[adrock3215]

This commercial by Nike played before the 18th hole during the final round of the US Open last week. Tiger needed a birdie to force a playoff in the tournament and got it. As a quick summary, the commercial features a few lines from an old interview with Earl Woods, Tiger's dad, who passed away a few years ago. I liked the commercial so much I wanted to share it. The first time I saw it I got goosebumps. Anyone who watches, please share your thoughts...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O_X6BWJvGfo

This post has been edited by adrock3215: 17 June 2008 - 06:25 AM

[sanjavalen]

That is pretty awesome. Thanks.

[EC]

It is pretty awesome. After what Tiger has done the last few days, I am literally in awe of the man. He's only a year or two older than me and he is already the BEST golfer in the history of the game. He only needs to win 4 more majors to tie Nicholas for most Major's victories. He could do that in one year with another Tiger Slam. The only other athlete that I've ever seen in my life that compares to him as far as skill, greatness, and the ability to come through in the clutch is Jordan. We are genuinely lucky that we get to watch a man at his greatest and no one can seriously deny it. I love the world's mine razor commercials he is in to.

[adrock3215]

Here is a video of Tiger Woods winning his 11th major, the first one he won after his father passed away. It is an incredibly emotional moment, and Tiger breaks down.

I agree with you EC. This guy is a giant. He has an incredible ability to control his body entirely and completely with his mind. See in the above commercial around 22 seconds when he stops his swing. Most professional golfers attain swing speeds of somewhere in the 100 MPH range. Tiger has been measured with swing speeds consistently above 125 MPH. And yet he can stop the club in a millisecond in mid-swing. The integration of mind and body at that moment is tremendous and awe inspiring. In a way, the above commercial is about Tiger's total integration and subordination of his body to his mind. Knowing this, it often becomes impossible for me to leave the TV when he is playing in a tournament, and he is one of my highest held currently living heroes.

EDIT: Here he stops his swing on the downswing again and you can hear teh commentators drooling over it.

This post has been edited by adrock3215: 17 June 2008 - 12:02 PM

[B. Royce]

adrock3215, on Jun 17 2008, 07:20 AM, said:

This commercial by Nike played before the 18th hole during the final round of the US Open last week. Tiger needed a birdie to force a playoff in the tournament and got it. As a quick summary, the commercial features a few lines from an old interview with Earl Woods, Tiger's dad, who passed away a few years ago. I liked the commercial so much I wanted to share it. The first time I saw it I got goosebumps. Anyone who watches, please share your thoughts...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O_X6BWJvGfo

That's great. Thanks.

[Mammon]

The video illustrates why Tiger Woods is one of the only athletes I'd ever consider to be a hero. And it's a very, very short list.

This post has been edited by Mammon: 17 June 2008 - 07:37 PM

[Thales]

Tiger is clearly the best at the game. His achievements are off the charts in a game that is popular world wide. I remember reading that his father was in the military, or something similar, where he had learned methods of being mentally strong to deal with tough situations and he passed those methods on to Tiger. I believe that's what his father is referring to in the video.

[JASKN]

adrock3215, on Jun 17 2008, 01:53 PM, said:

Most professional golfers attain swing speeds of somewhere in the 100 MPH range. Tiger has been measured with swing speeds consistently above 125 MPH. And yet he can stop the club in a millisecond in mid-swing. The integration of mind and body at that moment is tremendous and awe inspiring.

Thanks for providing this context. I know very little about golf, but that info, and your personal reaction, made your videos mean something (and they mean, "Wow!").

[Mammon]

Thales, on Jun 17 2008, 09:32 PM, said:

Tiger is clearly the best at the game. His achievements are off the charts in a game that is popular world wide. I remember reading that his father was in the military, or something similar, where he had learned methods of being mentally strong to deal with tough situations and he passed those methods on to Tiger. I believe that's what his father is referring to in the video.

I also believe it would be impossible for Tiger to really convey the mental toughness thing too anyone else. Like, he couldn't right it down in a book. It's something you have to be trained to have, like he did.

[EC]

While everyone was saying Tiger won the U.S. Open this past weekend on one leg, I don't think anyone realized how true this really was. It was announced earlier today that he is about to have season-ending knee and ACL surgery. Wow. It kind of reminds me of what Isiah Thomas did on one leg in the fourth quarter against the Laker's in '88.

[K-Mac]

Mammon, on Jun 17 2008, 11:42 PM, said:

Like, he couldn't right it down in a book.

Maybe he cannot, but thankfully, Ayn Rand already has.

[Zip]

EC, on Jun 17 2008, 09:22 AM, said:

It is pretty awesome. After what Tiger has done the last few days, I am literally in awe of the man. He's only a year or two older than me and he is already the BEST golfer in the history of the game. He only needs to win 4 more majors to tie Nicholas for most Major's victories. He could do that in one year with another Tiger Slam. The only other athlete that I've ever seen in my life that compares to him as far as skill, greatness, and the ability to come through in the clutch is Jordan. We are genuinely lucky that we get to watch a man at his greatest and no one can seriously deny it. I love the world's mine razor commercials he is in to.

I'd add Gretzky to that list. A little guy for a hockey player, skated rings around the goons and never resorted to or used the violence so prevalent in that sport. Had a Dad of a similar character to Tiger's too it seems.

[JJJJ]

Zip, on Jun 19 2008, 08:11 AM, said:

I'd add Gretzky to that list. A little guy for a hockey player, skated rings around the goons and never resorted to or used the violence so prevalent in that sport. Had a Dad of a similar character to Tiger's too it seems.

Not to knock on gretzky, but he had his own goons making sure that the opposing goons dont touch him, and that is one major reason why he could skate rings around goons and never resorted to violence. He didnt have to, as he had other people doing it for him. Therefore, Gretzky is in my opinion not even remotely comparable to Tiger, who seems to be an amazing human being, and has to do everything he achieves himself. So many atlethes with talent just "wing it" and "hope for the best", but Tiger is one who 1) seems to be very goal-oriented and have a clear vision of what he wants to achieve, 2) he goes after his goals with the use of his mind, and seemingly enjoying every moment in the process and 3) he does not apologize for being great, is neither humble nor arrogant, and does not seem to play for the sake of having some imaginary "duty" to someone, or for the sake of sacrifice.
Not saying that the likes of Gretzky or Jordan just "winged" it, but all in all, Tiger seems like a extremely special individual, and i would not rank 99 and MJ in the same category.

This post has been edited by JJJJ: 19 June 2008 - 10:10 AM

[adrock3215]

JJJJ, on Jun 19 2008, 12:09 PM, said:

Not to knock on gretzky, but he had his own goons making sure that the opposing goons dont touch him, and that is one major reason why he could skate rings around goons and never resorted to violence. He didnt have to, as he had other people doing it for him. Therefore, Gretzky is in my opinion not even remotely comparable to Tiger, who seems to be an amazing human being, and has to do everything he achieves himself. So many atlethes with talent just "wing it" and "hope for the best", but Tiger is one who 1) seems to be very goal-oriented and have a clear vision of what he wants to achieve, 2) he goes after his goals with the use of his mind, and seemingly enjoying every moment in the process and 3) he does not apologize for being great, is neither humble nor arrogant, and does not seem to play for the sake of having some imaginary "duty" to someone, or for the sake of sacrifice.
Not saying that the likes of Gretzky or Jordan just "winged" it, but all in all, Tiger seems like a extremely special individual, and i would not rank 99 and MJ in the same category.

I am going to agree with you here, particulary point #1. The entirety of Tiger's life--literally all of it--has been devoted to becoming great in one thing, and he has never strayed from that goal. Golf fans will know about how he stormed onto the tour, winning by double digits at the Masters and at Pebble Beach. He had a tough patch from 2002ish to 2004, when he got rid of his old swing coach, brought in a new one, and changed his swing. The new swing did not pay dividends for several years, and nearly every reporter/journalist was eager to claim Tiger as fading out. Many commentators expressed doubts about his newer swing, saying he should not have ever changed it. Tiger never deviated from his goal, and stuck with trying to work out a new swing, perfecting it. Within the last few years, he has obviously played better than he ever has, with the new swing and coach to his credit.

