I talked about it the last few years. I think it’s silly. You can’t call it a season long race and have it come down to one tournament. Hypothetically we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at the Players (where he had a neck issue but still won), I finish 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the season long race?
~Scottie Scheffler on FedEx Cup Playoffs
I am a big fan of the current #1 golfer in the world. However, today’s post was inspired by Michelle and Barak Obama. Last night, the former first lady shared the advice Kamala Harris’ mother Shamala gave her daughter when faced with adversity or a challenge, “Do something!” Next, The former president reminded us Donald Trump has not stopped whining about how unfairly he had been treated since he came down that elevator in June 2015. In the context of Scheffler’s comments, I wondered, “Had Masters’ jacket green become the new orange?”
I am sure if Scottie had taken a minute to think about it, athletes in every major sport face the same situation. Ask the 2007 New England Patriots. A perfect 16-0 regular season. Two playoff victories, beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-20 in the divisional round and the then-San Diego Chargers 21-12 in the AFC championship game. But the best season and playoff record in NFL history still depended on winning one more game. After a 13 yard pass from New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress with 39 seconds left in the game, the 10-6 Giants took home the Super Bowl trophy.
Scottie should have also realized that the FedEx playoffs is the one “season-long” champion that does NOT require the recipient of the trophy to win the final event of the season. If the winner of the tournament at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta is not ranked in the top five based on their points total, the FedEx cup is awarded to the player with the most points regardless of that person’s finish at East Lake. As Barak would tell you, “Stop whining.” And Michelle would follow, “Do something. If you want the trophy, go out and win the damn tournament!”
Why, you might ask, in the middle of the most consequential election in our lifetime, do I share a story about Scottie Scheffler. True, a lot is at stake. To be exact, $25 million to the FedEx Cup champion. But that is small potatoes compared to the future of American democracy. Last week, I was talking with a friend who congratulated me for calling every major event in the last four weeks of this extraordinary presidential campaign. He pointed to three things. My post about Joe Biden’s legacy. That he would either be known as the person who made a second Trump presidency possible or as the person to position Kamala Harris to be the first female president.
My post about a post-Biden campaign. If he decided to withdraw from the race, it would be on his terms. He would pick his successor and there would be no intraparty fight for the nomination. And finally, my blog about Tim Walz. We needed someone on the ticket who had succeeded without the benefit of a large inheritance or a Silicon Valley sugar daddy. Someone who succeeded in life the way most Americans do. Michelle Obama said it much better last night when she talked about most Americans not having the advantage of generational wealth or an escalator to the top of the mountain.
Then both she and Barak made the political analogy which reminded me of Scheffler, the Patriots and every other favorite who fell short of winning the “inevitable” championship. In baseball, you can bat 1.000 percent all season, but in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and the winning run on third base, if you strike out, that is all that matters. It’s not what we do for the next 77 days, although that is important. It’s what we do in the fourth quarter, ninth inning or on the 18th hole of this election. We need to have our A-game ready until the polls close on November 5.
After hearing that message from the stage of the United Center last night I realized, for once, Will Rogers may be wrong. Yesterday, in a phone call with our daughter, she said, “You sound up, Dad.” In part, that’s because I now feel I am a member of an organized political party. I am a Democrat.
For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP