As I can imagine, very few of you took the time over the weekend to catch the Ryder Cup. For those who don't know, the Ryder Cup is played every two years and is a 12 versus 12-man team international golf competition in a sport dominated by individual performances.
Indeed, it is a highly contested tournament, yet it is a competition in which Europe dominates. I'll point out some things the Europeans do that Americans should emulate.
First off, the Europeans always have fun regardless of where the Cup is held. What happened to playing sports just for the helluva it?
In today's society, athletes are more concerned with making money than having fun or ever stopping to reminisce why they became professionals in the first place. While watching the Ryder Cup, I observed the European players smiling, joking around and even puffing stogies all while shooting a round of golf.
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson played 36 holes together and they spoke about as often as a deadbeat father does to his estranged wife. You could tell the Europeans were having fun. The Americans forced grins through clinched teeth and their smiles were about as sincere as their final scores. I guess there is nothing to smile and joke about when your partner hits the ball underneath a 50-foot elm.
They looked like there were having about as much fun as Bobby Knight at an anger management clinic.
Another thing: the Americans should learn from the Europeans how to play as a team. The Americans have more individual talent no doubt, yet the Europeans win routinely because they play like a team. Year after arduous year, the European players travel together, play practice rounds together, and even share lodging and meals together. They get to know each other and are very friendly. The only time the American golfers speak to each other is when they are out on the course. Tiger and Phil get along about as well as AI and Larry Brown did in Philadelphia.
Last but not least, I'd like the Americans to observe how the Europeans react to the problems they encounter. The Europeans are riding that gigantic cloak known as the underdog role.
If they win: Great. If not, they were supposed to lose. The European golfers go out and perform like a well-disciplined brigade does in battle.
They only think about what they need to do to get their team on top and nothing else clouds their vision. To the Europeans, winning the Ryder Cup is a matter of pride and honor.
However, the Americans can only think about how they are supposed to win and dominate this event. The Americans play golf trying "not to lose" instead of playing to win. Americans are too focused on the end result. For the Americans, winning is still very important, however it only is a cup. No pride is at stake because they all will get paid for their next tournament that a golfer competes in.
Our top golfers could learn a thing or two from the way the Europeans carry themselves and bring more purity back to golf.
Write to Ryan at rademos@bsu.edu
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