My good buddy Vee,
Thanks for the article as it was a pleasure to read. The whole Yankee-Red Sox rivalry is always an intriguing one that is respected by all baseball fans, gurus and historians alike. Baseball enthusiasts everywhere get excited whenever those two teams tangle and your article is a great summation of a Yankee’s perspective on visiting enemy Fenway.
Being the huge Tiger fan that I am and knowing full well that you also follow golf, I’d like to see someone explain New York’s fascination with the biggest fake on tour, Phil Mickelson. The reason I’d like to see this happen is that I just don’t understand why New Yorker’s, of all people, gather and rally around a guy like Phil so much. From what I know about NY people, they’re extremely hard workers who are very competitive people that focus on winning. Phil does work hard, no doubt, but uses tournaments to “warm up” for majors. So when he doesn’t play well or win, his typical excuse is that, “my mind was really on the British this week” (see 2006 Cialis Western Open where he TANKED that tournament and then TANKED again at Hoylake). What New Yorker, or golf fan for that matter, wants to go and pay to see a tournament in which Loser Lefty is just “warming up” instead of trying to win whenever he tees it up (see Tiger Wood’s attitude and mentality)? What does that say about him playing for the fans? What does that say about his level of respect towards the tour and its sponsors? I doubt any NYer goes to Yankee stadium excited about watching their beloved Yanks “warm up” against the Blue Jays in a way to get ready to play the Sox in a week. No !*@&%$# way. Does Derek Jeter use interleague games against the NL to get ready to play his real foes in the AL? Doubt it. Did Andy Petitte re-sign with the Yanks this year because he enjoys the weather in NY more than the sunny skies of Houston? Gimme a break, he came to WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Phil’s latest adventure this past weekend is another story that fuels my Phil hatred. He arrived in Dallas on Monday, checked into a hotel and was ready to practice and go to his scheduled pro-am on Wednesday. The PGA Tour strictly states that pros must play in the Wednesday pro-am prior to teeing it up on Thursday else they are disqualified. Fat Phil once again leaves to go to Podunk, AR to some other function knowing full well what the rules are and also knowing that inclement weather was on the way. Let’s face it, golfers more than any other athletes, have to watch weather patterns to prepare for their sport. He then can’t make it back by Wednesday for the pro-am and then gives a sob story to tour officials why he couldn’t make it and that the matter was out of his control (man, would I have LOVED to hear that conversation)! The tour goes ahead and gives him a slap on the wrist (bad Phil) and allows him to play. He flat out used his star power for personal gain and goes on to a T3 finish at Mr. Nelson’s tournament. Golf is a game of honor, character, integrity and class. In my short stint (it was too short) with my great NY friends down here in Houston, all of them carried these traits. Where is the honor in Phil’s actions here? The professional would’ve said, “I screwed up. I can’t play and shouldn’t out of respect for the tour, its sponsors and my fellow competitors who have fulfilled their pro-am obligations Wednesday.”
In closing, #*&% PHIL, *$%@ PHIL, %#$! PHIL!!!!!!! I can’t stand him and will never root for him! I root for winners, men of class and honor who go out to win every time they tee it up (Tiger, Vijay Singh, Anthony Kim, Lucas Glover, Calc, Retief Goosen). Guys that are not only competitive, but guys who have enough class to admit when they’re wrong. This EDS Byron Nelson incident from Phil should not be thrown under the carpet. This opens up a can of worms for all other tour players and could’ve been squashed had Phil done the right thing. He of course didn’t and should be punished by not only the tour, but his loyal fans in NY as well as all others and sponsors should be all over his a$*! That’s my take and take it for what it’s worth. It’s great to hear from you, as always, Vee. Talk to you soon.
Tiger fan for life,
Jared (Houston, TX)
Great to hear from you bro. I think you were missing a couple of e’s when you said Vee. If I remember correctly you, Jonesy and JVD used to say Veeeeeeeeeeee…But moving on that was a great take you had on Hefty (my favorite nickname for him supplied by the sultan of smack, Jim Rome) aka Phil Mickelson.
I agree with a lot of what you said and here is my explanation for what. First of all let me state that I used to be a bigger fan of Hefty’s when I was younger. I was glad when he won the Master’s because having the label of being “the best player to never win a major” is never fun. That being said, since he isn’t very clutch and does lousy in International competition, I don’t respect him as much as I used to.
