THE ROCKPILE REVIEW - I Can't Help Myself - I Like Tiger

[Shaw66]

The Rockpile Review

 

“I Can’t Help Myself – I Like Tiger”

 

I like Tiger.   There, I’ve said it.

 

I know I’m not supposed to like Tiger.  There are all kinds of reasons not to like Tiger, but I can’t help myself.

 

What reasons?   Like, he’s the most ill-mannered player in the history of professional golf, fined more than anyone else.    Like, he’s an egotistical, self-centered guy who seems incapable of appreciating any greatness other than his own.  Like, he had a gorgeous wife and he couldn’t make that work. Like, sooner or later, he dumps each person who gets close to him – friends, women, agents, coaches, everyone.  I guess he’s still close to his mother.  His track record is so bad that people wouldn’t be surprised if he dumped his mother. 

 

And while I’m at it, I may as well say it:   I like LeBron, despite, you know, all the LeBron stuff.  And I like OJ, despite all the, you know, OJ stuff. 

 

Do you want the complete list?   I’m not sure I can give it to you, because my memory is failing.

 

I like Bill Russell, even though he’s a sanctimonious old fart.   He was a sanctimonious old fart even when he wasn’t old.   I like Michael Jordan even though he is, by many reports, a nasty guy.  I like Barry Bonds.  I like Pete Rose. 

 

I like Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, even though sometimes they seem to behave like total jerks.  I like them even though sometimes I wish they would go away and leave the game to mortals. 

 

I like Rodgers despite the recurring reports about him.  I like Brady despite the obnoxious watch ads, and the *****-eating grin, despite all of it. 

 

I like Jim Brown, maybe even better now than when he was playing, because when he was playing he was also doing some bad stuff that he owns now and has moved beyond.

 

Why do I like all of them?  Because big-time athletics is a unique showcase of talent and a lifetime of dedication to one’s craft that allows the truly exceptional to rise and, on occasion, thrill us all. 

 

So I have to admire Tiger for his talent, the skills he’s developed, his determination, his passion for the game.   That kind of extraordinary expertise should be rewarded, no matter what the competitor may be like personally. 

 

People don’t like admitting it, because Nicklaus was just, well, so perfect, but Tiger’s the greatest golfer of all time.  At his best, he was brilliant beyond anything we’d seen or even could imagine.  Like Nicklaus, he’s now given us one last thrill (or, just maybe, more), one last chance to step back and admire his unique greatness.   (By the way, how about Dwayne’s triple double to close out his career?)  

 

We’ve never seen anyone who wants it more than Tiger.   He’s desperate for greatness on the golf course, and his fierce determination simply won’t permit others around him to stand in his way.  He mows them all down, friend, foe, whomever, with a fire that rages inside him.  

 

Is Tiger a nice guy?  I’m sure that by some standards he his.  I’d love to have a chance to get to know him.   I’m sure he’d like to be known as a nice guy, but he doesn’t want that as much as he wants something else.  That something else drives him to be great.  

 

I especially really like the Bear (the golfer, not the coach, who probably should be listed up there with Belichick and Saban) and Stan the Man and Larry and Secretariat (it’s hard for a horse to be a jerk) and Junior and Oscar and Ichiro and Diana (the athlete, not the other one (well, the other one was okay, but that’s a different story)) and Peyton, because they could achieve Tiger-like greatness without, so far as I know, being jerks about it. 

 

I love the parade of greatness that sports gives us. 

 

(If this is supposed to be about the Bills, well, I hope that we’re now looking at a QB and a head coach who one day will be right there next to Secretariat.)

 

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

The Rockpile Review is written to share the passion we have for the Buffalo Bills. That passion was born in the Rockpile; its parents were everyday people of western New York who translated their dedication to a full day’s hard work and simple pleasures into love for a pro football team.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Tiger Woods is among the least likeable athletes of the past thirty years. Excellent golfer, but an epic shitlord.

 

 

[Lurker]

This just in:  people change, mature and grow in new and sometimes unexpected ways as they go through life.    

 

Was Tiger a world class dick when he was "Master of the Universe" good in his 20's and early 30s?     You bet.     

 

But his failures since 2009 appear to have given him new perspective.   At age 43, he appears to be more at peace with himself.   And open to being "one of the guys" (as evidenced by how many players waited at 18 to congratulate him), rather than aloof and above the crowd.   

