Buffalo Wild Wings? "All the essentials" weren't enough to save your wings, beer, and sports. Macy's? You may encourage people to believe, but millennials learned Santa isn't real years ago and they're responding with a vengeance to make departments stores as nonexistent as Santa's workshop. Home ownership? Millennials are here for a good time, not a long time. Dogs are a far better investment than signing on to any 30 year fixed mortgage rate you can offer.
There's even a sport thought to be in the cross hairs of millennials now: Golf. It's hard to carve out four hours on the weekend to play when you spend every Sunday morning at a bottomless mimosa accompanied brunch. It's even harder to afford a country club membership (or even golf clubs... or even golf balls... or even a golf glove) when you're bunkered by an avalanche of student debt.
Golf valiantly fought its way back into the spotlight a few weeks ago. How? A battered, bruised, and maligned hero by the name of Tiger Woods rose from the ashes to resurrect his battered, bruised, and maligned sport.
The Hero World Challenge, an event actually hosted by Woods every year, marked Tiger's first competitive event since the Adam and Eve of the millennials tasted avocado toast for the first time. Tiger roared out of the gates early (I'm the first blogger to ever utilize that pun) seemingly ready to make golf great again. A stumble on Saturday proved fatal to Woods' chances, but the consensus across the board was Tiger Woods is once again on the prowl (I'm also the first blogger to ever use that pun).
The image of one of the sport's all time greats stalking today's stars, with the backdrop of Augusta's azaleas in April and donning his cardinal red on Sunday, is tantalizing. The prospects of Woods' back holding up long enough to make a serious charge at Jack Nicklaus' major record could dominate headlines for the next couple years, especially if he claims a title this year. The mere impact of Woods' presence at a few tournaments this year could have in reviving interest in the sport shouldn't be discounted.
There's a potentially insurmountable obstacle preventing Woods from turning those dreams into reality, though. Golf currently has a crop of millennials licking their chops at the opportunity to turn Tiger into prey. This generation has been conditioned to beat Tiger if you think about it. Whether it was Drake rapping about making friends with Mike but needing to A.I. him for your survival or Ricky Bobby providing the cure for instant gratification by preaching if you ain't first, you're last, the life lessons are ready to be tested. Not to mention, the short attention spans of this generation won't allow for them to focus for long on Woods making a run during a tournament's final round. With this combination of nature and nurture, Tiger Woods is objectively doomed.
All kidding and popular stereotypes about the generation aside, these guys who have been winning tournaments in Woods' absence are good. Many of them have been scrutinized for not embodying the necessary killer instinct to ascent to Woods' level of dominance, but a factor not discussed enough is the role parity has played in this.
Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and most recently Justin Thomas have generated grumblings of being anointed golf's next big thing after performances in past seasons. Not only have they had to battle each other on Sundays, they have had to contend with resurgent veterans in the likes of Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, and Sergio Garcia and a steady pipeline of younger players, most notably Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm, pumping out new stars with each major. And if his performance at the Hero Wold Challenge is any indication, Rickie Fowler, arguably the most marketable player on Tour, may be done playing groomsman to his friends in 2018.
Casual fans are going tune in and turn out in droves to catch a sight of Tiger at tournaments in the months ahead. They'll elbow to the front of the ropes to catch his unfathomable distance off the tee. They'll dream of his magical short game conjuring up more thunderous roars. They'll feel the need to channel his tenacity and competitive spirit in their own walks of life.
But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. These fans will see golfers overpowering a course nowadays is a dime a dozen. They'll hear delirious celebrations from several holes away, but they'll be a result of Jordan Spieth's latest hole out from a greenside bunker. They'll see these millennials aren't plagued by a sense of entitlement, because just like Justin Thomas, they want to kick their role model's ass.
Millennials kill staples of American culture by the day. Tiger Woods may be an icon unlike any the game of golf has ever seen, but I'm bearish on his chances of ever winning another tournament, let alone a major. His back surgery may take the brunt of the blame if he fails to deliver, but don't let this narrative fool you. This Snapchat loving, fancy cocktail drinking, and Chinese knockoff basketball jersey wearing foursome is about to hunt the title dreams of Tiger Woods' little snoozes into extinction.