In my estimation, there is not an athelete in recent history who has been able to integrate his body, mind, and entire character into the likes of his own image of himself as well as Tiger has. When the guy was a few years old he knew what he was going to do. I have read the book written by his Dad. I remember in it, somewhere, his Dad was talking about how Tiger would beg night and day to be taken to the course. I also remember his Dad writing about Tiger's mental state, and the exercises he would do for himself to train it (i.e. he used to have someone throw his ball into the worst place imaginable on any given hole, and challenge himself to make par from that particularly awkward spot, and wouldn't leave the course that day until he did).

This post has been edited by adrock3215: 19 June 2008 - 11:56 AM

[Chops]

Here's another video of him stopping mid-swing. This one was REALLY moving when he stopped it. It doesn't even seem possible to do what he did there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBPxTE8YSyM...feature=related


I almost never watch sports, but I do play golf, and just happened to be watching the last few holes of the last game of the open sunday. It was amazing watching him. I also saw that commercial linked, and agree it is a fantastic commercial that focuses on the best of a one's character.

After the open, I had to look up some info on him, and read the wikipedia article about him, as well as watch Youtube clips of some of his most amazing shots. I knew he was great, but I had no idea just how great he was. When you compare his statistics and how he's breaking records at 30 that took others lifetimes to set. He is the Michael Jordan of this generation.

Like I said, I don't follow sports, but I've always been a fan of Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, and now Tiger.

An interesting fact from the top of the Wikipedia article:

Quote

Currently the World No. 1, Woods was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2007, having earned an estimated $122 million from winnings and endorsements. According to Golf Digest, Woods made $769,440,709 from 1996 to 2007,[4] and the magazine predicts that by 2010, Woods will become the world's first athlete to pass one billion dollars in earnings.

(bold mine)

[adrock3215]

Chops, on Jun 19 2008, 03:54 PM, said:

Here's another video of him stopping mid-swing. This one was REALLY moving when he stopped it. It doesn't even seem possible to do what he did there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBPxTE8YSyM...feature=related

Wow, thanks for sharing that. I found another link to that same video here, in which one can clearly distinguish the shadow of a bird as it flies roughly 10 feet behind Tiger during his swing. The shadow catches Woods attention, distracts him, and he is able to somehow stop his swing.

[JMeganSnow]

It sort of reminds me of the scene in Fountainhead where Cameron watches Roark work and Roark doesn't even notice.

[Mammon]

K-Mac, on Jun 19 2008, 09:02 AM, said:

Maybe he cannot, but thankfully, Ayn Rand already has.

I don't think it's the same thing.

[Thales]

JJJJ, on Jun 19 2008, 12:09 PM, said:

Not to knock on gretzky, but he had his own goons making sure that the opposing goons dont touch him, and that is one major reason why he could skate rings around goons and never resorted to violence. He didnt have to, as he had other people doing it for him.

That's not right, all star players get that kind of protection and he was exceptionally good at avoiding the big hit, one of his outstanding talents. A great year for a star is a 100 point season, he was getting over 200 points. Gretzky was as good as advertised. I should give props to Mario Lemieux as well, because he was comparably good.

Also keep in mind that sports like hockey and basketball are much more physically demanding than golf. They are oranges and apples.

[adrock3215]

There was an article about Tiger in the Post yesterday called The Impatient Patient that I found intriguing, and I particulary enjoyed these lines from it:

Quote

Part of the answer lies in Woods's personality. He seems to have ground his knee to the nub, out of sheer fanatical dedication. His focus on becoming the best of all time is monocular, and his body never rests, he's an obsessive runner and weightlifter, and an insomniac to boot. "He trains his -- off," says his agent, Mark Steinberg. There is something forceful and hectic even in the way Woods walks. A couple of years ago, I tried to keep up with him on a swing through town to publicize the AT&T National, the PGA Tour event he hosts every July at Congressional. Woods made a trip to Capitol Hill for a courtesy call on Nancy Pelosi...

As we pulled up to the Capitol, I asked him if he had ever been there before. "Nope," he said, and bolted from the car and up the sidewalk. Strung out behind him were his agent, a press handler, and PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem, like the tail of a kite.

Woods charged into the crowded rotunda, briefly tilted his head upward, and took in the ceiling in a single glance. Then he refocused his eyes straight ahead and quickened his pace, cutting across the floor, as his companions broke into a light sprint to keep up with him. From somewhere behind him, someone said, "Hey, Tiger, look at this place."

"Seen it," he said, without breaking stride.

So that's who Tiger Woods is.