A Trophy by any other name would smell as sweet
Originally Published on December 5, 2011
by Bryan Wright
Just imagine how glorious a July it would be, if the Calgary Flames invited four other NHL teams, of their choosing, to play in a round-robin tournament following the Stanley Cup Finals. The five teams would each play each other a couple of times, before moving into some kind of playoff format, eventually crowning a champion for the 'mini-season.' They could get a couple of sponsors on board, say Imperial Oil, donate a lot of money to charity, and make it an annual affair. It could become known as the Esso Flames Challenge. How exciting would that be?
What would be even more exciting, is if the Flames were able to win their own 'challenge.' The press in Calgary, and the Flames' legions of fans could celebrate as if their team had just won the Stanley Cup, because let's face it, that would be as exciting. The City could host the Esso Flames Challenge Champions parade and everybody could really let loose for a few days, to revel in their glory.
Of course that all sounds pretty ridiculous, but this was the scene yesterday, as Tiger Woods was able to win the Chevron World Challenge, his own charity tournament featuring an army of 18 competitors, vying for a trophy that holds no meaning whatsoever. It truly was an inspirational Sunday afternoon.
Listening to the radio, watching on TV, or reading in the newspaper, one who was unfamiliar might think Tiger managed to win the Masters and the US Open at the same time, so monumental was his feat. They speak of him being 'back on top' and his quest to surpass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors has returned to being a mere formality. All because he won a charity event nobody cares about.
Yes, it is a strong field, featuring the previous four major champions, the top 11 players in the World Golf Ranking, two players chosen by the tournament board, and Tiger himself. But the Skins game is a strong field as well, yet nobody takes a win there to mean someone is on top of the golfing world. At the end of the day, it's just an exhibition tournament that nobody loses any sleep over.
Some will argue that it isn't just this win, but also his third place finish in Australia a couple of weeks ago, that tell us Tiger is back to his winning ways. Again, weaker field, lesser tournament, don't mean a thing. The most loyal of fans will even point to his President's Cup 'success,' where he was able to win two-thirds as many matches as he was able to lose. Impressive.
The fact is, Tiger's career is slowly dwindling down. It isn't because of anything he's done, it's because Father Time has taken over, and unlike Swedish nannys, Tiger can't keep him at bay by throwing him a few hundred million. Tiger will turn 36 in a couple of weeks and while he may be able to win the odd tournament here and there, and maybe even triumph at a major, winning four will be a monumental task; one even the champion of the storied 2011 Chevron World Challenge isn't up to.
Book Review: 'A Course Called Ireland' by Tom Coyne
Originally Published December 1, 2011
Originally Published on December 5, 2011
by Bryan Wright
Just imagine how glorious a July it would be, if the Calgary Flames invited four other NHL teams, of their choosing, to play in a round-robin tournament following the Stanley Cup Finals. The five teams would each play each other a couple of times, before moving into some kind of playoff format, eventually crowning a champion for the 'mini-season.' They could get a couple of sponsors on board, say Imperial Oil, donate a lot of money to charity, and make it an annual affair. It could become known as the Esso Flames Challenge. How exciting would that be?
What would be even more exciting, is if the Flames were able to win their own 'challenge.' The press in Calgary, and the Flames' legions of fans could celebrate as if their team had just won the Stanley Cup, because let's face it, that would be as exciting. The City could host the Esso Flames Challenge Champions parade and everybody could really let loose for a few days, to revel in their glory.
Of course that all sounds pretty ridiculous, but this was the scene yesterday, as Tiger Woods was able to win the Chevron World Challenge, his own charity tournament featuring an army of 18 competitors, vying for a trophy that holds no meaning whatsoever. It truly was an inspirational Sunday afternoon.
Listening to the radio, watching on TV, or reading in the newspaper, one who was unfamiliar might think Tiger managed to win the Masters and the US Open at the same time, so monumental was his feat. They speak of him being 'back on top' and his quest to surpass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors has returned to being a mere formality. All because he won a charity event nobody cares about.
Yes, it is a strong field, featuring the previous four major champions, the top 11 players in the World Golf Ranking, two players chosen by the tournament board, and Tiger himself. But the Skins game is a strong field as well, yet nobody takes a win there to mean someone is on top of the golfing world. At the end of the day, it's just an exhibition tournament that nobody loses any sleep over.
Some will argue that it isn't just this win, but also his third place finish in Australia a couple of weeks ago, that tell us Tiger is back to his winning ways. Again, weaker field, lesser tournament, don't mean a thing. The most loyal of fans will even point to his President's Cup 'success,' where he was able to win two-thirds as many matches as he was able to lose. Impressive.
The fact is, Tiger's career is slowly dwindling down. It isn't because of anything he's done, it's because Father Time has taken over, and unlike Swedish nannys, Tiger can't keep him at bay by throwing him a few hundred million. Tiger will turn 36 in a couple of weeks and while he may be able to win the odd tournament here and there, and maybe even triumph at a major, winning four will be a monumental task; one even the champion of the storied 2011 Chevron World Challenge isn't up to.
Book Review: 'A Course Called Ireland' by Tom Coyne
Originally Published December 1, 2011
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