| Anez Sez |
ONE TOUGH TIGER
It's akin to Michael Jordan being on the cover of Sports Illustrated a record 49 times.
Make that three consecutive Sez's on the Topic of the Tiger.
I know it must seem like I am blowing alotta sunshine up Tiger's skirt. Perhaps Sez is angling for a free twosome at Isleworth titled, "Eldrick and Me"? I assure you though, nothing nefarious is going on here. I just callz 'em as I seez 'em.
Tiger Woods is not only the best golfer in the world. He has to be the toughest, most driven athlete on the planet!
Wednesday, Tiger announced that he would forgo the rest of the 2008 schedule to have season ending knee surgery. We've come to find out that Tiger had a torn ACL in his left knee. To add injury to insult, Tiger would also suffer a double stress fracture in his left tibia while rehabbing from arthroscopic surgery last month. So, in essence, Tiger Woods won the 108th U.S. Open on a peg leg, a prayer, and an abundant amount of talent and intestinal fortitude.
Keep in mind that this guy has been playing golf tournaments over the last ten months with that torn ACL, which, is simply unfathomable to Sez considering the torque he exerts on that outside left knee during his power swing. I looked up his stats over that 10 month time period and get this: Tiger won nine of the 12 tournaments he entered, including two majors, and never did the dude finish lower than fifth.
The stress fractures, suffered two weeks prior to the Open, are attributed to rehab after the arthroscopic knee surgery back in April 15.
Tiger's swing coach, Hank Haney says that two weeks prior to the open doctors told Tiger that he'd have to be on crutches for three weeks and then he'd have to undergo three more weeks of inactivity before rehabbing. According to Haney, Tiger told his docs, "I'm playing in the U.S. Open and I'm gonna win."
Where does Tiger's act of courage rank on the all time list of athletes playing in pain? I am not quite sure about that. Willis Reed playing in game seven of the 1970 NBA Finals with a dilapidated knee was pretty impressive. Central Florida resident Jack Youngblood playing Super Bowl XIV with a broken leg was off the charts. A gimpy Kirk Gibson coming off the bench to hit a home run in game one of the 1988 World Series certainly stands out.
But, knowing that Tiger Woods walked approximately 22 miles in five days and played 91 U.S. Open holes on one leg with the other throbbing in immense pain, I'd put this one right up with the greatest acts of playing with pain in sports history.
What others are saying
- Tough Tiger?Let's keep things in perspective. There are thousands of tough young men and women protecting our freedom all over the world. They work, not play, through pain everyday. They don't have an assistant to carry their back packs for them. They don't sleep in a comfortable bed in Islesworth each night nor eat gourmet meals every day. They don't get to hold their babies nor play with their children each day. They are away from their families for months on end. They make for less than $100 million per year. This is true toughness. Thank God for our American Troops.
- TigerBest golfer on the planet and probably of all time? Yes. Toughest Athlete? That's a stretch. A few examples of athletes playing through pain were cited, and don't forget about Don Meredith playing in a football game with a punctured lung. All athletes play through pain sometime in their careers, and this is golf not a contact sport. In contact sports, the opposition often tries to take you out if you are injured. How many professional football players or basketball players are playing at 60 years of age like the players on the senior tour, or even 45 like Rocco Mediate? Yeah, Tiger playing in the U.S. Open with ACL and stress fracture issues is impressive even with Steve carrying his bag for him and handing him drinks, balls, and clubs. However, what is even more impressive to me is the fact that Tiger won the U.S. Open with relatively little preparation. While over 100 of the World's greatest golfers were adjusting their schedules and practice sessions for this one tournament, Tiger played 18 holes over two days prior to the Open, and he still won.
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