Interesting article about Bubba

First topic message reminder :

http://www.golfbytourmiss.com/2011/06/homesick-watson-vows-not-to-return-to-europe/

Shame really if accurate - i think he seemed to be picking up some fans over this side of the pond for his seemingly good attitude...unfortunately this behavior just seem to be reinforcing the stereotype of Americans called Bubba.

Diggers, I heartily agree, although we seem to be dipping into the respective education systems of the US and UK, the US could clearly benefit from greater knowledge of the outside world while Britain could do with improving it's language skills. Very simplistic I know, but it would certainly help global impressions of our countries.

puligny wrote:Rossa - Ian Poulter did say he would never play in France again after someone clicked a camera at the France open a year or so ago. I am sure there was more to it, and I admire Poulter for his determination and the way he has maximised his talent. But this is one of the oldest golf tournaments on the planet and I found that a bit disrespectful coming from a European Tour player. I hope hie still around for the Ryder Cup at this venue, makes the team and plays.

Ah, but IJP is a t*t and thinks the World believes he's actually important. He's not and I don't suppose the French Open care one jot whether he never plays there again.

Diggers wrote:Here we are as an Island surrounded by lots of different countries with different cultures...and how many languages can your average Brit speak....just the one of course. The rest of Europe puts us to shame in that respect. Its rare to even go to Spain and find a British ex pat that can speak Spanish.

True, but in our defense it isn't our fault that English is the second language for almost everyone and is therefore (almost) universally useful wherever you go. French may get me so far, as may Spanish but I'm afraid it's becoming increasingly easy to simply speak English. Have to say though that if I were an ex-pat and spent my life abroad in, say, Spain I'd have to learn the lingo. Where's the fun in not joining in?

Ned brought this (Bubba wanting to go home) up on my thread yesterday and my immediate comment was, Europeans complaining about lack of PGA Tour players competing in Europe should be careful what they ask for. Etc, etc.

To offer some context, Bubba's probably fried, been on the road for three weeks on an itinerary he should never have embarked on, not surprising he feels somewhat out of it.

All very well about the $200K he's getting paid, but you look at the record of leading Americans playing in Europe, The Open excepted, and it's as if Tiger's the only one trying.

I used to keep a huge wall map to dig out for British company executives (tourists) who didn't have a clue about the scale of the United States. A map of England was super-imposed over New York State which is, very approximately, the same size. But NYS is only the 30th largest State in the US. Geographical and cultural ignorance certainly goes both ways.

Rossa - exactly. Sports people do sometimes say ridiculous things - they are not after all diplomats. I think there is more to the Bubba thing than we know - I have read in the past of some health issues, and I know he was trailered for this event as a freak because of the way he hits the ball. At the end of the day he is a golfer and I am interested only in his golf, not his views on other subjects whether to do with architecture, politics, hunting and fishing etc.
On the one other occasion I have heard him interviewed he was gracious, amusing and expressed extreme gratitude for what hitting a little white ball had brought him. Yesterday he did and said nothing wrong - he looked very uncomfortable, but he volunteered that he France/Paris to be wonderful. Let's all move on and watch his golf.

Kwini, Id suggest most Brits dont even know there is a New York state.

kwinigolfer wrote:But NYS is only the 30th largest State in the US. Geographical and cultural ignorance certainly goes both ways.

According to my list, it's the 27th largest! Close enough though I guess for a "foreigner"

Oh Diggers .. there you go with the generalizations again. If that is your experience then it possibly says more about the type of people you meet than the UK population in general

There was an interesting study done into the geographical knowledge of Americans and it was rather alarming that a sizeable proportion couldn't even pick it out on a map, choosing instead Russia, due to it being the largest country.

One thing I have noticed is that we in the UK are getting progressively worse in our knowledge of even our own country, so in some respects we are in glass houses throwing stones at the Americans who may appear to be largely unaware a world exists outside their borders but there are a lot of poorly educated people or perhaps even just apathetic people in the UK who I doubt could even find some of the major cities if you gave them a un-labelled map and asked them to point them out.

Fair enough, to his credit this kind of thing seems to be the exception not the rule for Bubba. I think we can give him the benefit of the doubt here.

Davie, message boards are full of generalisations and assumptions there are several on this thread any just from me) they would be very dry places otherwise. I don't think it would be very difficult for me to go through a few threads and pick up on generalisations you have made in the past. But I'm not that pedantic.

