Sunday View

Whether its main stream sports talk, local publication, or the proverbial ‘water cooler’ chatter, everyone is talking about the Masters.  And for good reason.  I’ll be honest, I’m not a big golf guy.  I suppose I’ve always found the storylines of a Major somewhat interesting, and when Tiger was dominating I’d check it out here and there for clips lasting no longer than 10 or 15 minutes.  But often times the low talking announcers, the peacefulness of the course and the overall ‘spa like’ feel of live golf often acted as a NyQuil of sorts on a Sunday afternoon.  The 2011 Masters did not fit that mold.  Instead, I’d describe the Masters in a word I’ve never used for it: Fun.  I found myself torn during a few points in the afternoon flipping back and forth between golf on CBS and a battle between the Chicago Bulls and the Orlando Magic on ABC.  Here I had Derrick Rose going off for 39 points while playing my favorite sport and somehow I kept getting sucked into watching guys I had never heard of play a sport I myself have played around 10 times.  Oddly I loved every minute of it.  In a way, the 2011 Masters had a first round March Madness feel to it in that nearly every other minute the camera was snapping to someone I had never heard of hitting a big shot to take the lead or an unfortunate stroke to either lose a lead or simply collapse.  Just from listening to all the commentary after the event, it doesn’t sound like golf had ever seen an entire day like that before.  Somehow words like ‘rapid’ and ‘energy’ were attached to possibly the slowest sport outside of fishing.  Tiger charging back and making a run made it that much more interesting.  Originally that was the reason I was tuning in, to possibly watch history take place.  After Woods nailed that eagle on the par 5 eighth, me and the buddy I was watching with were literally up off the couch.  That my friends, was a first for me.  The fist pump that followed was classic.  I didn’t plan on it, but I found myself rooting for him.  And although he didn’t end up having a strong  back nine and finished tied for fourth, I watched history take place regardless.  A piece of that history was watching Rory McIlroy fall apart.  It was like watching a pigeon eat rice…pure implosion (I know that’s a myth but I couldn’t pass on the reference).  You knew the kid was in trouble when he was practically chipping off a ‘Welcome’ mat in the front yard of one of those cottages.  And when you didn’t think it could get worse for the 21-year-old, he began pegging trees.  I hope for his sake he comes back stronger and doesn’t let this nightmarish meltdown kill his confidence moving forward.  He seems like a really good kid.  And is it just me or is there a serious lack of American talent on the tour?  They kept showing the leaderboard graphic with the correlating national flag next to the name, and there were so many colors being represented it was like a gang filled prison yard (sponsored by Skittles).  Just another reason to root for Tiger I guess.  All in all I’m really glad I watched it.  I learned a lot more about the game, and I’ve surprised myself by having legitimate interest in the next championship.  Oh, and I almost forgot…A guy named Charl Schwartzel now owns a green jacket.  I heard it’s a big deal.