He took some wonderful shots, and made a dozen putts that just burned the edges. If a handful of them had fallen or tipped or wrinkled their way into the hole he would have been in the thick of things. That didn't happen this time, and the man in the funny pants was left to face the press in sadness. He made the cut, but he's no longer part of the story. It's not his weekend for glory or redemption. John Daly fell back.
Sports are like that sometimes. The heroic effort fizzles or falls just short. Last year a 59-year-old Tom Watson needed to make just one more putt to win his four British Open and ninth major with everyone in the world rooting for him but missed the hole and then lost a playoff. We can marvel at athletes in pressure situations, and cry occasionally, when fortune fails and proves that they are human. Defeat and failure are an essential part of the story. Sometimes even victory is bittersweet. Ask Stewart Cink. Last year when he won people said it was like he defeated Santa Claus. Winning became a footnote to the story everyone hoped to read.
Tomorrow two Englishmen and a diminutive South African with a name no one can pronounce with certainty have the best chance at hoisting the Claret Jug. They'll duel in the howling wins. Louis Oosthuizen, 27 years old and never before a contender in a major championship, will try to sleep tonight with a four-shot lead. This morning countrymen Gary Player and Ernie Els called to wish him luck. Will he collapse under the pressure? No one knows. So far he has been calm and steady and in perfect rhythm, even when conditions were daunting. Tomorrow at the birthplace of Golf he has his chance to become a champion or a footnote. John Daly will putt out hours before and wave sadly to the crowd.
Tiger Woods is ten back and hasn't a chance to win. I'm delighted to say his misery continues. He deserves it. As long as he stonewalls the questions and maintains his proud indignance, he deserves every embarrassment he gets. He failed as a person and succumbed to his monstrous appetites, and so far hasn't exhibited the courage or the heart to redeem himself or change the storyline. He squandered an empire and a family. It will be curious to see when he'll gather himself for a true comeback story of his own. He lost twice this weekend, once to St. Andrews, and once to the British press. No doubt he'll find his golf swing, but will he find composure, grace, humility and perspective? He'll have to wait for another weekend to show it. For now Jack Nicklaus' legacy is safe, and his is supremely tarnished.
The most interesting stories in sports are not the results and statistics, the money won and the trophies raised. The most interesting stories are the human ones. They are the reason I watch. Tomorrow will be an interesting day, watching how these men handle victory and defeat.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
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This is the Way the Transformation Begins
"Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say "Why not?"
George Bernard Shaw, Robert F. Kennedy
This is the way the transformation begins.
It begins in me.
It begins now.
It begins with small incremental changes and shifts in attitude
it begins with positive action
failing forward
and suddenly I start looking at the world and my place in it in a new way. I speak differently and dress differently and project a different energy, and the world opens up like a glorious pink azalea bush, eight feet tall and blooming like mad.
photo by Kajo123 from the website flickr.com
Good morning!
An engineer builds a bridge and every bolt and weld has to be exactly right; every measure has to be perfect, or the bridge collapses or fails to take its place. Fantastically detailed blueprints have to be laid out. Impact statements have to be filed, sediment has to be studied, years of effort, months of planning, and a man-made marvel rises in the sky. Park somewhere and take a good look at a bridge, and think of all the skill and knowledge and hard honest work it took to create it. Consider how a few thousand years ago we were living in caves.
It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.
Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.
It is not so with a dream. Some people are remarkable dreamers and dreams spring whole from them, or they can leap up from bed and pages of creative genius flow out of their pen, intricate and perfect. Most of us though are baby dreamers, new at it and tentative to the trust the power of what we wish for.
Start the dream! Whether you want to go to nursing school or college or learn to play the guitar, take a first step, now, even in the wrong direction. Don't wait for the blueprint to come to you, the environmental impact statement, the permits and the 200-page budget and legislative dream approval. Rough it out, sketch it on a napkin, tell a friend, and take action. Your dream begins the moment you step out in first moment of believing, and the result can touch a thousand souls. Listen to Jim Valvano: never give up, never surrender. Believe in the audacity of action and your fantastic potential for change and new opportunity.
The Hawthorne Bridge at sunrise, Portland Oregon. Photo by Joe Collver, from flickr.com
Genuine happiness and success start with an attitude of abundance
Make it a daily practice to begin your day with five minutes of thankfulness. You can even do it in your car on the way to work. Do it in your own way, whether it's thoughtful reflection or a prayer or singing out loud, but focus on your rich, amazing, abundant life.
Feeling grumpy or resentful or worried instead of thankful? Change direction! Consider the incredible gifts you have--mind, body, spirit, senses, your family, your friends, your clothes, your car, and the breakfast you enjoyed this morning. By the standards of 99% of the world, Americans are incredibly, amazingly rich. You truly have no idea how richly blessed you are until you start thinking about it. Even the heart that beats within you and the lungs that breathe your air are an intricate and amazing miracle.
Some of my favorite movies are ones that feature a once-defeated character waking up to an absolutely new day: "It's A Wonderful Life," the various versions of Dicken's "Christmas Carol" and "Groundhog Day." How exhilarating it is for George Bailey to wake up and realize his life isn't over, it's just beginning, and that today truly is a brand new day.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
George returns home to everything he ever wanted.
1 comment:
Dad--
Well I guess that answers my previous Daly question. I still don't know how you watch golf on tv. I can never see the ball.
Me
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