 

That's why so many people are digging his win, IMO.    It's a different, better "Tiger the man, not just the player" we witnessed yesterday.   He could have given up and lived in infamy on all his millions.   But he kept grinding and trying to find his game, even at the risk of becoming a sad side show or laughing stock.     

 

That's the quintessential story of reinvention and perseverance that's so American we all embrace it.

[teef]

all i could think about was how poorly that guy has aged over the last 10 years.

[Boca BIlls]

TBH I have a hard time finding someone that hates him.

[The Senator]

 

I understand he was a ***** when he was young.  (So was Jim Kelly.)

 

I’m told that with age comes wisdom.  At the least, most of us mellow with time, age, and life’s trials and tribulations.

 

What I saw yesterday was a perfect gentleman.  No more swearing, cussing, on course anger issues.

 

He sat for several hours of interviews.  It was touching to see him embrace his mom and children.

 

I don’t know what more folks expect from him.

 

Maybe Lindsay Vaughn doesn’t like him anymore, but I do.

.

[Shaw66]

44 minutes ago, Lurker said:

This just in:  people change, mature and grow in new and sometimes unexpected ways as they go through life.    

 

Was Tiger a world class dick when he was "Master of the Universe" good in his 20's and early 30s?     You bet.     

 

But his failures since 2009 appear to have given him new perspective.   At age 43, he appears to be more at peace with himself.   And open to being "one of the guys" (as evidenced by how many players waited at 18 to congratulate him), rather than aloof and above the crowd.   

 

That's why so many people are digging his win, IMO.    It's a different, better "Tiger the man, not just the player" we witnessed yesterday.   He could have given up and lived in infamy on all his millions.   But he kept grinding and trying to find his game, even at the risk of becoming a sad side show or laughing stock.     

 

That's the quintessential story of reinvention and perseverance that's so American we all embrace it.

It is the quintessential story.

 

As for his transformation because of all he's been through, I don't know, but I'm guessing that's the story the media want to tell. Tiger is great for the media.  Everyone wants to see and hear more about Tiger.  So this is the perfect story to tell.

 

I'm guessing that now that he's won and cried, he will be the same old Tiger. The press won't write about it,  because the readers don't want to hear about or see the real Tiger.  

 

I hope you're right, but tigers rarely change their stripes.

35 minutes ago, Boca BIlls said:

TBH I have a hard time finding someone that hates him.

Talk to his former friends. 

[The Senator]

23 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

I hope you're right, but tigers rarely change their stripes.

 

I thought that was Zebras ?

.

Edited April 15, 2019 by The Senator

[Warcodered]

 

[Foxx]

1 hour ago, The Senator said:

 

I understand he was a ***** when he was young.  (So was Jim Kelly.)

 

I’m told that with age comes wisdom.  At the least, most of us mellow with time, age, and life’s trials and tribulations.

 

What I saw yesterday was a perfect gentleman.  No more swearing, cussing, on course anger issues.

 

He sat for several hours of interviews.  It was touching to see him embrace his mom and children.

 

I don’t know what more folks expect from him.

 

Maybe Lindsay Vaughn doesn’t like him anymore, but I do.

.

time is a funny thing. it has a way of beating you down and humbling you. the man has been through hell, mostly of his own making. his demeanor says that he learned a thing or two along the way.

 

i'm glad Tiger won yesterday. 

Edited April 15, 2019 by Foxx

[stuvian]

the uber talented do not live in the same world as us nor do they abide by the same rules so of course their sense of self is distorted

[CommonCents]

?

[Happy]

4 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

Tiger Woods is among the least likeable athletes of the past thirty years. Excellent golfer, but an epic shitlord.

 

 

 

Awesome post.  Succinctly stated.  I equated Tiger's Masters win to the Pats SB win.  Didn't want to see either.

 

4 hours ago, teef said:

all i could think about was how poorly that guy has aged over the last 10 years.

 

After what he's been through, though mostly brought upon himself, not surprising.  I do admire how Tiger battled back from seemingly insurmountable odds between his spinal surgery and reckless life decisions.  Many would have given up.

[Kirby Jackson]

Tiger is one of my 2 favorite athletes ever (along with Jordan). Yesterday was incredible and one of the great moments in sports history, not just golf history. 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, stuvian said:

the uber talented do not live in the same world as us nor do they abide by the same rules so of course their sense of self is distorted

Cool.

 

Not true in all cases, but true in many.

