Tiger Woods is 36 years old. He’s had 4 knee surgeries. Tiger hasn’t won an official tournament in more than 2 years. And his run as the top-ranked player in the world is long over. Tiger simply is not Tiger Woods anymore. And now many want to know, who’s the next Tiger?
Does it matter though? They didn’t cancel all golf tournaments during Tiger’s absence due to injuries and infidelity related mishaps. And while the TV ratings, I’m sure, have gone down with Tiger’s waning dominance, they still put golf on TV. The game did suffer a slap in the face recently when a playoff in the Farmers Insurance Open was moved over to the Golf Channel so the old people who don’t like golf could watch 60 Minutes. But golf continues to persevere.
The rush to crown the next king is mostly fodder for talk radio and SportsCenter. And it’s not restricted to golf and Tiger Woods. In the late 80s, many wondered who would replace Bird and Magic as their NBA careers neared an end. And then Jordan answered that question by taking over and dominating the sport like no one ever had. Predictably, as Jordan’s career neared its twilight, we wondered who would replace him. And while there have been many suitors to his throne – Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Allen Iverson, and the unfortunately nicknamed, Harold “Baby Jordan” Miner, come to mind – no one has truly grasped that mantle and run with it.
Tiger’s career was very much a mirror of Jordan’s. When he came on the scene, he was quickly crowned as the heir apparent to Jack Nicklaus. And he proved to be every bit worthy of the comparison, winning 8 majors in his first 6 years on the tour. Furthering his image of dominance, every golfer who threatened to become the Arnold Palmer to his Jack was crushed by Tiger’s wave of winning – see David Duval, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, etc.
But as he’s slipped, the “who’s next” question is roaring back, much the way Tiger would in the final round of a major. Some are predicting it will be Rory McIlroy, especially following his brilliant performance in the first 3 rounds of last year’s Masters and his Tiger-like domination of the U.S. Open months later. Others look at World #1, Luke Donald or a bomber like Bubba Watson, who has the personality and charisma that Tiger never had – Tiger’s notoriously robotic behavior makes you wonder how he managed to cheat on his wife so frequently. I know he’s rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, but from what I’ve seen of him off the course, I have to imagine sleeping with him would be like sleeping with a dead fish. Maybe it won’t even be a man. Remember Michelle Wie? Or perhaps the next Tiger is a kid who right now is hitting the driving range, dreaming of green jackets and golfing glory.
What you can be sure of is there will be someone to replace him. There will always be the next Jordan or the next Tiger. A player will come along and take over their respective sport and change the way it’s played. And when they do, we won’t need Skip Bayless or Stephen A. Smith to tell us that they’re who’s next. Their play will do the talking for them. So stop worrying who’s next, and just let them get there whenever they’re ready to.
- Otto
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