Official 2013 US Open Thread

[mtangelsfan]

Read an article on yahoo where they were interviewing Mahan, he was saying a lot of the younger players really like Phil.  That he helps the younger players out a lot.

 

I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle. 

[LBHalos17]

I played ball with Jeff Kent until high school (when he continued, and I switched for a bit to swimming and water polo).  He was an arrogant ass, but it was mostly about how focused he was on making it to the MLB.  He was a decent teammate in high school as far as I heard, but gawd help you if you got in the way of his MLB mission.

 

I think that if you think of your sport as a job, you're allowed to be assertive/protective of your brand.

[Adam]

I played ball with Jeff Kent until high school (when he continued, and I switched for a bit to swimming and water polo).  He was an arrogant ass, but it was mostly about how focused he was on making it to the MLB.  He was a decent teammate in high school as far as I heard, but gawd help you if you got in the way of his MLB mission.

 

I think that if you think of your sport as a job, you're allowed to be assertive/protective of your brand.

 

Great point. Same in business. I work in a small industry of about 400 small to medium businesses across the country. Everyone knows everyone and it is the rare exception that two separate business owners truly like one another. There is usually animosity, distrust, arrogance, etc. 

 

What are there? 250 US PGA Tour members? Probably very similar, but with much higher stakes.

[Brandon]

This is why I have never had a problem with Tiger or Kobe, etc. There takes a certain focus and drive to be at the top, even for people like us. You can't knock someone just because they don't live up to your standards and are deemed a dick for solely focusing on a career path.

We all hear the Lefty comments, but I agree with MT to an extent. About a year or so ago Brendan Steele won a tournament and had a little run and ESPN had him on and I even waited around to hear him because I follow and root for him since he is a local kid (From around Hemet/San Jacinto, went to UCR) and he talked a lot about how Phil has taken him and Keegan under his wing and really work with them on many aspects as a pro and even with their swings. Kind of a trip to see someone praise him and talk so highly of him off the course.

[mtangelsfan]

I'm betting Phil has a pretty good ego.  He probably likes the idea of bestowing his wisdom on the younger kids.  That is ok though, almost no charity is truly selfless.  It's just good that he does. 

 

One thing awesome about the PGA, they produce a ton of charity money.  The players may not all like each other, but pro golfers are usually the coolest atheletes to the fans and media.

[nate]

They recently ranked all athletes charities and Tiger's was #1 as far as quality and quantity.

 

I don't remember what other golfers were on there but there were tons.  Golf is huge about promoting the game.  I think they get people involved more than any other sport.

[Adam]

It seems every industry, sport, hobby, interest, etc. produces a subculture. In the diet and fitness world - vegans, paleo people, crossfiters, body builders - all of them are judgmental toward other groups and ideologies. Surfers are generally complete asshats. Cops are dicks. I saw it first hand at its worst in the comedy world. Rarely does anyone recognize the merits or abilities of others.