Quote:
Originally Posted by
ryoneo 
^ I don't know about that, man. When I began watching him a few years ago, I did not think much of him either. But watching him through the years how he trained and how mentally tough he was, I quickly changed my mind. To me, he is true essence of what hard work and dedication can do for an athlete. Your right, he might have a cocky presence, but that's just his mentality that he knows he can beat everyone, which he does very often. This is why I usually root for him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Southern-Nupe 
+1
He's the epitome of dedication, practice and hardwork....how can one hate on that?
I'm not hating on his hard work, dedication, or practice. I'm really not hating on him at all. Three is no question that he is one hell of an amazing specimen and I admire and respect that. Just saying that I find him hard to get behind as a fan, that's all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SField 
Umm... he has certainly struggled by his standards. In some tournaments he failed to make the cut, played embarassingly, and was far below his standard. I don't know if you recall, but the "sucky" Mark O'Meara has kind of won a few big tournaments.
Tiger has always been a gracious loser and keeps a pretty cool head. First you say he's cold, then when he celebrates (and single handedly makes golf more exciting more most people), you bitch. What exactly do you want out of him?
I probably overstated the O'Meara case. O'Meara didn't used to suck. However, he's been almost a total non-factor during the productive part of Woods' career.
I think the celebrations are as calculated as the rest of it.
If people like it, that's fine. I never said he's not good for the game - obviously, he's great for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Baron 
It's hard not to like Tiger. Despite all his success and unwordly abilities, he's openly emotional in a relatable way, close to his family, has close friends from college that he pals around with. He's nothing at all like Arod or Kobe or Jordan - guys that are either lack self awareness or friends or are so ruthlessly competetive that it carries over to their personal life.
I still disagree that he's openly emotional. He's totally, totally in control of every interview. Everything he does on the course is meticulously planned. He does have one or two college pals, it's true, but a friend of mine knew him at Stanford and said he was cold and calculating even then. I suppose there was a window there when his father died...
The name of his boat is "Privacy." I think that starts to tell you what you need to know about where he feels like he can be himself.
Oh well, I guess I disagree with most people, but it's not like I didn't already know that. A similar comparison is to Roger Federer, who I have respected but rooted against for several years. Now that he's on his ass, I find him more compelling and I'm actually starting to root for the guy.
Maybe I just like an underdog.