keep up, buddy!

This sunday Roger Federer won his 5th straight Wimbledon and his 11th major. What a feat! and what a match it was with Rafa.

Not so long ago, I remember watching Sampras win his 14th major, when he beat Andre Agassi to win the 2002 U.S. Open. Then John McEnroe had wondered if in our lifetimes we would see someone break Sampras' record of 14 majors; and here we are, almost sure that Roger Federer will do it and that too soon.

I got up early Sunday morning to watch the much awaited final between Nadal and Federer. After the match began, during the first commercial break, Nike unveiled their new commercial featuring Federer and Tiger woods. You can watch it here.

As the commercial began, I realized that the voice over was Tiger Woods' voice and remember wondering if Tiger had only agreed to give his voice over for his new 'buddy'. But the punch line comes at the end when after praising Roger as the most feared Tennis player and winning ten majors and counting Tiger goes "And my name is Tiger Woods and I have 12 majors and counting. So Keep up Buddy!".

I thought it was very cute.

It got me thinking though; Is it easier to win 12 golf majors or is it easier to win 12 tennis majors? Or 14 tennis majors like Sampras has or 18 golf majors like Mr. Nicklaus has won?

If I present this question to most of my folks in India (or generally to most of the people I know, anywhere), they would emphatically say "Tennis majors of course and that's that!". But having indulged myself in both the sports, I think the answer is not that easy. The vulgar opinion about golf, especially in the 'hood that I grew up in is very... well, vulgar. Golf is thought of as a sport for spoiled rich people -- which it no doubtedly is -- where you ride in a golf cart all day occasionally hitting at a ball; or a game where a caddy does all the work for you and you just walk around wasting valuable time, which you might as well have wisely devoted to philanthropy.

Golf, at a competitive level is hardly that. It is demanding, both physically and mentally, and is a true test of strength, focus and resilience. At 18 majors Mr. Nicklaus is still the man to beat and Tiger Woods has a good chance of equalling or breaking his record.

Folks argue about golf's stature as a sport that needs physical and mental strength. Some arguments include points like ... 'the ball is sitting right there and nobody is trying to hit it at you' or ... 'you dont have to run to the ball or sprint or jump or do any such physically demanding action to hit the ball' and the likes. Golf Swing is not considered as a physically demanding action at all. Golf and athleticism don't go together.

It is just too hard to compare the two sports. Tennis might arguably require more athleticism than golf due to the fact that you are playing against someone and tennis puts more apparent work load on your joints.

But golf needs strength and suppleness in equal amounts. Just try hitting a golf ball three hundred yards in any direction and we'll worry about hitting the fairways later. This June I had the opportunity to watch pro-golfers at the memorial tournament. I followed Tiger for a while and was amazed at how much club-head speed he can generate. Adam Scott hits a six iron over 200 yards and Tiger hit a fairway wood 320 yards. Doing this day-in and day-out at that level requires a sound mind, almost zen-like.

It is possible that Tiger wins at least one of the remaining two majors this year. Then it would be 13 and counting. Roger seems all set to win the U.S. Open in September, unless Rafa has different plans for him. That would be 12 and counting for Roger.

I wonder if Nike has a commercial ready when and if Roger overtakes Tiger and gets a chance to say "Now, who's falling behind, buddy?"