After spending some more quality time with Tiger - it s scary to think that I have seen him and been closer to him than Elin has been in the past 72 hours - I am back in the media tent. And as I was out there walking and fighting and scratching my way through the gallery that follows Tiger as if he is dropping $100 bills behind him, I was wondering to myself: Why so much fuss? I mean, let me ask you if this is your idea of fun?
I am standing behind a rope near the tee at No. It s not unbearably hot but nevertheless, still hot. There are like three people in front of me so I can make out Tiger through a sliver, probably only because he is wearing this aqua or turquoise Nike shirt.
So basically, I have about as a good a look at him as a 5-year-old kid trying to peer over Shaq. But make no mistake, about three quarters of the gallery is in the same position as me with no real good sight line unless you were one of those who had been camping out for hours just so you can stand or sit by the rope and watch Tiger walk by you for a second. Tiger cracks his drive and immediately, one guy, who has no view of the shot says, Sounds like a nice one!
For all we know, Tiger could have ripped one into the gallery, straight into a tree. And wouldn t that sound the same as a really good drive? As I squeeze my way toward the inside of the ropes to show off my exclusive press power, I see a young Asian guy boasting to anybody around him how he has managed to find three tees left behind by former champions.
I assume he has Tiger s tee because homeboy was smiling like he just got an iPhone. And you wonder why more and more Asian women are dating non-Asians? Wait, that is another story for another day.
Don t get me started. Speaking of iPhone, that reminds me that I have to convince the editors that if I had an iPhone, it would make my blogs better, faster and more entertaining (wink, wink). Then on No.
8, I notice that there are a ton of fans standing behind a restroom where there is virtually no view of the green on No. But they remain there, bending and contorting their necks in an effort to see Tiger putt before they get a nice view of him teeing off on No. That is when I start thinking, is any of this worth it, just to see a glimpse of Tiger walking by?
I mean, it s just Tiger Woods. Is there anybody I would pay money and sit in the hot sun and wait for hours, trekking up and down hills and standing next to sweaty strangers just to catch a glimpse of? I might do it for Jessica Alba?
Maybe. But it is after Tiger tees off on nine that I see why some of these people go to extremes. As Tiger and I, well, I am a few feet to the side of him at least, walk down No.
9, I noticed a young African American kid wearing a hat bigger than his head. He has to be no more than five-years-old. Now?
the kid asks his Dad. His father nods and the kid yells as loud as he can, Go Tiger! Tiger never looks, just walking with his head down but that doesn t matter to this kid, who seemed ready to explode just from the fact that he saw Tiger walk by.
I mean, not to sound cheesy, but you could actually see a gleam in his eye. On the same hole, I walk by a mother who says to her two kids, At least we saw him. Imagine if we went through all that and didn t see him.
9, there is a bridge that players can take across to get to the green between hills. As Tiger walks across a few feet ahead of me, a massive gallery showers him with a standing ovation. Perhaps all this talk about Tiger one day going into politics isn t so far-fetched.
I mean, if this dude ever ran for any kind of office, he wins hands down. He has to get more applause from people of all colors than the president himself well, let me re-think that since we are talking about W. After he birdies the last of three straight holes to get to -1 for the tournament and back in the mix, Tiger meets the press.
Standing on this wooden platform that shields him from the sun, he politely answers question after question. Marky Mark (Mark Cannizzaro of the Post) and Damon Hack of the Times get in as many questions as they need to for what I assume are their British Open previews. I m surprised how accommodating Tiger is to the media even if he doesn t say much.
On a different topic, I ve decided to refer to Marky and Hack and Gola as Mark s Entourage rather than the Three Amigos because they do like to dine out at nice spots. Last night there was a sighting at P.F.
Tonight, my sources tell me Clyde s. I tell them and any others visiting DC that if they like crabs and seafood to stop by Crisfield s in Silver Spring or The Dancing Crab in Chevy Chase. Back to Tiger, who actually commented on the surprising size of the gallery that followed him today.
He says that he can t believe people woke up that early to watch him at 8:15 and that he wouldn t have woken up that early to watch him play. I wish my editors thought like him. I look around and then I notice that much of the gallery is waiting for Tiger to get done with his interviews.
I mean, hundreds wait up the hill for Tiger to walk back through the putting practice green area and to the clubhouse for an autograph. And as I follow Tiger there, I see just how crazy people are about him. I ve only seen footage on video of how crazy fans get when Michael Jackson or The Beatles used to sign autographs back in the day.
There weren t any women fainting here in front of Tiger or anything like that. But there were a few kids in danger of being crushed against the ropes and steel poles that hold up the ropes as people kept trying to stuff a hat or a magazine in Tiger s face. Been like that since Monday, says one volunteer here.
Tiger signs as many as he can and it s good he doesn t stay longer because some kid would have gotten hurt. Maybe my editors are right, Tiger is a big deal. Then again, I need to let them know that the Washington Post s talented and funny blog guru, Dan Steinberg, has just walked out of the building, on his way to a wedding in Philly.
See, there are more important things in life than watching Tiger, right? Like going to a friend s wedding? While my bosses think that the Washington Post will be blogging left and right on Tiger (http://blog.
washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/ ), Dan tells me that I will have Tiger all to myself in blog-land this weekend. He even linked us from the Washington Post so that Post blog-readers can keep up to date.
Wait, that means more work for me right? Sigh. On another note, I've been told that my picture has been appearing in the paper with a tease to read the blog.
I'm embarrassed but maybe a cutie will notice and I can get a date or two out of it. After spending some more quality time with Tiger - it s scary to think that I have seen him and been closer to him than Elin has been in the past 72 hours - I am back in the media tent.
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