In the past six months, Tiger Woods officially played in seven golf tournaments. He won five of them, including his second-place finish at the Masters in April and his 14th Major Championship win at the U.S. Open this past weekend. As remarkable as this is, there's something amiss. What's the problem? The problem is that Tiger Woods tore his ACL. Last July.
Following this year's Masters, Tiger had arthroscopic surgery to clean up some cartilage that was damaged as a result of playing golf on a torn knee. Two weeks before the Open, he suffered a double stress fracture in the tibia on the same leg. The doctor said treatment involved six weeks without golf. Tiger said, "I'm playing in the U.S. Open, and I'm going to win." That is precisely what he did.
That highlight video is the best I can find, and it gives you a sense of the exceptional nature of Tiger's play. However, the incredible putts and chips, the gargantuan tee shots, those are only the products of Woods' greatness. The biggest highlight isn't conducive to a three-minute clip. The biggest highlight is how this gladiator, this warrior, this man gritted his teeth and endured 91 holes of USGA torture. That's right... four rounds, an 18-hole playoff, and one sudden-death hole on one leg without a word about what was wrong. Now, that is a grinder.
I'm not much for celebrity, and I know how much perception can be manipulated, so I'll never know for sure. But in my opinion, the source of Woods' greatness is in his mind and, dare I say, in his spirit. Mental toughness, strength, even courage, it is not an exaggeration to find these things in someone like Tiger. And all that we see on TV is only a tenth of the exhausting work, the effort, and the heart that he puts in. Despite the money, despite the fame, that's integrity, because no one will ever know the soul put into the work.
Add to the above the practice of repetition, of repeatedly doing the right things to get you to where you want to go, as well as the presence at the end of the day to be a husband and be a father and you will get a recipe for all the things I learned by watching a golf tournament last weekend. With tomorrow being the one-year anniversary of my launching this blog, I hope to incorporate into my writing over the next year the things I learned from Tiger which are also things others have long told me.
And maybe Elin Woods' twin sister is available, too...
Showing posts with label Gladiator. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gladiator. Show all posts
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Modern Gladiator
Often, I find that the search for an applicable mythology, hero, or symbol is better served by accepting current trends. Our warriors, our adventures, our quests are not lost. They always exist in essence. Modern society mostly finds them in spirit, but there are still places where they exist in form, as well. One of these is something I like to call the Modern Gladiator: the athlete. We resist many natural things these days, and yet we still yearn for purity in our athletics. We enjoy seeing the physical form at its height. We encourage our athletes to push themselves, and nature itself, to the limit.
Athletics even offers a physical nirvana that cannot be explained or really understood, but it can be felt by the athlete and seen by spectators. This is called the Zone. An athlete who achieves this state is said to be "in the zone". They reach a heightened awareness as time slows down. Their skill sets become near-perfect. Sports fans have witnessed basketball stars make shot after shot for a stretch, as if unconscious. Every so often, a baseball pitcher goes nine innings with flawless control and wins a perfect game. My favorite is the running back who takes hit after hit but refuses to go down, or whose speed visually shifts gears as he disregards oncoming tacklers.
In fact, the modern gladiator is best exemplified in the American college football player. This young man is the titan of our age. He is the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest of us. He is the greatest physical specimen that can be seen. He can carry a 265 pound frame 40 yards in four-and-a-half seconds, or, at 210 pounds, it can take him less than 10 seconds to run a hundred meters.
Even considering all this, he is more than physics and biology. Surely he has aspirations for success based on all the hard work over the years. But something more than that must drive him. He represents an institution. At the college, fellow students, alumni, faculty, administrators, and all the members of the community that is his school support him and depend on him. He represents a program. His team has fielded many of the greats that were considered legends long before he was even born. He has a standard to live up to, from those who have gone before him, and one to bear, for those still to come. His teammates stand by his side for years and he owes them the best of himself. His coach teaches and trains and mentors as he owes each gladiator the same. The gladiator, in turn, must honor that. He represents all these things: city, institution, program, community, family. He represents himself.
