Saturday, February 7, 2009

Weir, Hall of Famer?


Why are people placed into a Hall of Fame before they finish/retire from their respective sport? I don't understand why players are inducted before they are formally away from the day to day grind of competing. Isn't a Hall of Fame a place for people who represent the greatness that occurred in the past by an individual? Doesn't it show how much one contributed to the sport through years of hard work and dedication?

Mike Weir is going to be inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. This shocks me and also reduces the quality of the Hall of Fame. Yes, he might deserve the spot after his performances at Augusta and throughout his PGA Tour career but why not just wait until he retires. For Weir, wouldn't it feel even better if you stepped away from the game and received an invitation to the Hall of Fame to cap off your career.

It kind of goes back to the retirement and gold watch thing. You work for a company for your entire life and when you retire they give you a nice watch so you can manage your free time (half joke). If you worked your ass off and produced amazing results for the first 5-10 years of your 30 year work career, you won't see them giving you a watch after the 5-10 years. They do give bonuses but that's not the point.

The Hall of Fame to me is a place where people go after they finish their careers. The induction ceremony is a time to reflect and honour their past accomplishments not to reflect and talk about the future, in the case of Mike Weir future golf tournaments.

A message to all Hall of Fame's around the world. Please induct the players after they finish their careers. I guarantee you the players and fans will appreciate it that much more. It will give everyone the chance to look back on the great moments that occurred and not what great moments will occur in the near future. When they give an acceptance speech they will truly be able to look back on their careers and not be bogged down with preparations for future contests.

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