Are you feeling more capable lately? Staying up late to finish that project you had been putting off for weeks? Actually using that gym membership you paid for in January?
The credit is not all yours, my friend. You can credit Tiger Woods for the newfound worldwide sense of empowerment. Some people complain that he's yet to fulfill his father's prophecy of being a powerful social figure ready to change the world.
Based on the events between last week's US Open and this weeks surge of duty, I disagree.
You can't say with a straight face that you weren't inspired by a man with a torn ACL and a broken leg winning the most important golf tournament in the country under the toughest annual playing conditions in the world.
Suddenly that hangnail doesn't seem like a valid excuse take a break from typing that report. Get that finger out of your nose and get back to work.
I bet Big Brown's even feeling a little embarrassed for not giving it a better run in Elmont, N.Y. Then again, Tiger knew he wouldn't get shot for revealing a broken leg. The horse would've been in a tough position.
This should also muffle the naysayers who quip that golf isn't a real sport. If a sport's best player tears his ACL because* of that sport then its a real sport. (*I know he actually tore it running but the damage was done on the course.)
Remember the time you didn't feel like mowing the lawn because of a long day at work? Tiger probably didn't feel like playing a 91st hole against a middle-aged comedian after all he'd been through. For heaven's sakes, get a riding mower, sit on the damn thing, and turn the steering wheel, it's that easy.
But if what Tiger did were that easy, it wouldn't have meant so much to everyone who witnessed it.
It was his best win ever, and for me, it was the best tournament I've ever watched. The Monday playoff was the second-best same-pairing duel I've ever seen (next to Tiger vs. Bob May.) I'm only 21, but if I were 121 I don't think either ranking would drop much.
The 14th major title of Tiger's career was courageous, heroic, insane and above all -- inspirational.
You don't have to be a golfer to feel the fire from within to pursue what matters most to you.
Whether it's golfing, digging holes, crunching numbers or even mowing the lawn, watching Tiger this weekend probably made you want to do it to the maximum. That passion inside of you may become extinguished soon, but don't worry, Tiger doesn't have that problem.
So if you missed this weekend's performance, expect more like it in the future. Hopefully without the whole season-ending injury thing.
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