Writing the Pine

Eric Miller/Reuters

Unforgettable is a term we throw around all the time when it comes to sports.  We say some plays and events are unforgettable when truth be told, I’ll probably forget what happened a week later and need to look it up on ESPN.  But the weekend gave us two truly unforgettable events.  First in the undercard, we had the highly anticipated matchup between Jamaican sensation Usain “Lightning” Bolt and American Tyson Gay.  Coming in, this race in the 100m was the main event but little did we know the drama that’d unfold later in the day at Hazeltine.  To be honest though, I, and many others I’m sure did not think Gay would take down Bolt.  The Jamaican is just too fast and the crazy thing is how nonchalant he is about everything.  He really has never seen a camera he doesn’t like.  Dude is always screwing around and trying to have a good time when 5th grade Field Day experiences tell me the moments before a race is one of the most nerve-wracking moments you can ever have.  Plus in the race itself, he doesn’t even look he’s expending any energy.  It’s in-sain.  Contrast that with Tyson Gay who looks like he’s in labor when he’s running and if it’s any consolation for him, easily wins the race for most facial expressions made in 100m.

So if I knew what the outcome was going to be, why was the race unforgettable?  Just look at the picture right above.  9.58.  That’s why.  That’s just ridiculous.  Since Bolt came on the track scene a few years ago, he’s lowered the 100m World Record by 0.19 seconds.  In 2007, the WR was 9.77 and now it’s 9.58.  In 1968 the WR was 9.95.  So it took 39 years for the WR to lower 0.18 seconds but in the last two years Bolt has single-handedly lowered it 0.19.  Again, in-sain.  Everyone wondered in Beijing just how fast Bolt could go if he didn’t screw around and pack it in during the race and now we know and the scary thing for other 100m participants is that he could probably go faster.  Sucks to be a 100m specialist knowing that you’re clearly not going to win anything.  It’s like being a golfer in a major when Tiger Woods has the lead going into the final day…

Oh wait.

He did have the lead in a major going into the final day on Sunday at Hazeltine…

And lost.

To Yong-Eun (Y.E.) Yang.

Who?

We all knew the stat.  Tiger was 14-0 in majors when going into the final day with the lead.  He was in position to make it 15-0 in this year’s PGA Championship and it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that it was going to happen.  Don’t even say that you thought Tiger might lose it.  Going into Sunday, his main competition was seemingly Padraig Harrington and Lucas Glover and I’m sure no one gave the 37-year old from South Korea any kind of shot.  I know I didn’t.  Tiger seemed in position to win his 15th major championship when he birdied 14 but Yang answered loudly with an eagle chip to take the lead.  It was the turning point of the tournament for Yang as he rode the momentum from 14 all the way to his second victory ever as a professional golfer and of course, his first major championship.

Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo

So Yang’s victory (or Tiger’s loss depending on how you look at it) might become just an afterthought for many golf and sports fans.  Sure, Yang’s name will probably just become an answer in Trivial Pursuit Genus LVIII (herb) but to South Koreans everywhere, he’s now a household name that will never be forgotten.  As a South Korean myself, I know this will be the case.  As is the case in America and every country, Koreans love supporting their own.  But this support reaches new heights with Koreans.  Case in point #1: the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.  Find some highlights of Korea playing in that tournament and you’ll hear fanaticism at its best.  The Korean fans never shut the hell up during any Korean matches and their support carried their team to an all-time best 4th place finish.  Case in point #2: my father.  My father’s support for any Korean athlete is so great that he often times pisses my poor mother off with his screaming and yelling.  Point is, Koreans love their athletes so much to the point that LPGA golfers and short-track speed skaters are treated like kings and queens.  So while I’m not sure I’d say an entire country’s hopes and dreams rested on the back of YE Yang, I do know an entire country was watching and supporting him as he went one-on-one with the greatest golfer of all-time.