Yank-in' my chain!

For the first time since 1999, the Americans finally won the Ryder Cup. How can you call this a rivalry when one side keeps winning?

First off, I give a lot of credit to Paul Azinger for throwing out the old template and injecting some enthusiasm into the Ryder Cup. Although I don't necessarily enjoy hearing cheers when a player misses a shot or a putt, I believe that the overall enthusiasm by the players is what helped this American team win.

In the past, the Americans seemed to carry this 'too cool for school' energy about them while the Euros were hamming it up and having a great time every step of the way. When two teams are very close in terms of ability and skill, often it is the intangibles that propel one side to the winner's circle. The Euros have had it for a long time, and the American's seemed to have caught on.

As a Canadian I am impartial to who wins, but I will admit I find myself cheering for the Euros. This year, however, I was cheering hard for Ben Curtis to do well. My friend and golf coach Steve Johnson began working with Ben this off season, and I want them both to feel good about the work they have done. I didn't see all the matches, and I think Ben started off a bit slowly, but really played well on Sunday during the singles. Congrats Ben and congrats Steve.

One of the things I find HILARIOUS about watching the NBC broadcast of the Ryder Cup is how absolutely bent out of shape Johnny Miller gets when the American's are down in matches or flat out losing. The guy is such a....patriot (okay, I wanted to use another word or two but I will be nice) he comes unglued with every missed shot and heaven forbid if one of the Americans gets a bad bounce. If they are winning, he gets flat cocky. He used to really irritate me, but now I just laugh at him.

I think after this victory by the Americans, we are going to see one charged up Ryder Cup in 2010. The Euro's and their fans will think about Anthony Kim encouraging the crowd to cheer after Sergio hit his ball in the water (twice) and will think about nothing more than upstaging them. There will finally be some rivalry back in the Ryder Cup.