12/22/24
September 22, 2006
Hidden: Masters? Michelle Wie Should Master LPGA First, says Female Sportswriter: San Jose Mercury News' Ann Killion: "Wie, just 16, most likely has a spectacular career in front of her. But she's off to a rough start. And she's feeding a perception that female athletes have battled for years: that the only valid arena is the one the men play in...she's also losing the respect of the golfers she should view as her peers and role models."
posted by L.N. Smithee to golf at 02:35 PM - 31 comments
Smithee, stop pushing your agenda here. It's really getting old.
posted by bperk at 02:51 PM on September 22, 2006
"She's not doing it the way I would do it. Therefore she's wrong." Crap. "She's losing the respect of her peers, whom she should view as her role models." Well, are they her peers or her role models? Michelle wants to do it differently - if she fails, she fails. I think the real issue is that she's not helping increase their purses. Hey, I'm sure that blanket statement has some ammunition - but really, who cares. It's a individual sport - they're all free agents and there is no team to 'betray'. I think she might be overdoing it, and may be a little to precocious, but that's the beauty of golf - you get to do what you want to do - from Tiger to John Daly, Annika to Michelle.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:52 PM on September 22, 2006
Someone, please! We don't need to go through this again. Let's delay our suffering until there's actually a valid reason to talk about it. At that time we can hear the same arguements from the same people.
posted by YukonGold at 02:55 PM on September 22, 2006
Not quite done grinding the Wie axe, Smithee? Get your own blog. I bet obsessivehatredofmichellewie.com is available.
posted by jerseygirl at 02:57 PM on September 22, 2006
I am unplugging my computer now before it over heats...again!
posted by Termite at 03:07 PM on September 22, 2006
what jerseygirl and everyone else said. I'll add... get therapy, dude.
posted by scully at 03:08 PM on September 22, 2006
So we can have half a million posts on Barry Bonds and T.O. but Smithee gets blasted for posting something on Wie. I know he may dislike Wie but that's not the point. I think its a valid link.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 03:17 PM on September 22, 2006
I know he may dislike Wie but that's not the point. No, that kind of is the point, actually. It's not even a newsworthy/new story, it's merely just an instrument to push his ongoing obsessive anti-Wie agenda.
posted by jerseygirl at 03:28 PM on September 22, 2006
I think we should discuss this because it is an original viewpoint. Michael Wilbon has only said this for 3 years on PTI. But he has testicles. So this is fresh new stuff. Thanks!
posted by yerfatma at 03:36 PM on September 22, 2006
Michael Wilbon has only said this for 3 years on PTI. But he has testicles. Source?
posted by wfrazerjr at 03:38 PM on September 22, 2006
Why do otherwise intelligent people refuse to understand that the LPGA is not the "men's league", but is open to anyone good enough to play? I just don't get it. No one has trouble understanding that young people can play in the Junior PGA and the PGA. Why can't they transfer that same logic to the LPGA and PGA?
posted by bperk at 03:39 PM on September 22, 2006
The woman who wrote the article, Ann Killion, clearly hates women and hates Michelle Wie. That's the only valid reason to criticize Wie, according to some on this board. If you don't want to discuss it, ignore it. That's pretty easy.
posted by BlueCarp at 03:52 PM on September 22, 2006
Wie hater #2 has arrived!
posted by bperk at 03:53 PM on September 22, 2006
frazer, I'm willing to take Wilbon's word, be it expressed or merely implied, that he has testicles. And that's the closest thing to a relevant statement I feel I can make about this thread. What tieguy, bperk, Yukon, j-girl, termite, terrapin, CeCe, Ray-Ray, Pookie, Tito, Jermaine, Abbott, Costello, Scary, Baby, Posh, Sporty, Frankie, Annette, Shemp, Curly Joe and Zeppo said.
posted by chicobangs at 03:56 PM on September 22, 2006
Stop!! She great to look at, but please.... PGA officals are as much to blame as Michelle Wie. She is good, but not great and if she continues to play on the mens tour - the effects could be pschycological. She may never get her "A" game at this pace.
posted by jzonker at 04:04 PM on September 22, 2006
I am not a regular to SpoFi, so please forgive the ignorance, but is there a rule that you have to read and/or comment on every post? If you're not interested in the subject then why not ignore that link and move on? I get the idea some of you just sit by your computer waiting for a reason to blast someone. Why not just move on to the next post on steroids, or Bonds, or T.O. , or one of the many dead horses that take a beating on this site. Besides, wouldn't a post with 0 comments send a stronger message that no one's interested?
