Forget the Badgers and the Packers. By far the biggest sports story in Wisconsin since the Packers last won the Super Bowl is Steve Stricker's run at the FedEx Cup.
For the most part, the national media has completely ignored him as best they can. Stricker – a soft-spoken, nice, down-to-earth, family guy living in Madison – has quietly crept up to # 5 in the WORLD rankings. That's world as in the whole damn planet, and about the only place you'll hear about it is in the local news. (Okay, ESPN gives him some airtime, but they cover amateur skateboarding, fer chrissake.)
If Stricker would drink, smoke and gamble like John Daly, he'd be on the cover of Sports Illustrated this week. Maybe if his wife was a model, and he owned a jet and lived in a mansion on an island, NBC would feature him more prominently in their ads promoting their coverage of the FedEx Cup. If he hipped up his wardrobe like the kids on the tour, or had thicker hair or wasn't so... so damn WASP-y, he'd get hounded mercilessly by paparazzi until he eventually beat one to a pulp and had a Britney Spears-type breakdown.
Being a world-class PGA player is not without its rewards – Stricker has won over $4 million in prize money this year. But being a quiet, nice, responsible guy living in tiny Madison, WI doesn't bring in the huge endorsement deals that less accomplished athletes have received or get you on The Tonight Show or sell a lot of magazines.
Of course, that could all change – temporarily, of course – with a win over Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson this weekend. Good luck, Steve. I'll be rooting for you.
Monday, September 10, 2007
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