[Gugny]

I've loved Tiger from day one and never stopped.  He showed he was human on the course and off of it.  All the judgers must have one hell of a time living a perfect life.  Tiger is an amazing athlete and an amazing person who .... like all of us .... made mistakes.  Good people do bad things; even if they're world class athletes.

 

GO TIGER!

[Lurker]

5 hours ago, Shaw66 said:

 

As for his transformation because of all he's been through, I don't know, but I'm guessing that's the story the media want to tell. 

 

Are you a golf fan or just someone who follows Tiger casually because of the media coverage?

 

I'm a big PGA fan and have followed the sport closely since long before Tiger.   The Woods I saw yesterday was different from the one during his hay day or even a few years ago.   

 

To my eye, he was calmer and more mature than the Tiger of old.   He took fewer chances but played great strategic golf.   He knows he's not the most powerful ball striker out there any more and is fine with that.  He let his experience guide him around that back nine and played a lot like Nicklaus did--minimizing mistakes as those around him got tighter grips and looser swings.  And his post-win reaction--of pure joy rather than "I'm the Man!" dick-swinging--was real in my view as well.

 

The media is and will continue to go overboard to capture eyeballs and rake in the dough.   F-em, because that's what they do. 

 

But that doesn't mean the story of Tiger's transformation is a media concocted one.   He really does seem different to me.   

 

The proof of the pudding will be if he stays this way--or falls off the wagon with the renewed adulation and goes back to being Old Tiger.   Personally, I don't think he will, but he'll certainly be tempted by the money changers in the weeks and months ahead...

[KD in CA]

6 hours ago, Lurker said:

This just in:  people change, mature and grow in new and sometimes unexpected ways as they go through life.    

 

Was Tiger a world class dick when he was "Master of the Universe" good in his 20's and early 30s?     You bet.     

 

But his failures since 2009 appear to have given him new perspective.   At age 43, he appears to be more at peace with himself.   And open to being "one of the guys" (as evidenced by how many players waited at 18 to congratulate him), rather than aloof and above the crowd.   

 

That's why so many people are digging his win, IMO.    It's a different, better "Tiger the man, not just the player" we witnessed yesterday.   He could have given up and lived in infamy on all his millions.   But he kept grinding and trying to find his game, even at the risk of becoming a sad side show or laughing stock.     

 

That's the quintessential story of reinvention and perseverance that's so American we all embrace it.

 

This.

 

The most stunning thing Sunday was watching his demeanor.  He was stoic throughout, no emotional highs and low as was his calling card for years.

 

And yes, seeing how he was embraced by his competitors, including guys who had just walked off the course ahead of him, was telling.

 

 

Always been a fan, never cared in the least that he choose to bang lots of chicks.  Very happy to see him win again.

 

 

[Foxx]

in a nutshell, this.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1117929343701876736

 

[LeviF]

It's awesome. This man went through a physical and emotional hell the last ten years (some of it of his own making, yes) that would break 99.9 percent of men. Instead he's on top of the world again. 19 suddenly doesn't feel so far away. 

[Figster]

11 hours ago, Gugny said:

I've loved Tiger from day one and never stopped.  He showed he was human on the course and off of it.  All the judgers must have one hell of a time living a perfect life.  Tiger is an amazing athlete and an amazing person who .... like all of us .... made mistakes.  Good people do bad things; even if they're world class athletes.

 

GO TIGER!

I think most of us can relate to this post.  The human, somewhat vulnerable side of Tiger Woods both physically and mentally brings him even closer to our hearts IMO.

 

As we walk the path Eve made for mankind ...

 

 

Thanks OP, Gu for the good posting.

 

 

[Needle]

On 4/15/2019 at 4:26 PM, Joe in Winslow said:

Tiger Woods is among the least likeable athletes of the past thirty years. Excellent golfer, but an epic shitlord.

 

 

Haha this so absurd. Least likeable athlete in the past 30 years? Why because he cheated on his wife or abused pills after numerous surgeries? Or because he wasnt warm and Fuzzy (pun intended) with his co workers?

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

4 hours ago, Needle said:

Haha this so absurd. Least likeable athlete in the past 30 years? Why because he cheated on his wife or abused pills after numerous surgeries? Or because he wasnt warm and Fuzzy (pun intended) with his co workers?

 

 

No, because he was the only athlete more pompous than Tom Brady in that timespan.

