Mar 14

Do you see the hypocrisy with all the John Daly bashing?

Is John Daly Osama bin Laden or just a golfer with a drinking problem?

The big guy is getting bashed so much by golf writers, you’d think he was a child-molesting terrorist sleeping with their wives.

Tod Leonard of the San Diego Union-Tribune calls him “ridiculously out of shape and grossly overweight” and a “big, fat snowball.”

Rick Morrissey of Chicago Sports.com calls him a “mess,” “disaster in progress” “out of control rocket tumbling toward earth” and a “goofy, boozing, chain-smoking wild child.”

Tom Kott of the Washington Post calls Daly a “buffoon” and “bloated and old.”

I’m getting a little tired of these sanctimonious hypocrites hitting the guy when he’s down. They were all part of the myth-making machine when he was on top of the world, when they jumped on that bandwagon.

Now that he’s having some obvious, serious problems, they’re vicious carnivores. That’s easy to be behind a computer keyboard. I’ve seen the type: fawning over Daly in personal interviews, ripping him in print from a safe distance.

Daly has been hailed because his prodigious talent was wed to an everyman image. I got news for you: Everyman has his problems.

I don’t think Daly is going to change his life because of the sage advice of golf writers, many of whom are the first to belly up to the bar.

It’s too much to ask for compassion, I guess. These guys will be the first to canonize St. John again when he quits the booze.

« Top-10 picks to challenge Tiger Woods

Chris DiMarco: Golf swing is all in the butt »

9 comments

§ Ron Mon® said on : 03/14/08 @ 12:51
I don't believe that John can quite the booze and smokes and continue to play golf professionally. His train is on a one-way track; he can either lead a life of bad food, drink and tobacco and continue to play golf, or he can give up the triple threat to live a few more years, in a different line of work. He's pushing 40 and ripe for a heart attack and/or stroke.
§ Aspiring Golfer said on : 03/15/08 @ 07:57
Part of the issue maybe that most golfers are so perfect (or dull, in a Stepford Wives kind of way) that writers get tired with the same vernacular in their coverage. John Daly offers something different and perhaps a welcome diversion for these scribes.
§ Ross said on : 03/15/08 @ 08:10
Your right Tim, but what I don't understand is why his family doesn't have some form of intervention on this guy. He's got more addictions then I have clubs in my bag
§ Billy Dawg said on : 03/15/08 @ 10:14
John loves to say poor me. Pour me a drink. What a shame.
§ Art said on : 03/15/08 @ 20:28
Like most Alcoholics that make a lot of Money,he can't see that he has a problem. He can't see it until he can see it. Maybe with these recent Problems he will wake up and see the truth. His life is worth saving.
Pain is the cornerstone of Change.
§ mickey said on : 03/16/08 @ 16:24
we need to start bashing johnny miller for his hornyness for tiger! has anyone ever seen a grown man love another man as much as johnny loves tiger! miller would kiss tiger right on the butt cheek in front of millions of people if tiger would let him!!
§ BV said on : 03/17/08 @ 11:10
Hard to believe this post is from Swamp Man Tim. It's actually rather compassionate and articulate in trying to call off the dogs nipping at Daly's heels.

The only one who can change Daly's behaviour is Daly. Addiction 101.

Rebuttal to Ronmon - *I* think if he dried out and lost some weight he could still be a force on the tour. I don't think he'll ever quit smoking though.
§ paddyogallagher@yahoo.com said on : 03/19/08 @ 20:44
It's about time one of you guys saw the situation as it is, relativly harmless and for that matter... fun. Daly's a great guy and a classic talent. I enjoy him and his antics. It's almost bazaar the manner in which these cheeseball talentless writers routinely disparage the guy. Their contempt for anyone who likes to get bombed occasionally must be tied into them finding their college girlfriend drunk and naked with...me.
§ jj stefan said on : 03/25/08 @ 18:54
Thank you Tim, finally someone who gets it.