Perhaps he's scared the style police will surgically remove his mullet.

I think that it might also be prudent to step back and have look at the average person in the UK when criticising other cultures. Bubba's a fairly young guy and when you look at young people in this country they are by and large pretty useless. When I was at uni, which was one of the top uni's in this country, I was amazed at how little knowledge and common sense that people my age had. Academically they were all brilliant but if there is one thing that university taught me it is that people in the UK are stupid. These were also supposed to be the best brains in the country so I dread to think what level of intelligence kids without further education have.

And as for Paris - it is beautiful city but non-Europeans might be shocked and taken aback by it. There's a medical condition called "Paris Syndrome" in Japan where people actually need therapy after a visit to Paris because they are so distressed by the rudeness. The Parisians are rude enough to us so one can only imagine how rude they are to what they perceive as "brash" Americans.

That's the problem with France though, it's full of French people.

Here's what Bubba either doesn't understand or is simply too boorish to comprehend: When you are traveling to another country, you owe it to those who provide you with the pampered travel and world class accommodations to at least find out more about the culture you'll be in. It's called common sense. And, like it or not, you're de facto representing a lager group (In this case Americans and Golfers). Try not to say anything idiotic (too late). If this burden is simply too much, pass on the trip and instead go to the nearest NASCAR event or go fishing. Sheesh.

There, I feel better.

Shotrock wrote:Here's what Bubba either doesn't understand or is simply too boorish to comprehend: When you are traveling to another country, you owe it to those who provide you with the pampered travel and world class accommodations to at least find out more about the culture you'll be in. It's called common sense. And, like it or not, you're de facto representing a lager group (In this case Americans and Golfers). Try not to say anything idiotic (too late). If this burden is simply too much, pass on the trip and instead go to the nearest NASCAR event or go fishing. Sheesh.

There, I feel better.

Like it.

I thought they paid him money to play golf, not become a trainee tour guide.

NASCAR and fishing? Maybe Bubba's comments were in the spirit of the British culture of stereotyping...

I think people are in danger of getting into Guardian reader holier than thou territory.

Ultimately, if these words of Mullet are true and in context I don't think he is beyond criticism simply because we've got a lot of similarly educated people, however I'm pretty certain that no one on these boards would be quite so vulgar and classless when placed in a similar situation if what Watson has said is indeed true.

Davie,
27th or 30th depending upon whether one is including water (parts of Lakes Erie, Ontario and Champlain, and the St.Lawrence Seaway). The point was usually well-made however!

Shotrock,
I think Bubba is representing a larger group as well as the lager group!

super_realist wrote:I agree Diggers that there are many Brits of equal ignorance, although I think it is generally accepted that your average Brit is better informed about the rest of the world than your average American, it's nothing personal, just the insular nature of their education system and I've heard as much from the many Americans I meet in St.Andrews. I can't blame them personally, although I do think it odd/funny when they ask stuff like "why did they build Edinburgh Castle next to a railway line" or something along those lines, so they deserve a sarcastic retort.

My favourite from an American tourist in Edinburgh has to be 'What time does the 1 o'clock gun go off?'

How about:-

Standing right beneath The Castle in Edinburgh.

"Excuse me Sir, can you tell me where the Castle is please"

I like it when I see a British person in a football shirt with a sombrero and a donkey under their arm eating a fry up before slinging a chair through the nearest cafe window.

Bubba is Bubba. Stereotyping works both ways...

Diggers wrote:I thought they paid him money to play golf, not become a trainee tour guide.

He's paid to play golf, be nice to sponsors and avoid saying stupid stuff into camara like, "i'm not coming to europe again", even if you caveat it with how great France/Paris is... it just seems a hollow and false.

But as i said it seems out of character, so i'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one

In some ways it's stupid to say what he did, but on the other I'm so sick of people trudging out the party line in interviews giving insipid responses to turgid questions. Makes him a little bit more interesting as it shows he's a bit more than just a redneck, mullet who hits a long and wayward ball.

super_realist wrote:How about:-

Standing right beneath The Castle in Edinburgh.

"Excuse me Sir, can you tell me where the Castle is please"

My fave i heard was in Dubrovnik,

American Man about 50 yo - "So they built the walls (dating back to the 7th Century) for protection during (the) war, Right?"
Tour guide - "Yes, thats correct" (assumeing he meant war in general)
AM - So the war ended in like 1995, right? How come they didn't take 'em down yet?
Tour guide -

I heard about a yank at the Trevi fountain. After spending about a nanosecond looking at it:-

"Great, that's the fountain ticked off, what's next?