 

 

[Needle]

21 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

 

No, because he was the only athlete more pompous than Tom Brady in that timespan.

 

 

I guess I don't find either of them to be overly pompous in comparison to other great athletes.

 

Barry Bonds, Deion Sanders, TO, Antonio Brown, Bubba Watson, Michael Irvin, Big Ben, Serena Williams, Floyd Mayweather, Conor Mcgregor, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, John MCenroe, Andre Rison, Brett Favre, Randy Moss, Jon Jones, All 90s Bills, Roy Jones, Isiah Thomas, Ochocinco, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Bernard Hopkins, Sugar Ray Leonard, Lebron James, Sergio Garcia, Albert Belle, Gary Sheffield, Peyton Manning, John Elway, Dan Marino, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Phil Mickelson, Sidney Crosby, Eric Lindros, Yasiel Puig, Madison Bumgarner, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Rickey Henderson, Emmitt Smith, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Gronk, Aaron Rodgers, Jim Brown, Charles Barkley, Desean Jackson, Odell Beckham, Darrelle Revis, Lawrence Taylor, Tito Ortiz, Leveon Bell, Latrell Sprewell, Paul Pierce, etc. etc. etc.

 

This could go all night.

 

I didn't include arguably the most pompous athlete of all time. He also happens to be the most beloved as well.

Muhammed Ali

[BillsPride12]

Make no mistake, Tiger coming back to win the Master's is the best thing that has happened in professional sports in years! 

[row_33]

He only placed it a foot away on the 16th, a real champ would have aced it under that pressure....

 

 

[row_33]

I was only wiping moisture from my eyes for the 18th and when he hugged his son, I didn’t fall to the ground sobbing....

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

I was only wiping moisture from my eyes for the 18th and when he hugged his son, I didn’t fall to the ground sobbing....

 

 

I don't get it. Who cries over the villain?

[row_33]

It was quite enjoyable watching 4 of his competitors put it in the water at the 12th, in about 30 minutes real time.

 

he sized it up and aimed for the fattest part of the green, good move

 

 

[Shaw66]

Thanks for the interesting comments.  For the record, I wasn't at all trying to minimize his achievement.  It was truly remarkable.  

[row_33]

17 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

Thanks for the interesting comments.  For the record, I wasn't at all trying to minimize his achievement.  It was truly remarkable.  

 

I didn't doubt you for a second

 

The last 90 minutes of the broadcast was among the top 3 moments of sports for my 50 years of watching.

 

and us old farts need heroes who can come back against allegedly insurmountable odds, of course he is on severe home turf at Augusta 

 

 

[Shaw66]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

 

I didn't doubt you for a second

 

The last 90 minutes of the broadcast was among the top 3 moments of sports for my 50 years of watching.

 

and us old farts need heroes who can come back against allegedly insurmountable odds, of course he is on severe home turf at Augusta 

 

 

We'll see how much home turf matters in the upcoming majors.   My expectation is that he will compete seriously in at least some of them.   The guy is a great, great golfer, and nothing he does amazes me, including his most recent win.  

[Logic]

@Shaw66, if you haven't read the article at the following link, I highly recommend it. It captures very eloquently the whole "to root for Tiger or not" debate and beautifully puts into words what Sunday's win meant for Tiger the man.

https://www.si.com/golf/2019/04/15/tiger-woods-wins-masters-golf-greatest-comeback-green-jacket?fbclid=IwAR0yMGZxnxXjQYXociS_Vqy3jhPeWihykVAvtpc1toW4xVQW-Ul2t4QkfcM

 

 

"Woods said it at least three times during Masters week, but let’s say it again: He did not expect to be our Tiger Woods again. When he underwent Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion surgery in April 2017, he wasn’t even thinking about golf. He just wanted to be dad to Sam (who is now 11) and Charlie (10). He wanted to live, he says, 'a normal life.'

The surgery worked so well that he started playing again, and he played so well that he started believing again. With his normal life restored, he slipped back into his abnormal life.

He had won this tournament first as a son and now as a father. He had gone from phenom to cyborg to the man he wanted to be. He managed to save the best parts of himself while shedding his least appealing qualities. There is no stat for that."

 

Edited April 17, 2019 by Logic

[row_33]

50 minutes ago, Shaw66 said:

We'll see how much home turf matters in the upcoming majors.   My expectation is that he will compete seriously in at least some of them.   The guy is a great, great golfer, and nothing he does amazes me, including his most recent win.  

