Will Seve's comments fire up the Americans?

[Ruari]

Wow, someone needs to get knocked off their high horse.

And someone should recognise a wind-up when they see one!

What about the 12 wins and one tie for the United States from 1959 to 1983?

Wasn't born then.

OK, I lied, I was born but that run ended 25 years ago - ancient history.

What about the event starting out as the U.S. vs. Great Britain, then going to U.S. vs. Great Britain/Ireland, and finally to the U.S. vs. all of Europe? That's expansion if you ask me.

It was US v GB & I until 1979 (although it was referred to as GB until 1973 the Irish were eligible for inclusion and often were - see Fred Daly's career, and Christy o'Connor, of course), when it became US v Europe. If it had continued as US v GB&I;, it would have withered on the vine because it had become a non-contest. If the US fails to make a game of it the same danger exists but it will be in America that interest wanes - Europe loves the Ryder Cup.

As for the matches being competitive, they are more so than some are saying. A lot of the matches easily could have gone the American's way, and a point here and there makes a huge difference in an event like that. The end results were blowouts, but there were A LOT of matches that could have easily been swayed the other way.

That was the case when the US was dominating, too - the Americans were better at finishing off but, historically, it tended to rely on the singles. GB/GB&I;/Europe have a very good record in pairs & foursomes - way, way better than the US.

Most of the time, I'd rather see a close-contested match either way.

With you on that.

But I hope it's a blowout for the red, white, and blue this time around to bring some of you off cloud nine.

A blowout either way is rather unlikely, IMHO. I think it will be close - but if there is to be a blowout, then the Blue&Gold; is my favourite.

But then, I would say that, wouldn't I? Let battle commence!

[cbe_golfer]

Seve like Gary Player is one of those guys who has lost his marbles and does not want to admit it.
Europe will be beaten soundly this time. Tiger and Phil will finally impose their presence on the Ryder cup. Dont you worry..its coming.

[Shindig]

Perhaps it's simply a lack of experience with the format that is holding you back?

I suspect that, too, especially when you look at the Match Play events. This year, three of the top four were Americans. Not to denigrate the abilities of Cink or Leonard, much less Woods, but I seriously wasn't expecting more than one American in the top 4. This is because we rarely use the format.

One hopes Seve's comments do fire up the Americans. Otherwise we may have to suggest that the recruitment area is extended to take in Canada and Mexico. If that doesn't work, maybe the Pacific area - Fiji (Vijay Singh), Australia (Scott, Baddeley, Allenby) and wherever KJ Choi's from. It does get boring being one-sided...

We just need to change the rules to allow U.S. Citizens to have the option of Ryder Cup points. This opens up Baddeley to being able to play for us on the Ryder Cup, even though he'll play against us the following year. It will allow us to recruit Ryuji Imada (who recently implied that Ryder Cup eligibility would make him want to change his citizenship to U.S.). There are probably other international players who might consider changing citizenship for the Ryder Cup.

Seve's comments may fire up some already eligible, but wouldn't it make more sense to just recruit folks who have a burning desire to play in the Ryder Cup? I got the feeling in 2006 that many of our guys just didn't want to play.

[AmenCorner]

We Americans have become disgustingly spoiled with our sports and overall entertainment. Heaven forbid we lose a few Ryder Cups in a row. How dare they defy the law of averages!

Seriously though, streaks happen of all kinds in the sporting world. Why now do we insist that the U.S. win or we stop watching? Does every sport have to be contrived to produce a dramatic finish like NASCAR or the WWF?

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes you get your ass handed to you and the ending is less than dramatic. Watch the friggin Ryder Cup, and hope for the best.

[Three Putt]

I think the Ryder Cup is the super bowl of golf, where as the majors are the Olympics.

I really get jacked up for the Ryder Cup, where as the majors...I'm a very interested watcher.

Good for Seve...add some gas to the fire.

GO USA!!! We'll be packing our lunch box for a couple hard days of work.

[mjtoal]

I guess all the barbecues, team outings, ping pong tournaments, nights of socializing have been mis-reported?

You can't make solitary figures friends by a few social outings, and The Ryder Cup isn't ping-pong. The Euro Tour players are friends (with several notable exceptions) week in and week out and that shows at the Ryder Cup. They know each others games and more importantly, they trust each other.

[justinp]

Part of the problem is that the European players (for whatever reason) are better at match play than the top American players. You don't need to go any further than the top dog to see that. Tiger is great. He seems cool to be around. He's a good guy. He seems like the kind of guy you would want anchoring this type of team. The problem is he's mediocre (if you can use that word when referring to him) at match play (and he's not the only one). Don't get me wrong, he's the best golfer in the world, but he has shown that in match play he's just another good golfer. Now, put him up against anybody in a 4 day stroke play event and I'll put my money on Tiger ever time.