Let us not lose sport to those risk averse control freaks, in Rory McIlroy we rejoice and celebrate one of life’s great entertainers who embodies what sport should be about.
Golf is better as a TV sport and while we may moan at the amount of people in the front row of a gallery watching one of the greatest golfers on the planet from a mere five yards away THROUGH A PHONE it’s worth remembering that we are just as guilty on our armchairs.
How many times do we have a quick scroll on TikTok or Instagram and miss a shot? Scottie Scheffler has just played but you don’t really need to watch. You know it’s ten feet from the hole. Standard.
When it comes to Rory McIlroy, the phone stays in the pocket, because God only knows what is going to happen. You’re not slumped into the back of your chair you are leaning forward with the same aggression and concentration that you would when 1-0 down to your younger sibling in a game of FIFA.
Something is going to happen.
Sure, Scheffler has his happy feet but other than that he is tunnel visioned, process driven and programmed to deliver ruthless efficiency – his Open Championship and PGA Championship victories, which deservedly won him PGA Tour Player of the Year, were processions from round three on.
McIlroy won four times this year. The Pebble Beach Pro-Am was comfortable in the end, but the Masters, Players Championship and Irish Open. He could so easily have come up short in all three and leave us with the same empty feeling like in 2024 where he was officially crowned golf’s nearly man.
Each McIlroy win was littered with jaw dropping moments both good and absolutely hide behind the couch horrendous but that’s what makes him great, that’s sport. Yes, sport is a results business but a bit of entertainment is welcome too.
It makes you wonder, what do we want from sport?
I absolutely despised Manchester United growing up. Childhood ruined by one man and his eleven minions – and a sly fiver in the ref’s back pocket – and yes I would go to bed gutted at another 94th minute winner but looking back wasn’t it entertaining?
It can be argued that Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp didn’t clinch the amount of silverware they should have. Three seasons of over 90 points in the Premier League only yielded one title while the German had a 1/3 record in Champions League finals.
Perhaps Liverpool were too gung ho at times. Don’t sit back and protect the 2-0, go for the third and to hell if we concede. Heavy metal football it was called and it certainly had fans banging their heads such was the ferocity of the style of football.
They were only stopped by Manchester City and their ruthless excellence. Coached to within an inch of their lives. Each pass and sequence of play part of a method to turn players into near robots. They go one or two nil up in a game, in their pomp it would be enough to change the channel on the TV. This season, not so much.
Although Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have ruined football. Ultra defensive, risk averse bullshit, corner kicks, long throw ins, set pieces that take forever and a day, culminating in games where the ball is in play for only half of the time. If I wanted to see that I’d go and watch Leinster Rugby.
Isn’t this the style of play that we used as a stick to beat the Republic of Ireland men’s team? Maybe we were ahead of our time.
McIlroy, Klopp and Sir Alex Ferguson – he says with a grimace – are the antithesis to this relentless pursuit of manufactured perfection, ruthless excellence and over control. Yes, they have won plenty and it can definitely be argued that they left victories behind them because of their desire to go gung-ho and off the cuff, which leads to errors which can be costly at the wrong time. But you’d pay over the odds to watch them.
For better or worse they went for it and to hell with the circumstances. If I need to eagle the last I’ll eagle the last, if we need to score three we’ll score three. Sportspeople also earn far too much money than they could ever need, but money was far from McIlroy’s mind when taking on that shot at the 15th or 17th at the Masters…
McIlroy clinched the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award on Thursday night and deservedly so. Personality is the key word here, he has it in abundance.
The Holywood man is the main character in a sport which he has transformed in his own way and shows that golf might just be punching with the big wigs in the entertainment stakes.
McIlroy became just the third golfer in the 71-year history of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award to win and first since Nick Faldo in 1989 – the year McIlroy was born.
He probably should have won it in 2014 when he won two majors… But that’s long been forgotten about now. This award is hugely significant for the sport.
Golf is growing a new identity. The days of the stuffy, white, rich, old men with sweater vests are becoming more distant. Golf is inclusive and has enjoyed a boom since Covid. It’s not quite done a full 180 and gone hipster but there are enough hoodies and sweatpants to boot.
The fact that this was decided by a public vote is huge. People know golf is no longer a minority sport played by the upper class. McIlroy’s Masters and Grand Slam victory was one that captured the world and not just those who enjoy golf. It was one of the greatest sporting moments of all time and it is great to see it being recognised on a show where golf has often been overlooked.
Despite his hundreds of millions of dollars, there is a human side to McIlroy and it is reflected in his personality and in his golf. One of life’s great entertainers. This was a win for the good guys.
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