fame and was one of the best basketball players in the world. Basketball was and continues to be my favorite sport. I’ve dreamed of being able to dunk like Kobe. Unfortunately, at 5’5” the closest I will ever come to that is dunking on an eight foot rim outside of an elementary school. At the same time, up until that point, I had never even swung a golf club.
But what set Tiger above Kobe in my eyes is that while many felt Kobe could go down as one of the best in his sport, most people believed Tiger had a shot to be the very best in his field.
In basketball, most fans would say that Michael Jordan is the greatest. But there is no single criterion that marks him as the greatest. He didn’t score the most points or win the most championships. That’s why occasionally you get some arguments about who really is the best basketball player ever. Some fans, including myself say it was Magic Johnson. Others say Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best.
In golf, there doesn’t seem to be much of an argument. Jack Nicklaus is the best golfer ever because he won 18 major championships. Sure Sam Snead won more PGA Tour events than Nicklaus, but what people really care are the majors. Regardless of what Kobe did the rest of his career, the most he could hope for was to be considered one of the best. Even now, while he’s in his prime and after scoring 81 points in a single game last season, some argue that Dwayne Wade or LeBron James is better.
With Tiger, all he has to do is win 19 championships and he’ll be the G.G.O.A.T., Greatest Golfer Of All Time. Back in the summer of 2000, Tiger was dominating golf and in the middle of completing the Tiger Slam, holding all four major championships, though not in the same calendar year.
There was a stretch of time when there was some doubt about Tiger becoming the greatest. He failed to win a major in 2003 and 2004 when he was changing his golf swing to reduce the wear and tear on his knee. With his PGA Championship win yesterday, his second major in a row and fourth in the last two years, Tiger seems to have erased any doubt of getting to 19. He is now only seven championships away from overtaking Jack Nicklaus.
I actually first remembered my friend’s question last month when Tiger won the British Open. Seeing his poise and dominance and his emotional breakdown after winning the tournament reminded me of why I started watching Tiger in the first place. Yesterday, that dominance was on display again. He started the day sharing the lead with Luke Donald. It only took one hole for him to assume sole possession of the lead.
That poise is another reason why I wish I could be Tiger. Kobe is arguably a clutch player and has hit his fair share of heroic shots to win games. But he has also missed his fair share of game-winning shots. Tiger doesn’t miss. With his win yesterday, Tiger is 12-0 when he’s leading or co-leading a major championship after three rounds. Now that’s domination and why six years later I still find myself saying if I could be like anyone, I want to be like Tiger.
Without even a second’s thought I answered Tiger Woods. My friend was surprised. He knew that I was a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and assumed I would say Kobe Bryant.
When he told me that, it made me reconsider. Who wouldn’t want to be Kobe Bryant? This was the summer of 2000, right after the Lakers had won their first championship since 1988. While Shaquille O’Neal had been named the Finals MVP, Kobe had played well and was already being compared to Michael Jordan. This was before the Colorado incident, before Kobe helped drive Shaq out of LA, and before Kobe became won of the least popular athletes in the country.
Upon reflection I explained my initial answer. Yes, Kobe Bryant seemed to have it all. He had money and fame and was one of the best basketball players in the world. Basketball was and continues to be my favorite sport. I’ve dreamed of being able to dunk like Kobe. Unfortunately, at 5’5” the closest I will ever come to that is dunking on an eight foot rim outside of an elementary school. At the same time, up until that point, I had never even swung a golf club.
But what set Tiger above Kobe in my eyes is that while many felt Kobe could go down as one of the best in his sport, most people believed Tiger had a shot to be the very best in his field.
In basketball, most fans would say that Michael Jordan is the greatest. But there is no single criterion that marks him as the greatest. He didn’t score the most points or win the most championships. That’s why occasionally you get some arguments about who really is the best basketball player ever. Some fans, including myself say it was Magic Johnson. Others say Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best.
In golf, there doesn’t seem to be much of an argument. Jack Nicklaus is the best golfer ever because he won 18 major championships. Sure Sam Snead won more PGA Tour events than Nicklaus, but what people really care are the majors. Regardless of what Kobe did the rest of his career, the most he could hope for was to be considered one of the best. Even now, while he’s in his prime and after scoring 81 points in a single game last season, some argue that Dwayne Wade or LeBron James is better.
With Tiger, all he has to do is win 19 championships and he’ll be the G.G.O.A.T., Greatest Golfer Of All Time. Back in the summer of 2000, Tiger was dominating golf and in the middle of completing the Tiger Slam, holding all four major championships, though not in the same calendar year.
There was a stretch of time when there was some doubt about Tiger becoming the greatest. He failed to win a major in 2003 and 2004 when he was changing his golf swing to reduce the wear and tear on his knee. With his PGA Championship win yesterday, his second major in a row and fourth in the last two years, Tiger seems to have erased any doubt of getting to 19. He is now only seven championships away from overtaking Jack Nicklaus.
I actually first remembered my friend’s question last month when Tiger won the British Open. Seeing his poise and dominance and his emotional breakdown after winning the tournament reminded me of why I started watching Tiger in the first place. Yesterday, that dominance was on display again. He started the day sharing the lead with Luke Donald. It only took one hole for him to assume sole possession of the lead.
That poise is another reason why I wish I could be Tiger. Kobe is arguably a clutch player and has hit his fair share of heroic shots to win games. But he has also missed his fair share of game-winning shots. Tiger doesn’t miss. With his win yesterday, Tiger is 12-0 when he’s leading or co-leading a major championship after three rounds. Now that’s domination and why six years later I still find myself saying if I could be like anyone, I want to be like Tiger.
posted by The Pocho at 11:49 AM
2 Comments:
Sorry, but I just can't care about golf. Being the best golfer of all-time is like being the best darts thrower of all-time. Or being the best thumb wrestler. If you want to talk about a real athlete, talk about Takeru Kobayashi. When I die, I want people to say about me, "He was like Takeru Kobayashi...only more so." That would be the ultimate compliment.
Kobayashi is the man. I'll give you that. But I don't think he got $100 M from Nike like Tiger did. I guess I should have mentioned that was another reason I wouldn't mind being Tiger.
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