By Bryan Thiel, Senior NHL Writer for the Puck Drop
Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers to ever live. You'd climb over a mountain of scorpions to be able to drive like him, his spin and accuracy are the stuff of legend, he has an extremely hot, extremely Swedish wife, and if Barry Bonds had just worked out really hard instead of doing steroids...well he'd probably look something like Tiger.
So why can't the man who has it all (along with numerous PGA titles, a list of sponsors larger than the National debt, and a heart-warming personality when you aren't talking in his swing) make up his mind?
About hockey no less.
A few weeks ago during the Stanley Cup finals, Tigers was asked to make a prediction between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He kept a straight face for all of three seconds, and then started to snicker:
"That's great" he said in between chuckles, "I'm not worried about hockey, it's all about the [Los Angeles] Dodgers for me. Nobody watches hockey anymore"
Following that statement, there was an uproar. Greg Caggiano absolutely loathes the man, Stephen Colbert is doing all he can to not rip Woods apart in front of Leafs Nation, and John Fennelly? Well he feels Tiger should just stick to his bling.
Maybe Tiger heard the outrage from all of those who followed hockey. Perhaps he realized the error in what he said and wanted to amend the situation, or he figured he could make a quick buck from the NHL for openly endorsing it.
Needless to say, the man with nerves of steel flip-flopped, and dug himself a deeper hole than ever.
A few days ago, when everyone should have been talking about this weekend's U.S. Open, the question about hockey arose again, and a distinctly different answer came from Woods' mouth:
"I love watching the sport, just not on TV. It [TV] doesn't do justice to what they [the players] can do."
Out of nowhere, the NHL went from being a sport nobody watched, to a sport that only really does itself justice for those seeing it live.
Granted the glow-puck idea doesn't help that much, but really?
Tiger, I've got news for you—whether television does the sport justice or not, people are going to tune in. Ask TSN, Sportsnet, Versus, NBC, and CBC.
Sidenote: I'm going to give you a hint here—TV doesn't do any sport justice. There is nothing that can beat seeing a game live in the stands with people just as rabid as you. Unless you're in a box. Then it's like seeing it on TV and all bets are off.
But then again, you should know about television not "doing justice" to a sport shouldn't you?
To say that television doesn't do credit to hockey is like saying Jerry Springer does justice to dysfunctional families—there's always something more serious behind the scenes.
For every disturbing afternoon of comedy that Springer offers, an office romance breaks up a legitimate marriage each day, and for every "unwatched" game of hockey there's an entire afternoon of golf that people sleep through until you Mr. Woods, are on the 18th green.
I mean, if it wasn't for you Tiger, golf wouldn't have had the resurgence it did and may have been without a major television contract, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, and Sergio Garcia wouldn't be the household names that they are because of a lack of TV coverage, and my Sunday afternoons would still be full of old episodes of The Simpsons and Family Guy, instead of whatever final round of whatever tournament it is that you happen to be playing in that weekend.
Am I saying this because I hate golf? No. I feel the same way about golf that Tiger feels about hockey: television probably doesn't do it justice (although having never been to a live golf event, I can't be sure). I could go and play golf every day if I was good enough or had the time to—I just can't sit through more than 10 minutes of coverage of 56 different people tapping in for par on the same hole.
I'd tell you to try watching your own sport on TV Tiger, but apparently you're playing every Sunday. It's really too bad.
So again, does television do anything justice? No it doesn't. Comics are funnier, sports are more dramatic, and nature is more beautiful and serene in person.
Just sign off on the reality-check before you tell me that my sport is boring on TV Tiger—it'll probably be the only check you ever give to me anyhow.
No comments:
Post a Comment