There are days that every sports fanatic craves. There are days when the couch and a six-pack become your best friends. There are days when everything but sports ceases to exist — and it’s awesome.
Every sports nut has their calendar marked with important dates years in advance. No matter the sport, no matter the time, no matter the location — once it’s game time, sports fans have only one thing on their minds. On certain days of the year the love for your team intensifies, the hatred for the opposition strengthens and the number of empty beer bottles increases. There is something about the first Thursday of the NCAA basketball tournament that is indescribable. There is something about the NFL’s conference championship Sunday that has fans steamed up. And, there is something for every sports fan.
Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph over the United States highlighted the fact that Monday finishes in golf are awesome — especially at the Ryder Cup. The scenes that unfolded at the Celtic Manor in Wales in early October were breathtaking.
A sport that is built on gentlemanly conduct and polite etiquette became a spectacle of fist pumping and crowd singing. Due to the inclement weather in the U.K., the event was pushed back a day and instead of finishing on Sunday, like all traditional golf tournaments, it was moved to Monday. Golf tournaments rarely finish on a Monday, but when they do, they don’t disappoint. The anticipation built up due to play being postponed only increased the atmosphere.
The Ryder Cup is the standout tournament in golf. There is an atmosphere that is unique and one that cannot be replicated in any other tournament. For golf fans, it is not often that you can join together and cheer on a common ally and boo a common enemy. It is a unique sound to hear chants usually heard at soccer stadiums to be belted out in the peaceful Welsh countryside.
The players embrace the tournament as much as the fans. As an individualistic sport, it is imperative in golf to keep your emotions in check and to try and stay relaxed. However, at the Ryder Cup all this is thrown out of the window. Players feed off of the crowd’s energy. Players suddenly come out of their shells and show personality. With every song the fans sing, players reciprocate with a fist pump. For three days, every two years, an entire continent loves to hate the United States. For three days, every two years, the United States loves to hate an entire continent.
Whether it is a Sunday or a Monday, the final day of the Ryder Cup is one of the landmark dates on the sporting calendar. It is one of the few occasions when golf fans can cheer on a team. It is the one time fans can let their hair down, drink a few beers and make a lot of noise on a golf course. The game is played with a spirit and passion that is sometimes missing from other tournaments — golf suddenly becomes exciting to everybody. Fans who don’t usually follow golf become enthralled in the Ryder Cup.
Patriotism runs through the veins of all sports fans and we don’t need an excuse to cheer on our respective countries — and in golf we don’t get the chance to very often. So, when the Ryder Cup comes around we make the most of it and it makes the final day of the tournament one of the best days in sports.
Off the Bench
After more than a year at the newspaper, I will be leaving The Current because I am graduating from graduate school. This will be my final On the Bench column. Thank you to everyone who read my column and showed great support during my time at the newspaper. It has been a pleasure writing for The Current, but sadly it is time for me to get off the bench and start the next chapter of my life.
