Personal Note: He ain't human!

[nebroadwe]

Legend has it that a disgruntled Michigan defenseman, in the wake of his team's humiliating defeat at the hands of the University of Illinois in 1924, excused his squad's failure to stop Red Grange from scoring six touchdowns by uttering the immortal words, "He ain't human."

Now, I do not follow golf, so I cannot explain why I found myself watching the last two rounds of the U.S. Open this weekend, but having done so I must observe that Tiger Woods remains a compelling athlete even after multiple knee surgeries and comebacks from setbacks and what feels like a zillion-year dominance of his sport. His putt for birdie and a tie on the last hole of the last round was amazing -- Mokona Modoki has nothing on Mr. Woods for Super-Dramatic Power. Rocco Mediate, himself a great story both for his I-love-this-game personality and for coming out of nowhere to take and hold the lead in the tournament until Woods made his putt, commented afterward (oxymoronically but with stark emotional truth), "Unbelievable. I knew he'd make it."

He could just as easily have said, as I did, "He ain't human!"