 

if he gets another one, Augusta will be unbearable for the other competitors

[BuffaloHokie13]

Football is far and away my favorite sport, with hockey next behind it, but I truly believe the best thing to watch in all of sports is Tiger Woods playing golf well.

[Shaw66]

22 hours ago, Logic said:

@Shaw66, if you haven't read the article at the following link, I highly recommend it. It captures very eloquently the whole "to root for Tiger or not" debate and beautifully puts into words what Sunday's win meant for Tiger the man.

https://www.si.com/golf/2019/04/15/tiger-woods-wins-masters-golf-greatest-comeback-green-jacket?fbclid=IwAR0yMGZxnxXjQYXociS_Vqy3jhPeWihykVAvtpc1toW4xVQW-Ul2t4QkfcM

 

 

"Woods said it at least three times during Masters week, but let’s say it again: He did not expect to be our Tiger Woods again. When he underwent Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion surgery in April 2017, he wasn’t even thinking about golf. He just wanted to be dad to Sam (who is now 11) and Charlie (10). He wanted to live, he says, 'a normal life.'

The surgery worked so well that he started playing again, and he played so well that he started believing again. With his normal life restored, he slipped back into his abnormal life.

He had won this tournament first as a son and now as a father. He had gone from phenom to cyborg to the man he wanted to be. He managed to save the best parts of himself while shedding his least appealing qualities. There is no stat for that."

 

Thanks. That's a really nice piece. 

 

I will tell you, however, that I don't trust all thos feel good stuff.  Tiger is great press, so the press always writes nice stuff about him.  His horrible behavior on the course was well known to the press but never reported.  

 

I would like nothing better than for Tiger to be a new man, because I like my heroes to be good guys.   The press, because it's in their interest, are going to tell us he's a new man.  Whether he is remains to be seen.

 

In the meantime, what he did is what makes us love watching sports.  

[The Senator]

22 hours ago, Logic said:

@Shaw66, if you haven't read the article at the following link, I highly recommend it. It captures very eloquently the whole "to root for Tiger or not" debate and beautifully puts into words what Sunday's win meant for Tiger the man.

https://www.si.com/golf/2019/04/15/tiger-woods-wins-masters-golf-greatest-comeback-green-jacket?fbclid=IwAR0yMGZxnxXjQYXociS_Vqy3jhPeWihykVAvtpc1toW4xVQW-Ul2t4QkfcM

 

 

"Woods said it at least three times during Masters week, but let’s say it again: He did not expect to be our Tiger Woods again. When he underwent Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion surgery in April 2017, he wasn’t even thinking about golf. He just wanted to be dad to Sam (who is now 11) and Charlie (10). He wanted to live, he says, 'a normal life.'

The surgery worked so well that he started playing again, and he played so well that he started believing again. With his normal life restored, he slipped back into his abnormal life.

He had won this tournament first as a son and now as a father. He had gone from phenom to cyborg to the man he wanted to be. He managed to save the best parts of himself while shedding his least appealing qualities. There is no stat for that."

 

 

Eloquently stated!

.

[row_33]

1 hour ago, Shaw66 said:

Thanks. That's a really nice piece. 

 

I will tell you, however, that I don't trust all thos feel good stuff.  Tiger is great press, so the press always writes nice stuff about him.  His horrible behavior on the course was well known to the press but never reported.  

 

I would like nothing better than for Tiger to be a new man, because I like my heroes to be good guys.   The press, because it's in their interest, are going to tell us he's a new man.  Whether he is remains to be seen.

 

In the meantime, what he did is what makes us love watching sports.  

 

they didn't get the mute button pressed on him fast enough 3 times during the final round... 

 

 

[Shaw66]

22 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

they didn't get the mute button pressed on him fast enough 3 times during the final round... 

 

 

That's funny.  

 

There's a part of me that doesn't like his intensity, which leads to him acting out from time to time.  At the same time, his intensity is what makes who he is.   Not a perfect comparison, but Tiger and Richie Incognito have a bit of the same problem.  

 

And, if you believe the reports, McDermott and Beane have it, too.  There's a couple of tightly wired guys.    I love the story about Beane, who was such a student of basketball that they let him coach the JV team when he was a senior in high school.   In the first two minutes of his first game, he got two technicals and was tossed!   Gotta love a guy who wants it that bad.  Tiger has that.