Sharrisson01 - Yes, stereotyping does work both ways. Couple quick stories. I was in London for a wedding. (I was best man in the wedding for an American who married a Brit.) At the reception, and deep into some drinks, a Brit came up to me (very pleasant mind you) and asked what I did the week coming up to the wedding. I told him my wife and I had a great week doing the "tourist" thing in and around London. I told him we really enjoyed the Tower of London (he looked shocked at this). He proceeded to tell me that London is full of way too many foreigners these days, not to mention too many tourists. When I mentioned I was both, he really backtracked. He wan't being rude at all -- just mindlessly in the moment.

Also, on another visit, I was staying at the Basil Street Hotel (great place, if it's still around, in Knightsbridge). After a long day of work, my co-worker and retire to the hotel restaurant for dinner. GREAT dinner, roast beef/yorkshire pudding, wonderful claret. The table next to us was full of successful businessmen ranting about the decline of America and Americans. Lobbing stereotype after stereotype. It was more amusing than uncomfortable since I'm of the opinion that it was probably borne out of frustration (perhaps lost a big account to an American firm, who knows).

Ignorance knows no boundaries unfortunately!

Super, Id have to say that the Trevi Fountain is a bit underwhelming. Rome was always the city Id most wanted to visit but Ive been pretty disapointed when Ive been. Must be one of the most grafitied places on the planet.
Did find a good Irish bar there though.......

TBH, the Eiffel Tower is nothing too exciting to actually visit. It's great to see while you're in Paris because its iconic but it really is just a big tower - little point actually going to it. Food in the restaurant at the top is okay though...

Shotrock ... one can never have enough tourists! Immigrants on the other hand ...

Poor old Bubba ... bit of a public relations disaster for him. However, if he does have some kind of attention deficit disorder, I think he needs to be cut a bit of slack.

I sure enjoy watching him play though. Gives the rest of us hope!

I wonder if Bubba will be subjected to a media grilling at The Open after all this?
One hopes he will have got some rest, collected his wits and restore the image of the entertaining golfer that he usually projects so well on the course.
Does make one wonder about the Tour's three graduates of Milton High School though.

I can just imagine the interviews at the Open now!

"So Bubba, did you get to see that big old house at the top of the Mall?"

Maybe while he's in Kent, someone should tell him to visit Leeds Castle. He'd end up getting lost in West Yorkshire

super_realist wrote:I heard about a yank at the Trevi fountain. After spending about a nanosecond looking at it:-

"Great, that's the fountain ticked off, what's next?

Understand that it's a long way to come, they don't do it that often (for obvious reasons) and there's a lot of sights to see. Ergo, there isn't a lot of time to spend on any one of them. What do you expect them to do there in any case??? Await some operatic aria or some theatre performance? Have an in-depth discussion about the pros/cons of Bernini's designs/sculptures?

Diggers wrote:Super, Id have to say that the Trevi Fountain is a bit underwhelming.

You are joking right??? As for the graffiti, I never noticed it except in the suburbs/industrial bits well away from the famous bits.


Have to say, there are a number of recent comments which remind me of the proverbial pots and kettles. They'd also, no doubt, reinforce some American opinion about the cultural/intellectual snobbishness of the typical Brit/European. Without exception, every single American I've ever met has been unfailingly polite (something you can't say about the average Brit IMO) and generous.

Re. tourists etc in London, can't speak for NYC but every capital city I've been to would have been unfailingly improved if the locals were removed from the scene. Re. Paris, I have it on pretty good authority that many of the regional French can't stand the Parisians.

Davie wrote:Maybe while he's in Kent, someone should tell him to visit Leeds Castle. He'd end up getting lost in West Yorkshire

Unfair! Most Brits would do exactly the same.

No Navy, Im not joking. Ive been to a lot of cities in the world and the Trevi fountain would not be in a list or even close of the 50 most memorable or beautiful things Ive seen. The atmosphere around it is quite good as its always so busy I guess.
I stand by the grafitti comment, was there a couple of years ago and spent days walking around the center and it was all over the place.

http://www.romebuddy.com/warnsabout/graffiti.html

Quick link showing an article discussing it, Im clearly not the only person who thinks its bad.

