Tiger!

[JJsushi]

Jazz said:

>>I can't blame Tiger, after all he is AMERICAN and not Thai. He has no connection to Thaland aside from his mother being Thai.<<

 

I agree with you ... *BUT* in a sense, he's lucky that he looks black. Thus he's accepted as "American" .. and many people may even forget about his ethnicity.

 

Now, if his Asian feature was more pronounced, I'm not sure he would have been as embraced as "American". But that's my pet peeve about being "American".

 

I think there is merit to your argument. I would think it has something to do with Blacks being marketed as entertainers and athletes on a global scale for decades. Most foreigners exposure to Blacks usually stem from some form of media and they may never actually meet a Black on a personal level. I think this makes Blacks more accepted and gives them better marketing appeal. Just keep them niched in entertainment and sports. and the world will be happy.

 

When was the last time one saw an Asian person marketed globally in something other than a martial arts movie? Jet Li and Jackie Chan are the only ones I can think of at the top of the game and even they are not "A" list actors.

Asian don't appeal to Hollywood for some reason and they rarely make it the top of mainstream sports on a global level although I know the NBA is attempting to make Yao Ming a household name.

[Steve]

BadaBing said:

 

Truly thought you would have added to your rare sports " chasing BG's " eh Grandpa

 

Bada Bing

 

BadaBing, you have far too many 'major wins' under your belt (litterally and figuretively) for me to ever be in your class.

[Steve]

Jazz said:

>>I can't blame Tiger, after all he is AMERICAN and not Thai. He has no connection to Thaland aside from his mother being Thai.<<

 

I agree with you ... *BUT* in a sense, he's lucky that he looks black. Thus he's accepted as "American" .. and many people may even forget about his ethnicity.

 

Now, if his Asian feature was more pronounced, I'm not sure he would have been as embraced as "American". But that's my pet peeve about being "American".

 

Finally, the day has come when looking black (as well as anglo) is also looking 'American' haha...the skater, Kwan (is it Nancy her first name) was seen as our 'all American' skater in the Olympics. Her Asian features were not an issue. There are over 40 million blacks in America and we've been here for over 400 years but a lot of times Asians aren't seen as 'Americans'. But I think its changing quite a lot. There is a soccer player, Ching is his surname I think that is on the national team. The problem for Americans of Asian descent is that there are so few of them in professional sports. A lot of Americans who are also hispanic are in baseball and boxing and are regarded as American (Jose Conseco, Oscar DeLaHoya, etc.) but there is a dearth of Asians.

 

As for Tiger and today's golfing scene. I am not as knowledgeable about golf admittedly but its generally accepted than in all sports, the level of play has gotten better over the years. Today's athletes are bigger, stronger and the technology of the equipment are far better than at any time. Also training techniques, diet and modern medicine has helped athletes heal faster.

[Zorro]

Nicklaus and Greg Norman have openly stated that they are amazed at what Tiger can do.

 

He has shots that they cannot play and nonwithstanding better club and ball technology he hits the ball further and can play shots they never could.

 

That says it all to me.

 

Another thing about Tiger is that he was so good a few years back and was dominating world golf so much that he forced many of the guys to go to the gym to hit more balls and to do more training to try to get close to his level. In effect he was so good that he raised the bar for everybody.