What's Bad For The Country Is Bad For Golf

I think it's more than coincidence that US mens' teams have done so poorly in international sports in recent years. If it was only one or two teams we could rationalize it away, but it's almost across the board. Thinking back to what my high school coach used to tell us, I'd conclude we are too fat, dumb and spoiled as a nation. There's probably some truth in there, but I believe you have to dig a little deeper to find it.

Our athletes certainly don't appear to be out of shape, so cross off fat. And dumb doesn't seem to apply, at least to golfers. Most have college degrees in something other than 'sports management'. If we changed 'spoiled' to greedy we might be getting close. Greedy means putting profits above everything else, but it can also mean putting individual fame above everything else. I haven't met anyone in recent years who enjoys the personal history essays that populate Olympic coverage in place of watching the competition itself. There's no coverage of biathlon when we have no one in contention, instead we get a half hour interview with Bodie's first grade teacher. No wonder Americans at the northern border have taken to watching the Olympics in Canada.

Look at the coverage and focus we put on even our youngest golfers. This is no reflection on them, but on our society. Michelle Wie already has made $10 million in endorsements without having won a match. Her parents have her trying to play on the men's tour. I'm sure she's already got a clothing line of her own. Under the circumstances how do we adults expect her to grow up without an exaggerated opinion of herself. God forbid that I had to get up everyday and read stories about every mundane thing I did the day before. And yet that's what we've built in this country - a combination of cult of personality and fame driven by size of the bank account. No wonder our athletes can't draw on the kind of values that used to push past champions to achieve seemingly superhuman results while still being humble.

Is it only me that thinks that our top athletes used to realize how lucky they were to be on top. Now it looks to me like they believe they are ordained to be champions and if somehow they don't win 'it's unfair'. The last Ryder Cup the US team took itself way too seriously. Seems like they forgot 'it's only a game'. They're not brain surgeons, there's no life or death issues. It's just a bunch of skilled and LUCKY guys playing a friendly on the best golf courses in the world.

Those long putts on the last hole that go in for the big win, or out for infamy, that may you a national hero or goat - they all require skill, some get the luck as well. Dave Pelz will tell you that the best read and struck put in the world may not go in. No one can account for every blade of grass or microscopic pothole. The new TV cameras that show the pro putts rolling toward the hole in excrutiating detail prove that.

Maybe I'm way off the mark, but I think it's more than coincidence that so many US teams in so many sports have failed to live up to expectations in recent years. What's your theory?