Those things matter, but then they don't. Something even more must drive him. Excellence. Competition. Pursuit. He has the week to practice and make ready for the moment of truth when he simply must reach his peak, and play. When game day comes, only his best will do. The locker room is a sanctuary, simultaneously a place of peace and tension. He cannot achieve what he is here to achieve in this... safety. His ankles are taped expertly and his cleats are laced. Sometimes, other areas need taping: wrists, knees, or fingers. Braces, rubber sleeves, and other support systems required by past scars are applied. His armor is next. The major pieces are his shell & shoulder pads, his jersey, and his helmet. Trainers prepare his body for battle. Coaches prepare his mind. The gladiator looks into the eyes of his teammates, some blackened by warpaint.
The fire is team wide. Coach delivers his final pregame speech. They jump and chant together. They leave sanctuary in unison and march down some kind of tunnel. As they approach the field the gladiator hears his marching band, which has preceded his team into the hostile environment. The roar of an opposing institution overtakes the familiar music. There are gladiators on the other side, too. And their fans are united against him, flying the colors of the opposition. Blue, green, orange... he only really sees one color: red.
Everything has come to this moment. All his time and energy, and all his effort. Every defeat and every victory has led him here. In reality, it has taken him forever to get here. His mind is focused on one thing, however.
Eternity begins at kickoff.
Athletics even offers a physical nirvana that cannot be explained or really understood, but it can be felt by the athlete and seen by spectators. This is called the Zone. An athlete who achieves this state is said to be "in the zone". They reach a heightened awareness as time slows down. Their skill sets become near-perfect. Sports fans have witnessed basketball stars make shot after shot for a stretch, as if unconscious. Every so often, a baseball pitcher goes nine innings with flawless control and wins a perfect game. My favorite is the running back who takes hit after hit but refuses to go down, or whose speed visually shifts gears as he disregards oncoming tacklers.
In fact, the modern gladiator is best exemplified in the American college football player. This young man is the titan of our age. He is the biggest, the fastest, and the strongest of us. He is the greatest physical specimen that can be seen. He can carry a 265 pound frame 40 yards in four-and-a-half seconds, or, at 210 pounds, it can take him less than 10 seconds to run a hundred meters.
Even considering all this, he is more than physics and biology. Surely he has aspirations for success based on all the hard work over the years. But something more than that must drive him. He represents an institution. At the college, fellow students, alumni, faculty, administrators, and all the members of the community that is his school support him and depend on him. He represents a program. His team has fielded many of the greats that were considered legends long before he was even born. He has a standard to live up to, from those who have gone before him, and one to bear, for those still to come. His teammates stand by his side for years and he owes them the best of himself. His coach teaches and trains and mentors as he owes each gladiator the same. The gladiator, in turn, must honor that. He represents all these things: city, institution, program, community, family. He represents himself.
Those things matter, but then they don't. Something even more must drive him. Excellence. Competition. Pursuit. He has the week to practice and make ready for the moment of truth when he simply must reach his peak, and play. When game day comes, only his best will do. The locker room is a sanctuary, simultaneously a place of peace and tension. He cannot achieve what he is here to achieve in this... safety. His ankles are taped expertly and his cleats are laced. Sometimes, other areas need taping: wrists, knees, or fingers. Braces, rubber sleeves, and other support systems required by past scars are applied. His armor is next. The major pieces are his shell & shoulder pads, his jersey, and his helmet. Trainers prepare his body for battle. Coaches prepare his mind. The gladiator looks into the eyes of his teammates, some blackened by warpaint.
The fire is team wide. Coach delivers his final pregame speech. They jump and chant together. They leave sanctuary in unison and march down some kind of tunnel. As they approach the field the gladiator hears his marching band, which has preceded his team into the hostile environment. The roar of an opposing institution overtakes the familiar music. There are gladiators on the other side, too. And their fans are united against him, flying the colors of the opposition. Blue, green, orange... he only really sees one color: red.
Everything has come to this moment. All his time and energy, and all his effort. Every defeat and every victory has led him here. In reality, it has taken him forever to get here. His mind is focused on one thing, however.
Eternity begins at kickoff.
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