Tiger's a different breed: A legend

It's exciting to know we're witnessing greatness. Not just greatness, but domination -- a full track length ahead of the competition. Eldrick Woods, or as we have come to know him, "Tiger", is that dominance. He is that impressive. He is a legend.\nAnd don't take it lightly. To witness history is a privilege many usually take for granted. We followed Michael Jordan as he defied gravity along the way to becoming the catalyst to six Chicago Bulls championships. We were able to watch Wayne Gretzky set 40 regular-season records and 15 playoff records in the NHL.\nMore importantly, we are following the career path of the greatest golfer ever to pull a club out of the bag.\nTen years into an awesome career, Tiger is creeping up behind Jack Nicklaus for most PGA Tour major championships; 12 to the Golden Bear's 18. And Nicklaus' total was amassed during a brilliant 25-year career. As he turns 31 in December of this year, Tiger is on pace to surpass the major record. We should assume that 15 years from now, if Tiger stays on the tour, he will have recorded 20 major championships. \nOf course, something should be said for Nicklaus finishing as the runner-up in a major 17 times, as opposed to Tiger finishing second only twice. It could be that Tiger morphs into Dennis Eckersley on Sundays, throwing on a mullet wig and a Groucho Marx 'stache to close out the round. Or maybe Nicklaus was also that dominant in his day.\nEither way, Tiger is a different animal. He was no accident. He was supposed to be this good. He didn't fall to the third pick in a professional draft, and he wasn't traded for $700,000 to a soon-to-be expansion team in a folding second-tier pro league (referring to Jordan and Gretzky respectively). He's doing it all for himself, and his late father. It's Tiger versus everybody else.\nThe son of Earl Woods was the definition of a child prodigy, displaying his seasoned golfing talents on "The Michael Douglas Show" at the age of 3. He pioneered a golfing craze -- he has become the envy of every golfer and golf has become every man's obsession, as seen in the amount of course fees and new golf clubs that will permanently replace college tuition in my dad's budget.\nWho doesn't imitate Dave Chappelle's parody of Tiger being drafted first in the Racial Draft? Or create an exaggerated portrayal of one's self as a character in "Tiger Woods '06" to beat your friends' outrageous character in a round of 18? And if Jeremy Piven showed up at Tiger's Florida house attempting to market his name alongside Macintosh and McDonalds, our story's hero would have jumped at that chance. But he already has. No athlete is more profitable and no celebrity more recognizable. \nAside from being a great ambassador for the game of golf, Tiger flaunts the swagger of a champion, and has since day one. And the truth is all fairweather sports fans should admire his talents, as well as the money he earns each year -- topping $87 million in 2006, and still counting. \nFew "best-ever" debates last long when talking about the greatest basketball and hockey players, No. 23 and No. 99. But did we know while they were playing that Jordan and Gretzky were the best ever? Maybe a year down the line, or two, or five. We look back on it now, and with full confidence, we say, "Yep, he is the greatest." But we are in the midst of following Tiger's career, watching him go through the ups (four major wins in a calendar year) and the downs (missing the cut in this year's U.S. Open). \nSimply, Tiger Woods is an icon unto himself. He transcends the game of golf and sports for that matter. And all we should do as fans is just sit back and enjoy the ride.