I'm pretty sure that almost all cities have their ugly side and Rome is no different. It's a great place for it's good side which is surely why anyone would want to visit?!? I've only been a handful of times but can't honestly say that I've ever noticed any graffiti - there's more to the city than looking for graffiti!

I didnt go looking for grafitti Sharrison I cant stand the stuff, my point is that it was so prevalent it remained one of my lasting memories of the place. Even the walls of the Coliseum had been vandalised. I work in central London and can honestly say it was many times worse than any grafitti in London.
I can fully understand why people would enjoy Rome, its all a matter of taste, but Im in no way willing to accept there isnt a major grafitti problem. To be fair its pretty rife in most Italian cities.

Diggers wrote:http://www.romebuddy.com/warnsabout/graffiti.html

Quick link showing an article discussing it, Im clearly not the only person who thinks its bad.

Interesting. Ta for that. Can't say I noticed it except on the outskirts. What I did see seemed to be to do with the Lazio/Roma rivalry. To be fair, may have been a bit side-tracked with other stuff as I proposed to the missus at the Trevi!

I once found Tennent's Super on tap in a bar near Rome, i couldn't believe it could be and thought it was just a random tap that they had in the pub. I therefore had four pints just to see and it turns to my subsequent severe inebriation that it was.

Fair enough Navy, it obviously has a special significance to you, very romantic. Brighton Pier for me, did have a room booked at the Grand though.

Or...The loud mouthed USA tourist at Edinburgh Castle who points to Fife and says 'Well that must be France over thier'.

I was a fan of Bubba up till today, his comments after his poor round, was nothing but disgraceful, he complaint about there being no ropes, so he did not know where to walk to or from the tee, complaint about there being no security, to, I assume protect him from the fans, and the normal complaint of phones and camera,s going of all the time.(I am sure the phones and camera,s on the course are worse in the USA than they are in France).
To sum it up he played poorly and tried to blame it on everyone else, sorry Bubba but please do us a favour and stay away from Europe.

oldpar,
See my comments above on "phones and cameras on the course in the USA". Certainly no problem last week in Hartford and I suspect there were at least twice as many spectators on hand, probably more.

Doesn't excuse Bubba's comments though; he needs to get back home quickly and reconsider his behaviour before he gets a media mauling in Britain.

Thought he was getting a bit of a raw deal over yesterday's comments, he did seem to be coming across as a guy who was trying travelling, and discovering the hard way that he doesn't enjoy it. Which is better than never trying, after all. No excuse for today's effort though, hard to believe he didn't know what he was letting himself in for, and criticising the organisers is always a bad idea. If you've got nothing good to say, and all that. Sets things up very nicely if he makes the team for the RC here though.

I've just seen Blubba's interview on Sky. It's not very often that I agree with Mark Roe (or Rob Lee for that matter) but they both nailed it.

For all his faults, Tiger puts up with MUCH more than Blubba has had to deal with this week - and I've never really heard anything like that from Eldrick (OK he has plenty of other things to sulk and moan about but not this)

Mark Roe even made a point of slapping Watson down for mentioning the "british" open.

The best comment though came form Rob Lee - he pointed out that Watson's remarks yesterday were perhaps "unfortunate" but seemed prepared to cut him some slack and said that today he had a chance to make amends. Instead he chose to make things worse.

Not sure why Roe bothered to pick on Watson on the "british" Open thing. I've yet to hear of ANY american who refers to it as anything else.

gaelgowfer wrote:Not sure why Roe bothered to pick on Watson on the "british" Open thing. I've yet to hear of ANY american who refers to it as anything else.

Probably because it was WAtson that just said it in the interview a few seconds before.

Davie wrote:

gaelgowfer wrote:Not sure why Roe bothered to pick on Watson on the "british" Open thing. I've yet to hear of ANY american who refers to it as anything else.

Probably because it was WAtson that just said it in the interview a few seconds before.

Doubt he'd have picked up on it had Watson said "This is a brilliant tournament, I've had a great time, I'll be playing Europe full time next year". But if you're in for a penny...

RIP Bubba, appearance money, poor attitude. slates ET, bring back Dustin, chalk and cheese

Wouldn't you rather have Bubba's unfettered stupidity than Tiger's sneering and snarling, every word presumably approved by Mark Steinberg?