10 things I think, I think
1. Some people just like to say "College Football is better than NFL". Excuse me?! How can a system as flawed as College Football compete against a well oiled NFL machine. Yeah, I know all about players playing for passion in college as oppossed to money in the NFL. Let me clue you in on something : Nothing in America goes truly by passion. If NCAAF is not a direct gateway to the NFL, college athletes just won't care enough to play it.
2. Non-Golfing reasons for why Tiger Woods is so popular:
a. Name. "Tiger" What a name! It has to be the greatest first name in the history of athlete names. Well, don't argue that golfers aren't athletes. That's a different post. You know what I mean here.
b. Race: Tiger is 1/2 Asian (Mother is Thai), 1/4 Black, 1/8 Native American, 1/8 Chinese. 1/16th Caucasian. Admit or not, we are all a little bit racist in this regard. Being a multiracial specimen, most people can think of Tiger as their own and hence like him a little better than the next guy.
c. Non-Controversial: The guy never says the politically incorrect statements. Be it women playing the PGA, or his relationship with Lefty, he never publicly says the wrong things. That basically gives no room to hate him.
d. Emotion. The great ones always display their emotions beautifully during the game. Whether it is in success or failure, they make sure they look good on TV. Jordan, Kobe 'esque. Tiger's 'long putt-fist pump', his 'bunker shot-sand in the eye' moves are right up there with the best of them.
e. Looks. Does it automatically make me gay to admit that another guy is good looking? "Not that there's anything wrong with that", but seriously, Tiger's looks play a huge part in his popularity.
Why isn't Vijay Singh any more popular? On the Golf course, he dominated Tiger in Tiger's prime for about 2 1/2 years. Still, he isn't anywhere on the 'most liked' list. Go back to points (a) through (e), and see if it fits Vijay. He is an ugly desi-Fijian, who shows no emotion, no signature moves, openly says the politically incorrect statements, and has a Singh at the end of his name. Poor guy. Actually, I do like Vijay better than Tiger.
3. Did you know that my favorite baseball player is Scot Hatteberg? I think he has the best At-Bats. He can pull the ball, hit it to the opposite field, hit for average, hit for power, walk, his outs are always useful, he puts such good wood on the ball, he is clutch, doesn't strike out a whole lot. I can't say enough great things about Hatteberg. He is my boy!
4. I can't sit through a soccer game even if a naked cheerleader is running around with 'em boys.
5. Talking about cheerleaders, I always wonder why that is not a part of Baseball. If not in all 81 home games, at least they could come out on the weekends and the playoffs. There is plenty of room in the foul territory for them to dance. I bet it would increase ticket sales.
6. NBA's biggest day is the opening night. The next best is when Lebron's in town. The rest of the season is just so-so. And why the hell is NBA playoff's so freaking long? If I were the commish, I'd bring the first 2 rounds to a best-of-5. Even better - just get in the top 12 teams instead of 16. I know, I know! It all comes down to money, doesn't it?
7. "Superbowl is the biggest day in all of sports in the world", according to Americans. Wouldn't it hurt them to know that nobody outside of U.S really cares? And if not for the ads most Americans won't care either.
8. Racial Oddities: Ever wondered why there aren't any black catchers in Baseball? What about white wide receivers in the NFL? Is there any pure black golfer in the PGA? Where 80% of the athletes in Football are black, why is the entire offensive line of most teams white? There are no black kickers/punters in any team, college or pro. How about running backs? No whiteys in the backfield. (No. Fat fullbacks don't count). Outside of QB's and kickers, name 3 white guys in the NFL that are not fat.
9. Of late you have probably read several geniuses writing about how Baseball has more parity than NFL given all the different world series winners and how badly the big spenders are failing. I'll believe there is parity when some team other than the Yankees or Red Sox make the playoffs from the AL East.
10. Of Sachin Tendulkar, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriguez who is the least clutch? I can't decide.
2. Non-Golfing reasons for why Tiger Woods is so popular:
a. Name. "Tiger" What a name! It has to be the greatest first name in the history of athlete names. Well, don't argue that golfers aren't athletes. That's a different post. You know what I mean here.
b. Race: Tiger is 1/2 Asian (Mother is Thai), 1/4 Black, 1/8 Native American, 1/8 Chinese. 1/16th Caucasian. Admit or not, we are all a little bit racist in this regard. Being a multiracial specimen, most people can think of Tiger as their own and hence like him a little better than the next guy.
c. Non-Controversial: The guy never says the politically incorrect statements. Be it women playing the PGA, or his relationship with Lefty, he never publicly says the wrong things. That basically gives no room to hate him.
d. Emotion. The great ones always display their emotions beautifully during the game. Whether it is in success or failure, they make sure they look good on TV. Jordan, Kobe 'esque. Tiger's 'long putt-fist pump', his 'bunker shot-sand in the eye' moves are right up there with the best of them.
e. Looks. Does it automatically make me gay to admit that another guy is good looking? "Not that there's anything wrong with that", but seriously, Tiger's looks play a huge part in his popularity.
