The Ryder Cup was returned to Europe with a one point win. If you don't know what the Ryder Cup is then the rest of this article might be a tad bit hard to follow. There's also the extreme possibility that you don't like the game of golf and so all the excitement and emotions involved in the four day event....mean absolutely nothing to you.
A reference point.......The Ryder Cup consists of two teams made of 12 men each. The competition normally takes three days but in Wales this year the rain interrupted play and the final day was today....Monday. The final day consists of 12 individual matches. One point is awarded for a win and one half point for a tie.
You don't have to like golf to appreciate teamwork. You like it when friends and family get together and treat each other with respect and display signs of affection. You like it when somebody supports your efforts and you like it when someone recognizes your pain and helps in the repair process.
This was like two large families coming together to settle a dispute....and the dispute is.....who has the best players....US or Europe?
Professional Golf is an individual endeavor except for The Ryder Cup. It happens every two years and in 2012 it will take place back in the United States at Medinah.
Newport, Wales was the location and since they are eight hours ahead of us on the West Coast the live TV viewing was abnormal. It started on Friday on ESPN at 1 am and then rain got involved so things got moved around and Saturday morning coverage started on NBC at 5 AM.
THAT SATURDAY MORNING COVERAGE WAS THE WORST COVERAGE I HAVE EVER SEEN FOR A SPORTING EVENT.
THE WORST
There was three minutes of coverage followed by two minutes of commercials....and that continued for the entire Saturday morning coverage. There was no continuity and the favorite expression by the announcer was....."just a moment ago...this happened."
NBC SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO EVERY VIEWER IN AMERICA....but their revenue stream is the only thing that matters and there must have been 200 commercials during the Saturday broadcast. If I see the Gecko one more time I'm going to cancel my insurance.
And for some reason Johnny Miller, the announcer, kept predicting things and there's no predicting in golf. He should know better than anyone but yet he kept saying things like...."this should be an easy 12 foot putt."
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS AN EASY 12 FOOT PUTT......and every time he predicted something or made a statement about what an American would do, ...the exact opposite happened.....and then he said this about Phil Mickelson..."if Phil didn't have a short game he would be a used car salesmen."
I'm thinking it's time for Johnny to head on back to Utah and start counting the sheep.
The horrible coverage on Saturday caused the Americans to get 1/2 point and the Europeans 5 and 1/2 points....and that was the difference in the Ryder Cup.
The team needed our help and NBC completely took the American viewer out of the mix......OUR ENERGY AND OUR FOCUS WAS NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE WE WERE WATCHING 100 GEICO COMMERCIALS. IT WAS A TRAVESTY AND WHOEVER WAS ACTING AS PRODUCER OF THAT COVERAGE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIM OR HER SELF.
As an example..... today the coverage was on USA and commercials came every 11 to 13 minutes....which is the normal pattern for watching non-cable television. Sporting events have a different pattern because it's actually happening at the moment.
We still ended up losing the Ryder Cup but the United States made a great comeback and the outcome wasn't decided until the final match on the 17th hole....and those of us who watched the entire four days really felt like we played.......or at least participated in some minor way.
Well, maybe NOT played....... but I am exhausted.
I hope Hunter Mahan recovers quickly because he made every normal amateur golfer in American feel like we were part of the process. We make those kind of shots during every round we play.
The Ryder Cup wasn't lost by Hunter Mahan on Monday....it was lost by NBC on Saturday.
Now that I've got the bitching out of the way I want to say the following.
The 2010 Ryder Cup was one of the most compelling, interesting and exciting golf matches I have ever seen. For the contest to be decided on the 17th hole by the 12th game is simply an amazing bonus. The players from both sides were dedicated to winning the cup and their immense pride in being involved in the event was always obvious.
The press conferences, with each team after the match, were as entertaining as any sports press conference I've ever seen.
Not only did the word "gentlemen" come to mind but so did other great words like compassion, integrity, fortitude, camaraderie, intelligence, humor, insight, honesty and brotherhood.
And it's important to realize that all 24 of those participants will be trying to kick each other's ass for the next two years before they once again meet for the Ryder Cup in 2012 at Medinah, Illinois.
Golf might be the most individual sport there is, so when TEAMS get together for a special "outing" it is something to cherish and remember.
Of course if you have never enjoyed a "golf outing" then you need to get your butt out to the driving range and start swinging.
You'll thank me later.
Michael Timothy McAlevey
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