Grabbed off of Channel A forum: \doc\web\97\02\tigrwood.txt *********************************************************** Visit these interesting Tiger Woods Web sites: http://www.igolf.com/starter/writers/bartlett/masters/t_11wood.html http://www.golfweb.com/ga96/bios/twoods.html http://www.nicom.com/~sports/tiger/woods.html http://www.igolf.com/tiger/watch.html ___________________________________________________________ An interesting Observation_________________________________ The race thing is undoubtedly overblown and unavoidable. Tiger himself says he doesn't really consider himself black -- between his Green Beret father Earl and his Thai mother Kultida, he says his ethnic background includes: African-American, Native American, Chinese, Anglo, Thai and Dutch. And his reception at Augusta National shouldn't be noticeably different than any other competitor. Lee Elder broke the color barrier at The Masters 20 years ago, Augusta National reportedly has invited a second African-American to become a member of the club, and since Augusta took control of the practice day tickets, once easily available, the number of beer-swilling Southern yahoos in the crowd should be minimal. At the same time, however, Tiger Woods understands why people are pinning the "Great Black Hope" banner across his golf shirt. He has the potential to become the first dominant American of color in a game that heretofore has been lily white; and in so doing attract other talented black athletes to take up a game most have ignored up to now. He is, in a great sense, the Jackie Robinson of golf. That's a lot to ask of an 18-year-old kid, even one as talented as Tiger Woods, and so far, he has not backed down from facing up to this challenge, too. Still, it's a lot of extra baggage to be carrying up and down Augusta's steep and slippery slopes. This is Tiger's first dip of the toe into the dark and murky waters of major tournament golf, and we shouldn't expect much from him. And normally, we would allow our national amateur champion the freedom to enjoy this experience in relative peace and quiet. But this is Tiger Woods, of whom a lot of people expect a lot, and there is so much raw talent there that deep down there exists the delicious thought that Tiger Woods might shoot some numbers at Augusta. And wouldn't that be something to see? ELDRICK (TIGER) WOODS 1994 U.S. Amateur 1994 Western Amateur 1994 Southern California Amateur 1994 Pacific Northwest Amateur 1994 William H. Tucker Invitational 1994 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate U.S. Junior Amateur champion, 1991, 1992, 1993 Won 15 junior titles, including 8 American Junior Golf Association titles Member, 1994 World Amateur Team Championship 1990-93: Southern California Player of the Year 1990-91: Rolex Junior first-team All-American ________________________________________________________ Send your comments, suggestions, opinions, and advise to: Robert Clarke@mail.Msj.Edu [top] [post reply] [previous new] [next new] Date: 22.Jan.1997 (Wed) - 10:55 Author: APA Woman eMail: Regarding Tiger Woods. Because I am not really a golf fanatic, I really didn't pay much attention to Tiger Woods--the only thing I knew about him before reading an article in a Magazine was that we was touted as a "young black prodigy" in the game of Golf. It wasn't until I read an article talking about his rich cultural background that I learned that he is actually mostly of Asian Heritage. Isn't it ironic that because the US media sees things as mostly black/white many Asian Pacific Americans (and other Americans!) have little or no idea that Tiger Woods is also an APA? My brother (who follows sports more closely) mentioned to me that Tiger Woods considers himself to be more APA than anything else and that in other parts of the world (other than the US) he is also called an APA. In a way, by having such a rich cultural background, he has the opportunity to bring together people of Asian/African/Native/European American Backgrounds. His parents are very proud of him and I think that it would be great to see more APAs rally behind his achievements, too. It all goes to show that sadly, within the APA and other communities, people are still being regarded and valued by the color of their skin and not by what is beneath it. Someone once made the comment "If you cut me, do I not bleed?" (sorry, I can't remember who said this!) Instead of making quick judgements because of skin color and "racial features" we should all take time to learn more about our similarities as human beings rather than spending our time complaining about our differences. People who are blind have the best perspective--because they have no concept of the color, they must base their friendships and relationships to others through the person's personality--not on the color of their skin, what they are wearing or their physical features. [top] [post reply] [previous new] [next new] Date: 23.Jan.1997 (Thu) - 05:19 Author: bobbicatz eMail: robert_clarke@mail.msj.edu What you have written is very true. I like you, am not a golf Fanantic. I cannot think of anything more to add to your well written commentary. Hope to read more of your opinions in the future. [top] [post reply] [previous new] [next new] Date: 22.Feb.1997 (Sat) - 21:05 Author: John Kawakami eMail: johnk@crl.com Yeah. The first time I saw his picture, I thought he was a Filipino. He doesn't really look very Black. Later on, I found out that he was from Cerritos. That's a pretty heavily Asian/Indian/White suburb, so it's no surprise that he identifies as heavily Asian. I mean, it must be easy to lead an "Asian" lifestyle down there, what with all the shops and institutions and stuff. It's like up here in Monterey Park. If you don't make some major effort to "uphold your culture", you just melt into a real Chicano/Chinese/Asian/Suburban Vibe.