You know, I never did post a recap of my Ryder Cup experience. Does anyone care now? Do I care if anyone cares now? No!
The most amazing sporting(?) event I have attended in my adult life. Was there for 4 days. People watching was pretty cool. Saw Trump, Jessica Biel/Justin Timberlake, Bush41, Bush43, Michael Phelps, Ditka, Dent, MJeff, Pippen, Trevino, Nicklaus, Mrs. Doubtfire, Couples, Clarke, Crenshaw, Pavin, Lehman and Dave Stockton. Fine euro women all over. Dufner and Hansen's wives? Oh my...
Sunday was by far the best day (from a viewing perspective, not the USA collapse part). 12 matches at the same time. Insanely easy to go from match to match. Experiencing Bubba amping up the crowd on the 1st tee was unreal.
With the possible exception of Dufner, all of them are much more fit in person than they appear inside my television. Couples, Mickelson and Rory in particular. I think I noticed it at this particular event because most of these guys get so much camera time each week. Dustin Johnson is one big dude - with a big wad of chewing tobacco at all times.
All of them bomb the ball, but Rory really does hit it crazy high and far. The coolest thing by far was watching how these guys hit rescue/trouble shots. Webb Simpson hit this amazing top-spin hooded long-iron that went through this tiny hole in the trees and just barely cleared a few mounds while avoiding the branches above. Made it seem routine, even with drunken fans getting into his personal space.
I was out there 12+ hours and my Droid X stock battery drained halfway through the day. Had a charger with me but did not want to miss any action seeking out a charging station. I think it made the experience better. Waiting for the guys to provide updates on the manual scoreboards was a cool, shared experience with other fans.
Seeing McDowell, Sergio and Rory running up the fairways to be there for the clinching putt was a cool sight. I had my share of drunken euros by that time and headed for the gate. A couple thousand people were watching the big-screen by the International Pavillion and all sorts of random people started yelling "MISS IT!" or "NOONAN!" while watching the winning putt. Quite the experience.
Tiger was by far the biggest draw. Jordan and Couples followed Woods or Mickelson most of the day. MJeff or not, still pretty cool to see the crowd react upon spotting him. Then someone yelled out "GO BOBCATS! Everyone laughed and reality set in.
MJ spotted a couple he knew in the crowd and walked RIGHT OVER next to me. Gotta be honest, I'm an oldster, but getting a fist bump from Michael Jordan was
the shit. Oh yeah, If anyone is to blame for the USA collapse, it's MJ.
Dude's a cancer.