The Real Athlete of the Decade

Today, the AP named Tiger Woods the Athlete of the Decade.

I respectfully disagree.

It has nothing to do with his recent troubles either. I really don't care about that and honestly find it a bit amusing that people think it will significantly impact his career. The middle aged guy Buick is targeting with their Tiger ads isn't going to bail on the mediocre automaker because Tiger has a couple dozen girlfriends on the side. If Middle Aged Buick Customer isn't cheating on his wife already, he probably wants to, so I just don't see them being offended.

My issue with Tiger is that he's a golfer. I'm not going the low brow route of saying golf isn't a sport, but lets keep things in perspective: its not a particularly athletic sport. I wouldn't name a baseball player "athlete of the decade" either. Most of the time, baseball players are standing still. Pro golfers are actually a bit more active since they walk, but its still not the most athletic thing you can do.

No, the real Athlete of the Decade is Roger Federer. First, tennis is a very athletic sport. Second, Federer destroys everyone in that sport. Fifteen grand slam titles, 237 consecutive weeks ranked #1 in the world, and this year, a victory in what is probably the most epic tennis match in grand slam history.

Roger Federer is the best tennis player ever and the inaugural Skynet: California Athlete of the Decade. Congrats sir.