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| Ex-parts can root from home team at EMC World
Cup | | by Ed Hutmacher
December 8, 2002. |  Say
"World Cup" to most anybody in Puerto Vallarta and you're likely to
get talk about soccer. But this week, World Cup means golf, and for the large
contingent of Canadians and Americans living here, the EMC World Cup Championship
at the Vista Vallarta golf course will be the closest we'll ever get to rooting
for our home team on Mexican soil.
The tournament starts
in earnest Thursday, December 12 and runs through Sunday, the 15th. It pits 24
two-man teams from different nations against each other over a grueling four days
of golf. The teams are competing for the $1 million (U.S.) first place prize money. Canada
is ably represented by Mike Weir (ranked 35th in the world) and Ian Leggatt (133rd)
while the Yanks have teamed up Phil Mickelson (# 2) and David Toms (# 5). I must
mention that Mexico, as host country, will also be represented in the tournament
by Esteban Toledo and Pablo Del Olmo, both fine golfers who will add spice to
local betting pools and test some loyalties. Golf is not
the kind of sport that invites spectators to wave foam fingers, sing along with
the "We will Rock You!" anthem, throw confetti, blast air-horns, and
in general act the way sporting fans normally do. Golf is a genteel game based
on tradition, integrity, and good manners. And fans are supposed to act with equal
decorum on the golf course. Darn! Just when we expatriates
get a sporting event here that gives us something to cheer about, we're not allowed
to. At least, not until we're given permission. All of
the people you'll see on the Vista Vallarta golf course this week -- those wearing
the same color/style of shirt with "staff" or "official" identifications
marked on them -- act as marshals to ensure that spectators behave themselves.
That means, no talking during players' set-up and golf shot, no running, no photographs,
no taunting, no bad language... Can this game ever be a real sporting event like
others? Yes, it can. The Ryder Cup (a semi-annual event
that matches U.S. against European golfers) has introduced national pride into
the competitive mix of golf, especially when the team-format is used as it will
be this week at the World Cup. Nationalism can be a heady thing. Is there anybody
besides me that's sick and tired of the U-S-A chant? Try
as they might, officials have been having a hard time controlling unruly crowd
behavior during golf tournaments. Fans are growing louder and more partisan. Even
some of the pros say it worries them that golf fans are becoming more aggressive. I
doubt that the EMC World Cup will have problems with fans here. This is the first
major golf tournament in Puerto Vallarta and my guess is that most of the gallery
will be more curious than caustic. Two years ago, however,
the World Cup was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where local fans turned out
in huge numbers to watch their home team challenge the U.S. team for first place.
Fans climbed electrical towers to get better views and sang soccer songs to encourage
their team. Now that's more like a sporting event, don't
you think? Ed Hutmacher.
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