I
am a 40 year old (in a few months) Black American who grew up “Asbury Park
Middle Class”. Asbury Park Middle Class is different than being middle class in
Asbury Park. It’s similar to when you hear someone say they are “Hood
Rich”. We can debate what exactly makes
you “Rich” in America but let’s assume it is $10 million net worth. Hood Rich requires just a little less…basically if
you have an apartment, a car, and a job (no matter the pay) that provides
benefits then you are “Hood Rich”. Likewise,
Asbury Park Middle Class meant I wasn’t eating at a soup kitchen, yet our family
income was less than the requirement to pay for school lunch…Asbury Park Middle
Class. Middle Class in America might be $50K - $100K based on family size. Asbury Park Middle Class is income from $18K
- $40K.
All
this is relevant as it relates to sports because it dictated the sports we played
growing up. Golf was not one of the
popular sports in Asbury Park. I was the
first in my family to attend college and though I could have attended Princeton,
Cornell, or others Ivy League schools, they were “too White” for me. As a few of us finally made it to actual Middle
Class and the new millennium approached, the sports world lost its biggest icon
Michael Jordan. The void was filled with
a young brash, dominant figure from a sport we never paid attention too. Tiger Woods, or Tiger Wu as he became known
to my friends and me, dominated his sport like no other before him. Never before had golf been a mainstream
sport, but Tiger Wu was so dominant that he captured not only the attention of
a few wealthy golfers, but also the inner city 30 somethings retired basketball
players were now trading in Jordan’s for Tiger Wu golf shoes. Not only did I purchase golf clubs, but I
purchased a country club memberships.
We
would go play early Sunday mornings so that we get home in the afternoon to see Tiger Wu capture another trophy. I,
an all-star basketball player in high school and college a football player, who
never purchased a single sports Jersey was now wearing red golf polo shirts as
I played my round on Sunday morning. When
Tiger was playing, golf became appointment viewing. Like many, I was a Tiger fan more than a golf
fan. I am not the moral police so I
cared very little about the now infamous Thanksgiving Day incident. All I cared about was when would Tiger be
back on the course and how soon would he catch Jack.
I
was never going to be Tiger, but I enjoyed going to the course and trying to emulate
his shots and that beautiful swing. Jack
talked about how when he get older, married, and had children that his priorities
change. With the divorce and Tiger’s in
ability to see his children every day, much of the time Tiger spent practicing
was now spent playing with his children.
I can’t blame him. I have two
toddlers and I canceled my country club membership also. Before was playing at least 36 holes a week, I
haven’t played twice in a week in at least three years.
As
Tiger returned and it became clear that he was no longer the same player, not
only did I stop watching golf, but even playing became less enjoyable. For me over the past two years, golf had
become an afterthought. I’ve barely
watched and golf on TV and I’ve played maybe five times over the past two
years. That is until this year with Jordan Spieth. I haven’t been this excited about a golfer
since Tiger in his early days. Even
though Spieth didn’t win the Open, he has been completely dominant in golf this
year. Though he doesn’t have the appeal
of Tiger, he may become just as dominate. If it’s one thing us Americans can
get behind is a dominate sports figure.
There are a lot of good young guns, but Spieth has the most
potential. I hope the old Tiger makes a
return, but weather he does or not, I am finally back into golf and that thanks
to young Mr. Spieth. Spieth may not become
as dominate as Tiger Wu in the early 2000’s and no one will have the impact
Tiger had growing the game, but just maybe Spieth can bring some of us Tiger
Woods fans back to golf…and I can use it if only to get a rest from chasing my
two boys.
