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Why weren't fans rooting for Rocco?

Found June 17, 2008 on The Big Picture:
PLAYERS: Tiger Woods,  Rocco Mediate
TEAMS: New York Yankees,  New England Patriots

As sports fans, we're trained to love the underdog. We adore the David vs. Goliath match-up. We crave the upset. We root against dynasties and traditional powerhouses because of it.

With one exception: Tiger Woods. We love Tiger Woods.

We, admittedly, are not golf fans and know little about the game, so when we watched the captivating playoff round of yesterday's U.S. Open (by far the most golf we've ever watched in one sitting), we were puzzled to see the crowd at Torrey Pines so behind Tiger when his competitor, Rocco Mediate, was the classic underdog: a low-ranked 45-year-old no-name who had never won much of anything and seemed like the nicest guy in the world.

We had our David vs. Goliath story. The upset was in the making. It would be the perfect ending to a great tournament. But, as an ESPN.com poll proved, nearly 66% of voters were rooting for Tiger.

If Tiger is the Yankees or Patriots of golf, why the support? Why the love? Why is his fandom so universal? Why does he trump our most practiced principle in sport: root for the underdog?

Help us understand. Please!
Original Story: http://zachls.blogspot.com/2008/06/wh...
2 Comments:
  • It's beyond me. If you can't pull for a likeable 45-year old ,number 150 in the world, with no majors and no wins in 6 years, against the greatest golfer of all time, I don't see how you could pull for any underdog ever. Rocco may have been the biggest underdog of all time.
    by prcleburne   June 18, 2008   Reply   Options  
  • I wish only the best for Rocco for the rest of his career. I hope he doesn't slip back into obscurity. He, too, has the heart of a champion.
    by prcleburne   June 19, 2008   Reply   Options  
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