Sometimes in sports, a person or team can be so dominant that their competitors quiver at the notion of competing against them. For years in golf, this person was Tiger Woods.
Woods was ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world for more than five years. He had been No. 1 since Aug. 15, 1999. He had been No. 1 for 264 consecutive weeks.
Woods was No. 1 during two presidencies, an attack on America, two wars and the death of a man who asked us what the five fingers said to the face. Woods was even No. 1 before, during and after this reporter went to high school. In short, it was easy to see why the golf world trembled when the starter called Tiger's name time and again on Thursday morning.
Streaks like Tiger's do not come along often in sports, and when they do, the teams or people that create them dominate in a way that awes everyone, even those to whom sports are inconsequential. Think of anyone you know who doesn't like sports who would still be able to tell you that Michael Jordan was one of the best basketball players that ever lived, or that Wayne Gretzky was the great one in hockey. In this way, Tiger's accomplishment is able to include everyone.
When one dominates a sport like Tiger has for the past five years, people watch the events to see how badly the competition will get spanked that week. It is this rarest of events that brings people to love competition and to yearn to succeed like their heroes. In some way, Tiger's accomplishment transcends sports. Would we really be able to appreciate how amazing it is that Ken Jennings' has won soundly on Jeopardy for 45 straight days if we didn't have something to compare it to? Would it truly impress us that much?
Of course streaks like Tiger's always have to come to an end, and when they do, it is a moment not of sadness, but of reflection. When Eric Gagne's streak of consecutive saves was broken this summer, people did not cry over the fact that it was over, rather they celebrated the accomplishment of an incredible athlete and wondered whether or not such an achievement would ever again be realized. When Tiger lost, the story was not that Vijay Singh was the new No. 1, but rather that the one axiom of golf over the past five years had been broken; it was time to honor Tiger, not to denounce him.
It is the human condition to want our heroes to live forever and their accomplishments go untouched for eternity. It is in this vein that some do not wish to see Barry Bonds retire, or Ken Jennings to lose. However, when the accomplishment is over and the dust has settled, the mood is not somber and the champion not dismayed. After Woods carded a 69 on the final day of his final tournament in his streak to lose to Vijay in the Deutsche Bank Championship, he couldn't help but reflect on everything that had come before.
"It's not too bad is it?" Woods said, "I've had a good run and I'm excited about the things I've been working on, and I can't wait to get back out and start playing."
So now that it's over and there's a new No. 1, the sporting world will have to turn its head away from golf and look to another competitor to achieve the level of success that Tiger enjoyed. Will it ever happen again in golf? Who knows. But don't count Tiger out for a repeat just yet - he sits only .45 points behind Vijay in the world rankings.
