Eye of the Tiger

I like to root for the underdog. It's something I picked up from my dad. Unless it's a team or individual that I closely follow, I'll almost always cheer for the little guy. That's why I want the Lakers to lose. That's why I don't like Lebron. But lately, there's one big dog (actually, a big cat) that I can't help but cheer for ... Tiger Woods.

As I said earlier, I picked up the habit of cheering for the underdog from my dad. He could never want Tiger to win. not once, ever; but I can't help but be amazed and inspired at Tiger's recovery following surgery last year.

For me it started last year when Tiger won the the U.S Open with one leg. One Good Leg. How bad was his other leg? He had season ending surgery on it 9 days after he won. And he was out of the game for nearly a year following the procedure. Now sure, it's not like he didn't pick up a golf club during that time, but for over 8 months he had no competition to compel him, no tournaments to keep him sharp. Despite that fact, he's won 2 of the 6 tournaments he's played in since he came back.

That's just ridiculous. Nobody should be coming back from major surgery at the top of their game. and I can't help but obsess about what is driving him to succeed. He didn't have to come back. What motivates the most dominant athlete in the world?

I don't know, but I'm sure it's not money. Like he could really use an extra $1 million... or $20 million. He could have had his surgery and then sailed the seven seas for the rest of his life, played video games all day, and never trained or dieted again. But he came back.

Maybe it's cementing his legacy, or his ego, or something else, but something drives Tiger Woods enough to bring him back day after day. I found this quote from him online:

“No matter how good you get you can always get better and that's the exciting part.”
(source)

You would think the exciting part for a guy like him is all the stuff he gets as a result of winning: Money, fame, anything. You would think the exciting part is being lauded as one of the best players of all time. But he says that the exciting part is getting better. Improving one detail at a time. Let me put it another way, the excitement is in the journey not the destination.

Now that's something worth thinking about. That's something worth trying. That's something you can cheer for.