Time to get some things off my shoulders!
Can we all just get along?
I am a liberal. I admit it. Being in Texas can sometimes make that difficult. But, as liberal as I am, it is time to stop thinking everything has some sort of racist attitude or double-meaning attached. People say some pretty stupid things in the name of “trying” to be funny. That is the mistake, not that Kelly Tillman or Johnny Miller has a racist bone in their bodies. Are there racists in the world? Absolutely. Should they be taken off the air or be made to stand at attention during the entire Democratic National Convention, yes. But just as important, there are two major steps we must take to move into the 21st century.
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Let’s leave the one-liners to the comedians. Announcers and analysts need to be just that – announcers and analysts. They need to report on what is happening and try to explain why. They need to stop trying to be what they aren’t. They are not comedians! They are also not mind readers. Stop telling us what someone is thinking when they do not know. Stop saying what shot a player is going to hit when they do not know. Tell us what you think they might try and more importantly, what shot they did hit and why. STOP TRYING TO BE FUNNY; it does not work and only gets you in trouble. Hey Johnny… Italians do not clean pools.
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It is time to give people the “benefit of the doubt” about their stupidity. I am sick of every time someone says something we have to hear from Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton or some group about how the comment was racist. Chances are it was not racist; chances are it was just stupid. Johnny Miller did not need to apologize to Rocco Mediate or the Italian community for his comments. He needed to apologize to all of us for his stupidity; he needed to apologize to all of us because he has no comedic sense. And we need to get some thicker skin. It is time for us to move into a higher state of consciousness. When we play… let’s play hard and have fun. When we work… let’s work hard. When we are worried about issues at hand… let’s worry about something far more important than some commentator making an ass of him or herself for saying something stupid. God knows we have plenty of things on this planet to really get concerned about.
Enough with the seeds –
On a far more important note. Attention Sunflower seed eaters… STOP LEAVING YOUR SEEDS ON THE GREENS. Where do these idiots come from? Have some respect for the others on the golf course. If you drop a shell on the green (or even the tee box) have the courtesy to pick it up. This goes for cigarette and cigar butts also.
And while I am at it, how about picking up your tees after you hit a shot? Where is it written that just because you hit it into the woods you should leave your broken tee in the ground for someone else to grab? If everyone did this and fixed two divots on every green, imagine how much better every course in the world would be.
Who says you have to hit it far –
Let’s hear it for the 48 year olds… Congratulations to my bud Tommy Armour III and his brother Sandy. They finished second last week at the Travelers. Ever since Tommy asked his brother to “get back on the bag”, Tommy seems to be a new old man. He led the field in birdies with 24 and GIR’s at 83%. The thing I love most about Armour is that “he gets it.” More than most on the Tour, Tommy Armour III understands that to stay in the show, you actually have to practice. Armour hits more 5 foot putts than anyone I know (not counting some guy named Tiger.) At 48, most guys are just trying to hang around until they go get the “fun money” on the Champions Tour. Ask Tommy about that and he says, “I believe I can play on this tour for many more years.” Tommy Armour is the next Fred Funk and we need more of these guys.
One last look –
One last comment about the whole being a comedian thing, it goes for players too. Retief Goosen saying, “I was trying to be tongue in cheek.” Dare I say again, let’s leave the jokes to the comedians… if you are a golfer, be a golfer. If you are an analyst, be an analyst.
And, incidentally, Retief – I hope you never have to face Tiger in a Match Play event. If you do, please blog… ”Steven Ames comments to Tiger Woods.”
Have a great week.
