I had a ‘Berry before most of you had cell phones. I have an iPhone now. I know all about Facebook. I don’t Tweet ( blogging is all I think you people can probably stand of me ) but I do follow a few Twitterers. All my music comes from iTunes. I live with two teenagers, and am in regular contact with a 21 year old. When IDK, WRU, WTF, and L8TR show up on my iPhone I know what they mean. I know who The Fray, The Flo-Bots, and Cage The Elephant are. I can do several of Dane Cook’s routines from memory( not that I’m proud of that or anything, but you hear them enough and they kind of sink in ). My point here is that, in spite of being a mom, I have managed to keep up with the world in general. I am not stuck back in the ‘80’s or something. And I don’t think the game of golf should be stuck there either.
I am on record as stating I have no problem with the emotions shown on the golf course by the younger players. That in fact I think it’s a good thing. And I don’t mind a cheering gallery either. Golf needs a little more ‘umph’, as it were.
But ( and you knew there was a but ).
Golf does not need cheerleaders or face paint.
We watched the Solheim Cup this weekend. All of it. Or at least all of it that was on The Golf Channel. Which was basically all of it. It was good golf. No, it was GREAT golf. The Americans’ were favored to win, and they did. But it was all tied up going into the singles matches on Sunday. The Europeans gave them a real run for the money. Or the Cup, as it were.
Anyway. I know that most of the team members were young. 7 of them were under 30. And I know it was exciting, and a team format, which they are decidedly not used to. I imagine it was a lot of fun to be playing With the same women they normally play Against. And I know there was the whole ‘representing your country’ thing. And apparently they all stayed in the same house, and there was music and dancing and much camaraderie. I get all that.
But that is no excuse for the putting of hands together and cheering, or inciting the crowd to cheer “Let’s go Morgan, Let’s go’ with their ribbonned pony tails bouncing. Or the flag waving parade that resembled nothing so much as a Color Guard presentation. And the face paint. Don’t even get me started on the face paint. Thank the golfing gods that Julie Inskter refrained from face paint. I would have lost most of the considerable respect I have for Julie if she had shown up with a design painted on her cheek. All in all it resembled nothing so much as a bunch of high school cheerleaders that just happen to be able to play golf.
I didn’t mind the fist pumps, or the dancing off the greens, or the high fives, or the cheering crowd. And Christina Kim should bottle that personality and that smile and sell it as an anti-depressant. I love her joi-de-vivre.
But they got carried away and took things over the top. And it wasn’t just me. If you watched, there were several points over the 3 days where the younger girls were busy doing the cheerleader thing and Julie Inkster and Christie Kerr were in the background looking distinctly uncomfortable. Even during the opening ceremonies.
I’m not a grouch or an old fuddy duddy. Really. But it is Golf, not volley ball, or field hockey, or soccer. And there is tradition, and decorum, especially with something like the Solheim Cup. That is part of what makes Golf golf, and not field hockey or soccer. And they are professionals, not high school students.
In two years the cup will be played in Europe. I imagine just being out of the US will have a bit of a dampening effect. I hope so. And I hope that more mature heads prevail the next time it is in the US. Because in 4 years it will be held practically in my back yard. So we will of course have tickets. And I’m afraid if cheerleading ensues the mom in me might just have to pull a couple of them over and explain about proper behavior on a golf course, and use spit on a napkin to wipe the paint off their cheeks. And we really don’t want that to happen, do we girls? Hmmmm? Didn’t think so.
[ Jigger: So this couldn’t possibly have anything to do with your overall feelings of intense dislike for
high school cheerleaders, could it?
TGW: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Jigger: You know. The fact that you despise cheerleaders because they never came to cheer at your
swim meets, but always showed up to cheer for the boys swim meets.
TGW: Well they should have cheered for us instead. We were WAY better than the boys. We took the
All-City meet 3 years in a row. They didn’t even get close. They should have come cheer for the
winners.
Jigger: So the woman who thinks Sergio Garcia is hot and refers to Mr. Villegas as Cammmmilo, is
questioning the dedication of a group of high school girls who would rather go cheer for a
bunch of totally ripped high school boys wearing Speedos.
TGW: Look, over by the shed, isn’t that a squirrel? ]
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