Why isn't Vijay Singh any more popular? On the Golf course, he dominated Tiger in Tiger's prime for about 2 1/2 years. Still, he isn't anywhere on the 'most liked' list. Go back to points (a) through (e), and see if it fits Vijay. He is an ugly desi-Fijian, who shows no emotion, no signature moves, openly says the politically incorrect statements, and has a Singh at the end of his name. Poor guy. Actually, I do like Vijay better than Tiger.
3. Did you know that my favorite baseball player is Scot Hatteberg? I think he has the best At-Bats. He can pull the ball, hit it to the opposite field, hit for average, hit for power, walk, his outs are always useful, he puts such good wood on the ball, he is clutch, doesn't strike out a whole lot. I can't say enough great things about Hatteberg. He is my boy!
4. I can't sit through a soccer game even if a naked cheerleader is running around with 'em boys.
5. Talking about cheerleaders, I always wonder why that is not a part of Baseball. If not in all 81 home games, at least they could come out on the weekends and the playoffs. There is plenty of room in the foul territory for them to dance. I bet it would increase ticket sales.
6. NBA's biggest day is the opening night. The next best is when Lebron's in town. The rest of the season is just so-so. And why the hell is NBA playoff's so freaking long? If I were the commish, I'd bring the first 2 rounds to a best-of-5. Even better - just get in the top 12 teams instead of 16. I know, I know! It all comes down to money, doesn't it?
7. "Superbowl is the biggest day in all of sports in the world", according to Americans. Wouldn't it hurt them to know that nobody outside of U.S really cares? And if not for the ads most Americans won't care either.
8. Racial Oddities: Ever wondered why there aren't any black catchers in Baseball? What about white wide receivers in the NFL? Is there any pure black golfer in the PGA? Where 80% of the athletes in Football are black, why is the entire offensive line of most teams white? There are no black kickers/punters in any team, college or pro. How about running backs? No whiteys in the backfield. (No. Fat fullbacks don't count). Outside of QB's and kickers, name 3 white guys in the NFL that are not fat.
9. Of late you have probably read several geniuses writing about how Baseball has more parity than NFL given all the different world series winners and how badly the big spenders are failing. I'll believe there is parity when some team other than the Yankees or Red Sox make the playoffs from the AL East.
10. Of Sachin Tendulkar, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriguez who is the least clutch? I can't decide.
posted by Sriram at 11:01 AM
2 Comments:
Super post machi !
I dont think college football is popular for the passion on part of the players. Its popular because there are teams in places where a Pro Team would never step foot. The locals dont have anything else to cheer about , so they get revved up for their college team. I think thats why CFB is popular.
I mean think about the teams that are popular and the pro teams in thier city. Except for maybe exceptions like USC,Arizona etc , all the teams are in towns that there is no other sport.Notre Dame,Ohio State,Penn State , Auburn, Alabama etc etc....
Also I would agree for a first round best of 5.
Nice post...
Point # 1 : Agreed. With the BSC issues and all, it makes NFL definitely better run. But the fact is that less than 30-40% of the student athletes have aspirations to become NFL pros and less than 10 % actually make it. So the motivation is not always an NFL career.
After reading your list to see why tiger is popoular, while I agree all that is true, the guy def.ly has charisma. People power - he just has that innate gift to captivate a viewer. Vijay singh has done really well agreed, but Tiger has dominated the sport like nobody else. I think the comparison is analogous to Agassi and Sampras. Agassi is good. But Sampras is better.
3. Nothing wrong in liking hattereberg. I used to like Robbie alomar for much the same reasons. Used to work the count every at bat, his opposite field ability, and his clutch hits...but when people hesrd this form me..they were like "What ? Robbie ? Who's that"
4. Soccer Sucks !! I agree :)
5. Cheerleading - Nice idea. I am not sure why they havent thought of that ? Is this one more of Selig's idiosyncracies ?
7. Right. Nobody would. But you've got to give it to these guys for making the superbowl interesting for different demographics.
8. I think most of the oddities can be explained by "how cool" the position looiks for people in a race.
9. Me too !
10. I think stronger cases can be made for sachin and alex compared to peyton. He'll get over the hill this year.
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