Your thoughts on PM reflect a lot of the controversy surrounding Phil. Most fans that follow the sport either love him or hate him because they think that he is a big phony because he is always smiling like one. I don’t really think NY is much different than that. Our “Love Affair” with him was only really publicized after the U.S. Open at Bethpage. I think it really got blown out of proportion. On bigger stages, NY tends to be a little more excited and this was definitely the case - especially since this was the first Open on a public golf course. I was at Winged Foot on Hefty’s day of destruction and yes he had a bigger crowd following him (especially since Eldrick wasn’t in the hunt) but it wasn’t crazy like Bethpage. A lot of people that I talk to around here also don’t like him for reasons similar to the ones you stated.
But the man does have some appeal for the following reason: America loves the loveable loser. Tanking is part of his appeal to a lot of fans. This is especially true when you have an extraordinarily talented person who loves to gamble when he is on the golf course - which is also why we love John Daly. And yes there is a significant difference between Long John and Hefty especially in the way that they carry themselves and also Hefty doesn’t end up in the same situations outside of golf that JD does. But they are loved on the course for essentially the same reason.
I also thought it was interesting how you talked about Phil and his excuse for trying to gear up for majors. He started doing his pre-major routine only a couple of years ago and has had some mixed success. Before doing this he didn’t win any majors and now he has won three. Some people do think he over-prepares though and sometimes he seems to do so. But the biggest reason he has mixed success is because his game is only really built for certain majors. He isn’t very accurate off the tee and he gambles a lot. That pretty much eliminates him from WINNING the U.S. and British Open. Tiger isn’t very accurate either off of the tee but he plays a lot smarter, and that is probably the biggest difference. Phil’s game, in my opinion, really only works at Augusta and sometimes at the PGA (depending on where and how he is hitting the ball). That being said, I loved the jab at H-Town.
As far as what happened with Phil in Dallas here is the reality of the situation. Tiger and Phil get preferential treatment. The stars of any sport get this and it’s not any different in golf. Tiger if he decided on a Tuesday before an upcoming tournament decided he wanted to play (even though the rules, from what I understand, state that you have to register for a tournament on a Friday before the event) I am sure tournament officials would welcome him with open arms. It’s also why stars in other sports get luxuries such as personal suites in hotels on road trips etc.
Preferential treatment is also a knock against us in the Ryder Cup competition from some of the commentators. They say our stars are too pampered and that they don’t care enough to want to win the hallowed Ryder Cup. Apparently in Europe, everyone plays under the same circumstances, without the preferential treatment which is why the team is able to gel better and ultimately win. Unfortunately over here, tournament officials want to make the most revenue possible and will bend over backwards to accommodate the top stars.
As for possible reasons on why he would go to Podunk, AZ it might be because he has a lot of ties to the state (he went to ASU, his sports management agency is in Scottsdale) or because one of his sponsors made him go to an event in AZ. I can’t really explain why he would do that but I can explain why he was only given a slap on the wrist. Oh ya, and both the sponsors of the tournament and the public (casual fans for the most part) would be outraged if Phil was barred from the tournament. It’s unfortunate but true, money talks and so does star power. Again I am not excusing what transpired and I don’t condone what he did but I am trying to explain why this might have happened.
As for the players you mentioned that have class, I would agree that they do have it but Tiger is the only other with the star power to have gotten away with what Hefty did. I don’t really think this is going to open up a big can of worms with other players. It’s not the style of many of the guys on tour. Also, as a brief side note Vijay has been accused of cheating in the past, which shows that nobody is really perfect.
Anyways bro, that’s my response. That was a great take on a heated debate in the golfing community. Thank you for letting us know about what Phil did in Dallas because I wasn’t aware of it, and I am sure not too many others were either. Please continue to read my blog and send in your comments. Out of curiosity, what was the reaction to that event in the Dallas/H-town area?
V-Dawgg
Duuuudddeeeeeeeeeeee,
THAT BLOG WAS COOL! I cannot imagine an experience like that. I like the suit and tie pic too. Anyways, we’ll talk soon, have a good one and thanks for having me in the loop with your blog, it was most definetly a good read.
Hari (Long Island, NY)
Thanks Krishnakov!
That was a great experience (minus the Ynks loosing and the red sux fans) and I am glad that you enjoyed reading it. It’s too bad your Mets don’t have anything close to this. LOL. You can view some of my other blogs here. Check those out too and feel free to comment.
V-Dawgg
