Tiger

Walt Whitman wrote in
I Sing The Body Electric,

"But the expression of a well-made man appears not only in his face,
It is in his limbs and joints also, it is curiously in the joints of his hips and wrists,
It is in his walk, the carriage of his neck, the flex of his waist and knees, dress does not hide him,
The strong sweet quality he has strikes through the cotton and broadcloth,
To see him pass conveys as much as the best poem, perhaps more,
You linger to see his back, and the back of his neck and shoulder-side."

I'm not a big golf fan. I don't play it, and I have never understood the obsessive level of devotion to the game that so many men have. In fact, I got banned from the Browns forum this week for saying that golf was boring. How wrong was I? I was watching that incredible playoff round of the U.S. Open this week and, fan of the game or not, at some point you have to realize that you are witnessing greatness and appreciate it for what it is. It transcends sport; it is about being the best at what you do and how you got that way. It is amazing to watch people who are the best at what they do.

Preparing for a putt, Tiger made some small motion with his hand, and it was the elegance of his wrist that caught my eye and made me think of the Whitman. I began to notice the deliberateness of every motion. It was in his posture, his gait and stance. It was in his facial expression. And it isn't just that he is beautiful in a physical sense as an athlete. He is that, but all those things were the outward expression of a mental toughness and discipline that I so severely lack I cannot help but be drawn to it in fascination. The intensity. The concentration. The focus. It is one thing to be graced with great physical or intellectual ability. It is another thing to have the force of will and the discipline and drive to hone those gifts into perfection.

Tiger plays golf for a living. He might have been a surgeon or a musician or a painter or a poet, and he would have excelled at any of those things I feel certain. He's the expression of a well-made man. Dress does not hide people like that.