Why not someone other than Tiger?

By Staff
This weekend I sat in the living room perched in front of my TV watching one of the greatest sporting events of the year – the Masters.
Truthfully, this year's tournament did very little to excite me, but it was still fun to watch because of all that goes along with the history and tradition there.
I would not necessarily call myself a particular fan of any particular golfer, but I do tend to find catch myself pulling a little harder for Phil Mickelson and some of the other guys who just appear to have more fun and charismatic personalities. But I guess I am like many other people who end up pulling for Tiger Woods to make a run in most all tournaments simply because of the historical feat involved in almost everything he does.
Each win, each major championship is just a step towards history. I think it's neat watching what he accomplishes even if he might not be the one person I would normally pull for.
But Sunday, as Woods finished as the runner-up for the second year in a row, I began to see what it must be like to live in Woods' shadow.
Just minutes after winning the one tournament he had spent his entire life working for, a reporter asked Masters' winner Trevor Immelman if he felt like winning such an event was a fluke or once in a lifetime event since he was playing in the Tiger Woods' era.
Immelman looked a little shocked by the question for just a moment, then praised Woods for awhile, and then finally looked at the guy and told him that no, it was no fluke, he had worked hard all his life, too.
It struck a chord with me that each one of those players work just as hard as Woods does, yet they are almost expected to expect less than winning.
The next time I sit down to watch a big tournament, I expect nothing less than for someone other than Woods to win.