On ESPN.com, they've got a poll asking who's the best closer in sports history?
Michael Jordan
Mariano Rivera
Adam Vinatieri
Tiger Woods
TW is in dead last at the moment with 12%. MJ has 61%, which is understandable. However, I guess the average sports fan doesn't realize how hard golf really is. LOL. Sorry, but closing out 3 batters or kicking a 30 yard field goal isn't as hard as winning golf tournaments over and over with the lead and pressure going into the final round. And besides that, Tiger's got a better percentage than Rivera if I'm not mistaken. Rivera blows saves quite a bit, although he is very dominant. It's not too often Tiger blows a lead on a Sunday. I guess I just think playing 18 holes of golf with all kinds of pressure is a bit more difficult than dealing with 3 batters who haven't faced you all game long and don't know what's coming, or kicking a 30 yarder because Tom Brady set you up nicely with a good drive down the field.
We play a minor sport in the minds of most sports fans. Thank God, IMO...could you imagine trying to get a tee time if it were otherwise ?
Actually, more people play golf in the U.S. and around the world than they do football, baseball, basketball on a regular basis. But playing and watching are two entirely different things. Golf is a sport that allows the average American to play for a lifetime if they so choose. As crowded as many golf courses are, though, I agree completely with you that it would be way too crowded if golf were THE major sport like football to average Americans.
To me it is ridiculous to compare three guys who are parts of teams to one guy playing an individual sport. No matter how dominant one of the first three guys was in his sport, he still relied on the rest of his team for at least part of his success. There's no "I" in "TEAM", but there is in "TIGER".
Despite those guys playing "team sports", there's no question they individually made big closer-type moments. It's no surprise, though, that Tiger is last, when you consider that he's up against:
- The most recognizable, famous, and popular athlete in history
- The best actual "closer" in sports history (who has been at it and dominant as long as Tiger)
- The player who scored the pressure-packed winning points in the most-watched event of the TV year twice in the last five years.
I also think it's an injustice to point out Rivera's blown saves. If Tiger had 400 major leads to defend, I dare say he may have blown a few.
On ESPN.com, they've got a poll asking who's the best closer in sports history?
Michael Jordan
Mariano Rivera
Adam Vinatieri
Tiger Woods
I think people tend to vote for their favorite sport, they are not objective (whatever that means in an apples-to-oranges comparison). If the question was: What is your favorite sport? .....
Basketball
Baseball
Football
Golf
.... the answers wouldn't have been all that different.
Last edited by straightshooter : July 22nd, 2006 at 10:56 PM.
Despite those guys playing "team sports", there's no question they individually made big closer-type moments. It's no surprise, though, that Tiger is last, when you consider that he's up against:
- The most recognizable, famous, and popular athlete in history
- The best actual "closer" in sports history (who has been at it and dominant as long as Tiger)
- The player who scored the pressure-packed winning points in the most-watched event of the TV year twice in the last five years.
I also think it's an injustice to point out Rivera's blown saves. If Tiger had 400 major leads to defend, I dare say he may have blown a few.
That said, I still would have voted for Tiger :)
I'm not just counting majors here. I'm counting his entire career. How many leads has he blown while leading going into the final round of any tournament? Not too many. I'd say the percentage is just as good, if not better than Rivera's (and I still think going against 150+ great players in golf is harder than going against 3 or 4 guys who haven't dealt with you at all the entire game in an inning).
I'm not just counting majors here. I'm counting his entire career. How many leads has he blown while leading going into the final round of any tournament? Not too many. I'd say the percentage is just as good, if not better than Rivera's (and I still think going against 150+ great players in golf is harder than going against 3 or 4 guys who haven't dealt with you at all the entire game in an inning).
It's not really all 150+ players Tiger is trying to close out come the back nine on Sunday. It's 70+ ties, and by the back nine, its usually 4 or 5 who have a legitimate chance of winning a major or a regular tour event.
It's not really all 150+ players Tiger is trying to close out come the back nine on Sunday. It's 70+ ties, and by the back nine, its usually 4 or 5 who have a legitimate chance of winning a major or a regular tour event.
Comparing Tiger to, say, Mariano doesn't really work, because the situations are often different. A good analogy to a save situation would be if you put Tiger on the 18th hole with a lead of 1, 2, 3 or 4 strokes against 3 different guys and see how many times he ends up holding that lead.
I would think Rivera would use his athletic ability to "save" himself!
Nah, he's a pitcher. He'd pull a hammy or something and then all of a sudden become a sitting duck. Place your bets, place your bets. How accurate is Tiger with a 4 iron? Hmmmm...let's ask the 14th hole at Hoylake.
July 22nd, 2006, 04:30 PM
I've hit it that far before though. 
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