Presidents Cup: Tiger Woods Can Thank Money, Friends and the Past for His Spot

Tiger Woods is currently ranked 44th in the world and 29th in the Presidents Cup standings. Under no circumstances does he deserve to be on Team USA.

Despite his past accomplishments, his play has been so poor that one cannot fairly say he deserves to be on the team. Fred Couples' pick represents the many wrongs of the sports world. It is a decision that was intertwined with money and a personal agenda. It is based on the past performances of a figure who the media still makes bigger than the sport.

In my opinion, this pick serves as a microcosm for the forces that exert a negative effect on major sports.

For instance, Notre Dame and Michigan football are playing in primetime this upcoming Saturday. The performances of these two schools over recent years should have them relegated to regional coverage in the afternoon. However, the tradition and money that these schools have makes their play irrelevant.

Similarly, Tiger Woods will draw more people to watch the Presidents Cup, so his poor play is pushed aside for these other interests.

Fred Couples is reported to be friends with Tiger Woods. Picking a buddy to play on the team is advancing a personal agenda that is detrimental to the sport. College football coaches do this by inflating the rankings of teams on their schedule in an attempt to increase their own standing.  

Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, has bent over backwards to keep the Coyotes from moving back to Canada from Phoenix. This is because the failure of the southern expansion would reflect poorly on his tenure. I cannot think of another motive that would otherwise explain this behavior.

I don't consider Fred Couples to be as malicious as the prior two examples. He is not picking Woods purely to further his own interests. However, it still screams of putting the good of the sport behind a personal agenda.

The prior sentence sums up the BCS system in college football pretty well. A playoff system clearly would be the fair way to crown a champion. Opponents of the system are concerned about losing money. The sanctity of the bowl system is just a bogus way to defend their revenue.

I will concede that economic interests of sports need consideration. However, I do not believe sports should be treated like a corporation, where profit is the only goal.

College football would still be a big money-maker with a playoff system. Schools wouldn't be folding teams left and right without the bowls. 

The PGA Tour just signed a nine-year network TV contract with CBS and NBC. Troubled tournaments like The Heritage and The Wyndham Championship signed sponsor deals. The sport is not going to go bankrupt if Tiger Woods isn't around.

Furthermore, sports are supposed to represent a break from the realities of everyday life. New York Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner compared revenue sharing by the MLB to socialism. Supporters of high-spending teams use the same arguments against a salary cap that the Republicans use against taxes.

Dragging societal issues into sports destroys the escape that it provides. Playoff teams are not based on profit levels. The Presidents Cup standings don't factor into sponsorship contracts. If they did, Woods would easily make the team.

The final issue has to do with the media coverage of Tiger Woods. He is still treated like he is bigger than the game. Every single shot is televised and random clips of him show up at seemingly every golf broadcast.

It is similar to how Brett Favre was treated last year by ESPN. The Vikings were not a contender, yet Favre caused them to receive a disproportionate amount of national coverage. He was one of the worst quarterbacks in the league last year on a terrible team. He had a great career, but what is the point of showing someone just because they used to be good?

Tiger Woods playing in the Presidents Cup is simply bad for sports. He was picked because of a personal relationship, past accolades and money. It may be positive for the economic side of golf, but golf is not just about money.  

The great thing about professional golf is how fair the playing field is. Every golfer plays from the same tees to the same pin on the same course with the same number of clubs. Past accolades do not help your score, you don't get to move up a tee or have more clubs.

The selection of Tiger Woods is representative of everything that moves sports away from this fair playing field.