I’m a big Tiger Woods fan.
For nearly all of his career that wasn’t something you needed to explain. He made golf exciting to watch and he dominated the sport unlike anyone else. In some respects he dominated golf more than Jordan or Gretzky ever dominated their sports. Few people in this world are known by their first name. Tiger certainly earned that notoriety.
But now it’s a bit more complicated to explain why I still root for him. Not because of his slide back into the realm of mortal men, but simply because all of “that” happened. It’s hard to look people in the eye and try and rationalize rooting for someone who clearly wasn’t quite the person everyone thought they were.
Really though, I’m not rooting for Tiger Woods the person. I know Tiger as well as the next guy, which is to say not at all.
I’m rooting for what he is in the sporting context. A once in a lifetime figure doing something you may never see repeated. Everyone is the next big thing, fewer and fewer people actually deliver. It’s why I root for Jordan Spieth and LeBron. People want to see greatness. I’m not different in that regard.
And with that in mind it’s why I really hope Saquon Barkley plays against Ohio State this weekend. Not to suggest that he is somehow destined to be the greatest running back to ever live. I just want to see one of the most exciting players I’ve seen at Penn State, get his chance on the biggest stage.
Barkley has already turned into something more than just a player for most Penn State fans. People want to know if he’s healthy, people want to know if they’ll get to see him play in person. People pay attention when he’s on the field. People want him to be great.
Count me among those people.
Don’t confuse this with some veiled excuse to root for Penn State. If Braxton Miller was hurt I would feel the same way. I don’t care who wins, but if I’m going to drive across the state to cover this game, I most certainly want to see the best both teams have to offer.
Right now it’s hard to argue that Barkley doesn’t make the list.
In many ways if Barkley sees the field on Saturday coming off of injury it will be a big test for his hype. As national college football writer and State College native Matt Brown of Sports On Earth noted in a conversation earlier this month, nobody knows about Barkley because nobody is watching Penn State.
He may not go from hero to zero because he can’t break off a few spectacular runs against the defending national champs. But imagine if he does, even in a losing effort, introduce himself to a national audience with a few of the plays that have made fans so excited just six games into his career.
Moments like that are how stars are born.
And I like watching stars play.
If nothing else, I don’t want a week-to-week injury rob us of the attempt.
