Emotion illustrates it's more than a game

After Tiger Woods' emotional victory at Hoylake in the 2006 British open, Nick Mockford explores the notion that sport really is more than just a game.

I sat up until the early hours of this morning watching the final round of the British Open golf, and despite my bleary eyes when I arose later, I am glad I did.

Watching Tiger Woods produce yet another machine-like final round in a major, and then collapse into the arms of his caddie Steve Williams, was a very humbling and powerful scene. It represented the other side of sport, the emotional side that comes from dedicating a lifetime to a single activity.

I'm not sure whether Eddie McGuire and the Nine network would have dipped into this barrel of thought when coining the famous phrase "It's more than a game", but they don't know just how right they were.

Of course, golf isn't everyone's cup of tea. A lot of people play it, sure, but watching it? It can be very boring at times, even an avid golf viewer like myself will attest to that. Staying up past three in the morning on a Sunday night to watch a result that seemed inevitable beforehand anyway probably isn't desirable to most, but it was worth it just to see Tiger's tears at the end.

Sobbing uncontrollably as he clutched Williams, and then wife Elin, the vision really hit home the fact that, while sport means a lot to the diehard fans who follow every move, it means just as much to those directly involved. There wasn't a dry eye on the course as Woods spoke of how he wished his father, who passed away only two months beforehand, could have witnessed the victory.

Not because most of us know the devastating feeling of losing a loved one, but because emotion is contagious. We all know the power of laughter on others, but the power of tears is just as strong. I had a tear in my eye, as I'm sure many other Australians watching the telecast did as well; not only for Woods, but for brave runner-up Chris DiMarco too, who himself lost his mother recently.

You may ask, why was it so important for his father to witness this victory? Woods' two stroke win took him past Walter Hagen and into second place on his own with 11 major titles, seven fewer than The Golden Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus. His dad had witnessed the ten previous, including his first in 1997 at Augusta, and a very emotional 2005 British Open victory at St Andrews. Surely that's more than enough for one proud father to take in.

However, it really underlines just how much work goes into each and every tournament, let alone just the majors. Every stroke over the four days is a culmination of years and years of hard work, and for Tiger Woods, that means years and years of inspiration from his father, who guided him through the game from an early age. The unpredictability of professional sport is such that any year, day or single moment could be the last.

I loathe mentioning the recent World Cup, as the wounds of defeat are still very fresh and very open, but one similar scene stood out after the devastating loss to Italy in the second round.

Midfielder Jason Culina cut an unconsolable figure in the middle of the pitch, clutching onto coach Guus Hiddink like he would never let go as the tears flowed down his cheeks. This was a different kind of emotion; not the kind that comes with the relief of winning, but one that comes with the utter heartbreak of losing. The biggest stage in the world, all the yards put in to get there, and it's snatched away in a single moment.

We all cried with Pete Sampras when he broke down on court all those years ago against Jim Courier in the epic 1995 Australian Open quarter final, in the knowledge that his coach Tim Gullikson was gravely ill. We shared Roger Federer's utter joy earlier this year in the same event, as he beat the lovable Marcos Baghdatis in the final, and choked on tears as he tried to give his winners speech. Many have mocked the image of Paul Licuria and Mick Malthouse crying after Collingwood's Grand Final loss in 2003, but only a true heart of stone would be devoid of any sympathy.

In a world where so much security is needed and the gap between professional athletes and their devoted fans can often seem like the Grand Canyon, it is human moments like these that prove we are all and one.

As a Kangaroos supporter, I remember the day last September when Leigh Colbert retired. He trudged off the ground after a humiliating defeat at the hands of Port Adelaide, threw his boots away and ackowledged the crowd, as his forlorn teammates walked behind him, with pained expressions all around summing up the afternoon.

Apparently, Colbert was inconsolable in the rooms after the game. Not because of the loss, but because something that had consumed his life for so long was over. With his injury history, football had been something that had brought him as much frustration as joy, but nevertheless, it was a life passion that ended on that gloomy afternoon. All the hard work, sweat and toil was no more, and that is enough to break even the strongest man down.

Sport isn't everything in life, and not many would suggest otherwise, but the emotional side of it proves that it is so much more than just a something to be enjoyed on weekends. While a young student may put in years of study to be accepted into law at a major University, a young athlete will be putting in those same years to be drafted.

Winning a big case for the eleventh time may be just as satisfying, if not more so, than winning a first case, and it's the same for Tiger Woods. The more he pushes himself, the more each victory means, hence the outpouring of emotion early this morning in Liverpool. There are times he seems to be on a different planet, but it's instances like this which show just how human he, along with every other professional athlete, really is.

Crocodile tears? Not likely, Tiger tears are as genuine as any, and it proves that sport is more than just a game.

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