J. Nave
There's even a sport thought to be in the cross hairs of millennials now: Golf. It's hard to carve out four hours on the weekend to play when you spend every Sunday morning at a bottomless mimosa accompanied brunch. It's even harder to afford a country club membership (or even golf clubs... or even golf balls... or even a golf glove) when you're bunkered by an avalanche of student debt.
Golf valiantly fought its way back into the spotlight a few weeks ago. How? A battered, bruised, and maligned hero by the name of Tiger Woods rose from the ashes to resurrect his battered, bruised, and maligned sport.
The Hero World Challenge, an event actually hosted by Woods every year, marked Tiger's first competitive event since the Adam and Eve of the millennials tasted avocado toast for the first time. Tiger roared out of the gates early (I'm the first blogger to ever utilize that pun) seemingly ready to make golf great again. A stumble on Saturday proved fatal to Woods' chances, but the consensus across the board was Tiger Woods is once again on the prowl (I'm also the first blogger to ever use that pun).
The image of one of the sport's all time greats stalking today's stars, with the backdrop of Augusta's azaleas in April and donning his cardinal red on Sunday, is tantalizing. The prospects of Woods' back holding up long enough to make a serious charge at Jack Nicklaus' major record could dominate headlines for the next couple years, especially if he claims a title this year. The mere impact of Woods' presence at a few tournaments this year could have in reviving interest in the sport shouldn't be discounted.
There's a potentially insurmountable obstacle preventing Woods from turning those dreams into reality, though. Golf currently has a crop of millennials licking their chops at the opportunity to turn Tiger into prey. This generation has been conditioned to beat Tiger if you think about it. Whether it was Drake rapping about making friends with Mike but needing to A.I. him for your survival or Ricky Bobby providing the cure for instant gratification by preaching if you ain't first, you're last, the life lessons are ready to be tested. Not to mention, the short attention spans of this generation won't allow for them to focus for long on Woods making a run during a tournament's final round. With this combination of nature and nurture, Tiger Woods is objectively doomed.
All kidding and popular stereotypes about the generation aside, these guys who have been winning tournaments in Woods' absence are good. Many of them have been scrutinized for not embodying the necessary killer instinct to ascent to Woods' level of dominance, but a factor not discussed enough is the role parity has played in this.
Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and most recently Justin Thomas have generated grumblings of being anointed golf's next big thing after performances in past seasons. Not only have they had to battle each other on Sundays, they have had to contend with resurgent veterans in the likes of Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, and Sergio Garcia and a steady pipeline of younger players, most notably Hideki Matsuyama and Jon Rahm, pumping out new stars with each major. And if his performance at the Hero Wold Challenge is any indication, Rickie Fowler, arguably the most marketable player on Tour, may be done playing groomsman to his friends in 2018.
Casual fans are going tune in and turn out in droves to catch a sight of Tiger at tournaments in the months ahead. They'll elbow to the front of the ropes to catch his unfathomable distance off the tee. They'll dream of his magical short game conjuring up more thunderous roars. They'll feel the need to channel his tenacity and competitive spirit in their own walks of life.
But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. These fans will see golfers overpowering a course nowadays is a dime a dozen. They'll hear delirious celebrations from several holes away, but they'll be a result of Jordan Spieth's latest hole out from a greenside bunker. They'll see these millennials aren't plagued by a sense of entitlement, because just like Justin Thomas, they want to kick their role model's ass.
Millennials kill staples of American culture by the day. Tiger Woods may be an icon unlike any the game of golf has ever seen, but I'm bearish on his chances of ever winning another tournament, let alone a major. His back surgery may take the brunt of the blame if he fails to deliver, but don't let this narrative fool you. This Snapchat loving, fancy cocktail drinking, and Chinese knockoff basketball jersey wearing foursome is about to hunt the title dreams of Tiger Woods' little snoozes into extinction.
J. Nave
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