One chink in the armor.
One crack in the dam.
Then water starts to leak and before you know it...
...
... there's no water behind the dam! (eloquent, Glynn... really eloquent)
Tiger Woods had a pretty bad final round today. Started badly, ended badly, middled badly.
He had a chance to get to 15, and instead he's still 4 back of the Golden Bear.
And for the first time in what seems like... well... ever... I thought that he might not get there. He might not get the record. He might just end up being a footnote. Not really because he'll go down as one of the greatest if not THE greatest ever, but it still planted a seed of doubt.
And it was solidified as they showed him walking up 18. As he was walking up 18, he was doffing his hat, thanking the crowd for their cheers. Then... he tripped. Not a full blown fall on face and pull oneself back up trip. A subtle, tangling of feet that was instantaneously caught and forgotten...
But that's the thing. The old Tiger would not have tripped. He would have been walking confidently. He would have been winning. It would have been a coronation.
But the new Tiger is beatable. The new Tiger doesn't put up a great final round score to win his 15th Major tournament. The new Tiger has a weak link. The new Tiger knows what it means to lose.
He might not get there. But I hope he does.
Showing posts with label tiger woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiger woods. Show all posts
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Email to Bob Lefsetz
Sent today after I read this post:
Great advice in the Shannon Labrie email. Thanks for getting back to music. Although I don't really mind the digressions. This newsletter/ blog is your world, and we're just living in it. People forget sometimes that if you don't like something, you can CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
Not sure if you listen to sports radio at all, but Colin Cowherd had some interesting thoughts on his ESPN radio show this morning (AM710 from 7-10am if you're curious). He said there might be a direct connection between socially vicious personalities like Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and achieving success. That the reason people perceive them as so brutal is because they are. Brutally honest. Brutally motivated. Brutally SUCCESSFUL. There's a reason Kobe has 5 rings and Lebron doesn't have any. A reason Tiger Woods was number 1 in the world for 9 out of 11 years and Phil Mickelson is often relegated to an afterthought. A reason Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the most pioneering minds in history and Bill Gates will be remembered as... well... he's really rich, right? All three men have a refusal to compromise and brutal natures when it comes to delivering.
What he was saying reminded me of stuff you've said about rockstars. They live their lives beholden to nothing and no one. They live for their music to the point of alienating everyone and everything. It's not a popularity contest. It's about delivering what they hear in their heads no matter the cost. Go big or go home. If you want a balanced life, you shoulda gone into customer service (interestingly enough, where I am right now), but you wouldn't be playing to those sold out houses if you'd gone that route, now would you?
So many parallels between sports and music. I guess that's why I love both so much.
A lot of parallels between you and Seth Godin, too. And Derek Sivers. And Austin Kleon. Guess that's why I follow all of you on Twitter.
Damn... is there anything more pathetic than a newsletter subscriber name dropping people he only knows through their newsletters...?
And... scene...
Great advice in the Shannon Labrie email. Thanks for getting back to music. Although I don't really mind the digressions. This newsletter/ blog is your world, and we're just living in it. People forget sometimes that if you don't like something, you can CHANGE THE CHANNEL.
Not sure if you listen to sports radio at all, but Colin Cowherd had some interesting thoughts on his ESPN radio show this morning (AM710 from 7-10am if you're curious). He said there might be a direct connection between socially vicious personalities like Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and achieving success. That the reason people perceive them as so brutal is because they are. Brutally honest. Brutally motivated. Brutally SUCCESSFUL. There's a reason Kobe has 5 rings and Lebron doesn't have any. A reason Tiger Woods was number 1 in the world for 9 out of 11 years and Phil Mickelson is often relegated to an afterthought. A reason Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the most pioneering minds in history and Bill Gates will be remembered as... well... he's really rich, right? All three men have a refusal to compromise and brutal natures when it comes to delivering.
What he was saying reminded me of stuff you've said about rockstars. They live their lives beholden to nothing and no one. They live for their music to the point of alienating everyone and everything. It's not a popularity contest. It's about delivering what they hear in their heads no matter the cost. Go big or go home. If you want a balanced life, you shoulda gone into customer service (interestingly enough, where I am right now), but you wouldn't be playing to those sold out houses if you'd gone that route, now would you?
So many parallels between sports and music. I guess that's why I love both so much.
A lot of parallels between you and Seth Godin, too. And Derek Sivers. And Austin Kleon. Guess that's why I follow all of you on Twitter.
Damn... is there anything more pathetic than a newsletter subscriber name dropping people he only knows through their newsletters...?
And... scene...
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Sour and Sweet
Some say you need the sour to appreciate the sweet.
MJ needed those 6 seasons of heartbreak to truly appreciate threepeating... and then the brief descent into retirement fueled his desire for that second threepeat... and I guarantee you it was that much sweeter.
Lance needed to go through cancer and reach the lowest of his lows in order to rebuild himself into a cyclist that would win the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times.
I hope that the pain and shame that LeBron feels right now will fuel the fire that will lead to multiple championships.
I pray that Tiger powers through this valley and finds a way to catapult himself back into golf's elite.
It's such an easy way to explain the hardship, pain, hurdles, setbacks, mistakes, failures...
But it's a lie. We don't need the sour to appreciate the sweet. You just need the patience, the humility, the self-awareness to not take things for granted. But it's difficult to have those things, to conduct oneself with grace and poise, to be content and realize how good you have it.
So when things are going badly, we delude ourselves.
"You need the sour to appreciate the sweet!"
Why can't we just look around and realize that everyday is filled with both so why not focus on the sweet and enjoy what we already have?
*NOTE: Is it ironic that all four athletes I mention in this blog are sponsored by Nike?
MJ needed those 6 seasons of heartbreak to truly appreciate threepeating... and then the brief descent into retirement fueled his desire for that second threepeat... and I guarantee you it was that much sweeter.
Lance needed to go through cancer and reach the lowest of his lows in order to rebuild himself into a cyclist that would win the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times.
I hope that the pain and shame that LeBron feels right now will fuel the fire that will lead to multiple championships.
I pray that Tiger powers through this valley and finds a way to catapult himself back into golf's elite.
It's such an easy way to explain the hardship, pain, hurdles, setbacks, mistakes, failures...
But it's a lie. We don't need the sour to appreciate the sweet. You just need the patience, the humility, the self-awareness to not take things for granted. But it's difficult to have those things, to conduct oneself with grace and poise, to be content and realize how good you have it.
So when things are going badly, we delude ourselves.
"You need the sour to appreciate the sweet!"
Why can't we just look around and realize that everyday is filled with both so why not focus on the sweet and enjoy what we already have?
*NOTE: Is it ironic that all four athletes I mention in this blog are sponsored by Nike?
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