I slowly rolled over in my bed on Sunday morning and glanced at my clock to see that it was 7:45 a.m.
Ugh.
I needed more sleep — lots of it — after a late night that was capped off by a viewing of the classic movie “Wayne’s World” on the USA Channel from 3-5 a.m.
But after a few tosses and turns and with the bright sunlight peeking through the curtains, I realized that sleep just wasn’t going to happen.
So I turned on the TV, and got hooked.
Hooked by none other than Tiger Woods.
I just laid there and watched Woods do what he does best — dominate a field of professional golfers.
This time he was in St. Andrews, Scotland, playing in the prestigious British Open.
The dude was nailing pars and birdies like they were nothing and on his face was a look of relaxation. It was as if he didn’t realize he was playing on the course where the game of golf originated and as if he didn’t seem to notice the thousands of spectators making fools of themselves by rushing from hole-to-hole to catch a glimpse of the greatest golfer in the world today.
Sure, I could have used the sleep that morning, but I had no problem watching this golf phenom tear up the competition and win by eight strokes with a record-breaking score of 19-under.
With the win, Woods became the youngest player ever to win the career Grand Slam, meaning he captured wins at all four majors. At the precious age of 24, Woods became only the fifth person ever to have won the British Open, the PGA Championship, the Masters and the US Open.
In less than four years as a pro, Woods has already earned about $20 million in prize money.
One would think he has reached the top of his game, but according to his father, the best is yet to come.
“What you’re seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg,” Earl Woods told Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly this week. “Tiger is going to get better, more efficient and more effective.”
Wow. I’ll be watching…
As great a performance as Woods put on, another American deserves equally as many props for his efforts.
Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France.
Not impressed?
Well, did I mention that he’s a cancer survivor, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer four years ago?
And did I mention that the Tour de France is a gut-wrenching 21 day, 2,250 mile race that includes the most treacherous of mountains?
The guy is unbelievable.
And so is the actual event. Could you imagine spending three whole weeks on a bike in not-so-friendly conditions? I would be winded from just driving up the types of hills they had to bike up.
Armstrong won the world’s premier bicycling race for the second straight year, and had every reason to drink champagne — as he did while still on his bicycle, approaching the finish line on Sunday.
Bottoms up…
While Woods and Armstrong lived up to the hype, Maurice Green and Michael Johnson both did the opposite.
After nearly two weeks of emotionally charged competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif., it all came down to one race.
The one race that NBC conveniently scheduled as the last race to further suck every last ounce of hype from it.
It was the Johnson vs. Greene 200 meter battle. One-on-one, as advertised.
But guess who won? John Capel.
And guess who didn’t even finish the race? Greene and Johnson, due to hamstring problems.
So neither gets to compete in the 200 meters in Sydney.
Both do, however, get to represent their country in the 100 and 400 meters, respectively.
But America, it seems, is let down.
Get over it folks. There’s many more great athletes who deserve to be recognized for their efforts.
In the words of Aesop:
“We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.”