Four years ago, alpine skier, Bode Miller, was a goat in the public eye. He came up winless in the Olympics after high expectations. This year, at Vancouver, Miller is a hero, already winning a gold, silver, and a bronze . The catch is, Bode doesn’t give a damn either way. He skis 100 percent, regardless of results, not competing for medals or accolades, but for the fun of the sport. He skis in and for the moment, with abandon, and caring not for what people think of him. He is a true Zen athlete, a pure athlete, who despite many injuries and falls, gets up and tries again, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. I commend Bode Miller for having the courage for being his own man in the face of stinging public opinion. He is not a role model for kids, nor does he try to live up to others expectations, nor does he hold back in competition. He’s been called crazy, reckless, selfish, irresponsible, and immature. And, yes, in all probability, he has been all of those. Yet, Bode Miller is his own man, living his own life. Maybe fatherhood has changed him, or marriage, or renewed dedication to his teammates and country. He defies American values of the “winning a medal or you’re nothing” approach, enhancing his public image, acting like a man, and such nonsense. He has courage, both as an athlete, and as a human being. After his winning run in the Combined Super G, he said, “I came out of the gate ready or risk it all. It feels great to have that freedom. I’m free to ski right now. The way I ski is without regard for consequence. If you can do that in these big Games, you get rewarded.”
In golf, we’ve seen similar examples of professionals who get up and try again. The penultimate golfer was Bobby Jones, who overcame anger issues early in his career, highlighted by walking off the course after series of bad shots in an English tournament, to winning the Grand Slam then retiring from competitive golf forever at 30 years of age. The public was shocked, wanting more of Jones, but, after years of stress and illness, he’d had enough, despite unequaled success. He too was his own man, living life on his own terms. In later life, despite a crippling disease, he showed great integrity and an enduring honoring of the game. In the modern era, David Duval is another example of one who keeps courageously trying in the face of failure. Steve Stricker dove from a wayward driver swing, to almost quitting the game, to coming back and becoming World Number 2. Last weekend, on smaller scales, I saw Bernhard Langer show true grit and get up and down for an impressive birdie on 18 to get into a playoff, then hole a bunker shot on the first hole of sudden death to win. He shed some tears–unusual for Bernhard–not so much for winning itself, but for doing so in front of his friends and family in Boca Raton. And Ian Poulter poured 100 percent into every drive and putt to win his first American tour event and first WGC championship to rise to World Number 5. Poulter was playing golf for golf’s sake, happy to be swinging a club. He was crazy good like Bode Miller on skis. On the other hand, there was Sergio Garcia spitting into a cup after missing a putt last year, showing about as much respect for the game of golf as Tiger Woods had for his wife recently.
For amateurs, I would give the same advice, myself included: Golf crazy. No worries about score. Play for fun. No concern about what your friends say. Play your own game, and play with as much skill and integrity as possible. Have at most one swing thought, and if that doesn’t work, don’t think at all. If you hit a lousy shot, go find it, and hit it again, thanking the golf gods for granting you the physical capacity to play this great game. Think of Bode Miller, whether it be zip in Turin or gold in Vancouver. Be a golfer, and do the best you can in any given moment.
Great insight into Bode Miller. How incredible it truly is when you play your sport for the sake of playing it. Playing it like a champion but without regard to public opinion or expectations of winning or medals. Those are true athletic moments and moments when human potential is that much closer.
Love this! Just got through a slump where I had lost my way… I’m my old “crazy” self again now 😉
Stephen,
You and your friends may read, and print, my book for free. It is also available by order. I would appreciate your opinion. I am happy to say that I have been reccomended by the Artful Golfer on his twitter site.
Warm regards,
Tom Woods