Rocco Mediate, a short-hitting 45-year-old from Pittsburgh, will face Tiger Woods in an 18 hole playoff Monday for the U.S. Open title, after the journeyman outplayed the greatest ever from tee to green on Sunday. It's nice that golf, unlike most other prominent sports, has enough randomness in it and tests a wide-enough array of skills that a guy who looks like the district sales manager still has a fighting chance now and then.
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
I wonder how many headlines today will feature the words "real life Rocky"?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking as someone who would look like his boss, if he were in sales, I completely agree. Alas I do not foresee a happy end to this day for Rocco (in terms of winning. I'm sure he is tickled pink just be there).
ReplyDeletehalfbreed said
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many headlines today will feature the words "real life Rocky"?
Would that make Tiger Apollo Creed? ("Rocky" could never be made today - unless Apollo were an evil white, and Rocky a hip-hopper with a golden heart...or maybe only golden teeth.)
there's a good possibility that rocco only stood a chance b/c woods has been out of the game so long and has been playing through knee pain.
ReplyDeletesure there's randomness, but there's also circumstance.
Anybody know what gives with Rocco & the peace symbol belt buckle?
ReplyDeleteno, it's because the level of play in competitive golf is low. biggest disparity between media coverage and talent level of any sport.
ReplyDelete"Enough randomness?" Wouldn't the data also be consistent with "too much randomness"? Isn't too much randomness why the office secretary who knows nothing about college basketball wins the March Madness pool?
ReplyDeleteShould we add more randomness to track events, so that regular joes can win the 100 meter dash or high hurdles? Perhaps we could randomly shoot tranquilizer darts at participants or spread rakes around the track so that they pop up when you step on them, with hilarious results.
Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think that the fact that there's so much chance involved in an activity that a regular guy can win means that it is worthwhile. Why not just play the card-game "WAR"? I'm sure I could beat the current world champion, given enough games.
Did you also notice how far down Steelman and Hicks ended up?
Steve,
ReplyDeleteCompletely OT, but you need to check this out in today's NYT: "After a Feud and 2 Deaths, Soldiers’ Families Torn". You can probably knock out your next Vdare column in less than an hour based on this article.
- Fred
jody said...
ReplyDeleteno, it's because the level of play in competitive golf is low. biggest disparity between media coverage and talent level of any sport.
Huh?? I think the talent level has never been deeper. Woods is just unreal- may never see an athlete like him. MJ even pales in comparison.Rocco put on a great show today byw.
Anyone who thinks golf's "level of play" is low - in other words, that golf is easy - has never played it.
ReplyDeleteRocco is NOT a regular guy. Regular guys don't go on the tour and almost beat Tiger Woods. Steve goofed up in his analysis here.
I challenge anyone reading this to play better, on his best day, than Rocco plays on his worst day. Think about it carefully before saying "I would accept that challenge."
the popularity of golf correlates with demographic decline.
ReplyDeletetypical golfer is a self-involved workaholic who spends his free time at the golf course and not with his family. the typical golfer enjoys the golf course more because his wife and family are not there. the typical golfer is always trying to escape from his wife because he married her for status and not for who she is as a person. as opposed to activities like fishing hiking hunting sailing etc golfers do not want to play golf with their families. that is the last thing they want to do.
golf courses are filled with older white guys but few are military veterans. they didn't enter the military because they are obsessed with money. theyve given up on religion because there's no money in that either. these are the kind of men who in earlier times - such as the civil war - paid others to stand in for them on the battlefield. their wives are frequently prescription drug addicts and they themselves are usually alcoholics.
a serious golfer is the kind of man who moans on his death bed about how he should have spent more time with his family. but if he could do it all over again he actually would spend twice as much time on the golf course.
the odds that the united states of america could have been established by golfers is exactly zero. the odds that the united states of america will be sustained by golfers is also exactly zero.
when a bolshevik revolution occurs in a society it is the golfers who will do absolutely nothing in response except complain about it to other golfers.
if you want to see exactly who is not interested in lifting a finger to sustain civilization go to the golf course clubhouse or parking lot. golf is the opiate of these particularly sick masses.
What was it Bill Veeck said, "Basketball players have to be seven feet tall. Football players have to be seven feet wide. In baseball we use human beings."
ReplyDeleteFrabcis K. - Bloody Hell! I think you might on to something there.
ReplyDeletew/ the news that woods was playing w/a torn acl and two stress fractures, i think this again lifts woods back out of the human scale. 90% of a knee's stability is derived from the acl. the fact that woods was able to win the US open over 5 days of subjecting himself to this is kind of punishment is quite extraordinary.
ReplyDeleteRocco gets into the U.S. Open throught the efforts of Jack Nicklaus.
ReplyDeleteTiger is forced into 19 extra holes stressing his knee enough to take him out for the rest of the season.
While giving up a 14th major, Rocco may have saved Nicklaus' career record.
Can I get a deep blond conspiracy movie out of this.
The additional information about Tiger Woods makes him seem like some kind of superman. Mediate did do well against a giant, but the giant was seriously injured throughout.
ReplyDeleteThe commenters who have turned against golf because a man with African ancestry is dominating it are unintentionally amusing. As each sports develops black champs, will they dismiss it as an example of the decline of society?