posted by ampto11 at 04:11 PM on September 22, 2006
You took the words out of my mouth ampto!! People wait for their chance to rip someone. Makes them feel better about there form on spofi , but on the other hand her not being able to compete is a non issue
posted by sgtcookzane at 04:37 PM on September 22, 2006
Stop!! She great to look at, but please.... Thank you for providing the gratuitous sexist "I'd hit it" reference for this thread about a female athlete (although is that really what it's all about?). PGA officals are as much to blame as Michelle Wie. She is good, but not great and if she continues to play on the mens tour - the effects could be pschycological. She may never get her "A" game at this pace. How many times are people like you going to need to be told that the PGA is not a "mens[sic] tour"?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:37 PM on September 22, 2006
I have not shown obsessive hatred for Michelle Wie (I think) so if I had posted the article, would it have recieved the same blasting that it has under Smithee? Like ampto, I thought SportsFilter is a weblog where anyone can contribute a sports-related link and participate in discussions.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 04:40 PM on September 22, 2006
I am not a regular to SpoFi, so please forgive the ignorance, but is there a rule that you have to read and/or comment on every post? If you're not interested in the subject then why not ignore that link and move on? There is a significant difference between (for example) going into a thread on the 2006 Ryder Cup and commenting, "Aaah, golf is stupid, it's not a sport, fuhgeddaboutit," and going into a thread created by someone with a history of axe-grinding on a particular subject and pointing out that he's doing it again. Oh, and you should be aware that there are posting guidelines, but as an infrequent visitor, you may not know that they've been elaborated on somewhat by the Pantheon, to explain what flies and doesn't fly here. Anyone who posts anything -- FPP, comment, whatever -- should read and be familiar with them. Do so, and you won't have to ask questions about whether everyone has to post in every thread.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:41 PM on September 22, 2006
I have not shown obsessive hatred for Michelle Wie (I think) so if I had posted the article, would it have recieved the same blasting that it has under Smithee? No, YYM, it would not have. Smithee pretty much only comes around when he has a political axe to grind. Very few of his posts are even sports at all. But, there isn't even a story here, nothing has happened since the last Wie-bashing thread.
posted by bperk at 04:49 PM on September 22, 2006
I hate to be the East German judge here, but I have to agree with YYM and suggest that the link and topic are both valid, regardless of who is posting it. It seems that there is a great deal of confusion between the "Wie shouldn't play in PGA events because she's a girl" argument and the "Wie shouldn't play in PGA events because she's not good enough to compete" argument. The second one is my viewpoint, but it seems that many who take my view get lumped in with those who take the first. I was totally in favor of Annika giving it a shot a few years back, because at the time, she was dominating the women's tour, so trying out a couple of PGA events was a challenge that made sense. But it is perfectly fair to suggest that Wie could be damaging her career by playing in PGA events and badly missing the cut instead of getting her legs under her in the LPGA, where she still hasn't won anything yet. Ultimately, it's her choice, and this is a free country last I checked. But to suggest that it's not helping her is a logical argument and does not automatically make the person a hater or a sexist.
posted by TheQatarian at 04:58 PM on September 22, 2006
Let her Tee off after 2PM, like the good old days.
posted by JRWittig at 05:14 PM on September 22, 2006
There is a significant difference between (for example) going into a thread on the 2006 Ryder Cup and commenting, "Aaah, golf is stupid, it's not a sport, fuhgeddaboutit," and going into a thread created by someone with a history of axe-grinding on a particular subject and pointing out that he's doing it again. I agree that there is a difference in the examples you have provided, I never implied otherwise. I'm just not sure what the point is in responding if this is the same garbage that has been posted before. But thank you for the info, llb, I'll take it as freindly advice. I hope I've not violated any guidelines, I was merely wondering why those who are so put off by "someone with a history of axe-grinding on a particular subject " would not just choose to move on to another post rather than waste time on this one. Off to check those new guidelines now.
posted by ampto11 at 05:24 PM on September 22, 2006
Michelle is young yet. In all probability she will become a hall of fame golfer on the LPGA, possibly the best yet. Naturally she wants to challenge herself against the best competition. Few would argue that the best competition is on the PGA tour. So far she has just helped make some of the less touted events on the PGA tour more interesting for the fans. I don't see a problem with that. If the sponsors did not think she would be good for their advertising, they would not be giving her exemptions. It's good for her, if it is what she wants to do. It is good for the PGA because it creates more interest in the tour. Just let it play out. If she really fails at it, the sponsors will lose interest in giving her exemptions. If she succeeds, she will have competed with the best successfully. I'm sure the majority of female athletes (if not females in general) want her to succeed. That is creating a lot more female interest in golf, which can only be a good thing for golf in the long run.
posted by edlwhite at 05:24 PM on September 22, 2006
I was merely wondering why those who are so put off by "someone with a history of axe-grinding on a particular subject " would not just choose to move on to another post rather than waste time on this one. the link and topic are both valid, regardless of who is posting it. My feeling on discussion groups in general and this place in particular: done right, the place should be like a neighborhood bar or a group of friends. In real life, it would be needle on a record if there were folks who only came by to bitch about a particular hobbyhorse. Everyone who comments twice or more here has some sort of emotional investment in the place, so it sucks when someone makes a mess. Smithee, it sucks all the more when the messmaker is someone who is a great contributor at other times. I'm sorry, I just can't divorce the topic from the speaker and I don't necessarily find fault with myself for that. Mea maxima culpa.
posted by yerfatma at 05:31 PM on September 22, 2006
Bear in mind, she's not yet eligible to be a member of the LPGA, and can only get a handful of sponsor exemptions. It's not as though she's turning her back on them.
posted by themightyjobu at 05:33 PM on September 22, 2006
She's not even the best female in the world so why does she think she can compete with the men?
posted by LaKeR4LiFe at 06:45 PM on September 22, 2006
If this place is like the neighborhood bar, this should get really interesting once everyone gets liquored up.
posted by volfire at 06:53 PM on September 22, 2006
Sorry, been out.
posted by justgary at 06:55 PM on September 22, 2006
Do we really have to discuss this yet again? There have been at least two threads that this was the topic of in the past year, and every virtually wie thread has derailed into this. It just isn't newsworthy or interesting.