I've always been a huge Michelle Wie fan... Always.
Over the years curmudgeons and critics called us the "Wie Warriors". We who believed that Michelle would soon prevail were accused us of being in denial... Which really wasn't a problem in my case because I actually liked the Wie Warrior label and knew I wasn't denying anything.
The haters sometimes called themselves purists, and maintained that Ms. Wie... because of her unconventional career path... would never learn to win and would be relegated to the role of also-ran in men's tournaments. They blamed her parents... and others... but mainly her parents.
When asked about her parents today her response was definitive and delightful:
"Yeah, I think it's just so awesome, seeing them on the 18th green and hugging them. You know, we have been through a lot as a family, and it's just so great that they are here to share my highs and to keep me up from the lows, as well. But you know, I have to thank my family: Nike and Omega and my sponsors, and IMG and my friends and my fan base and everyone. They all feel like my family. We all have been through a lot, even through my lowest point, they have always been there for me. They have always supported me, and you know, I just feel so grateful for my family, which includes everyone, my sponsors, my friends, and my management company and my fans. So I'm just lucky to have such a great family."For me, seeing the photos of Michelle Wie's parents, B.J. and Bo, celebrating with their daughter made her awesome win all the more awesome.
Totally agree Patricia.
ReplyDeleteI think some of the Wie-haters have been enormously out of order. She seems to have created a huge amount of jealousy and resentment and for a young girl that will have been incredibly difficult to deal with.
This will undoubtedly silence some of the critics and allow her a little breathing space to properly develop her huge talent.
Cheers
John
Best welcome present the new commissioner could have received. Nice piece, P. She is still a young girl and people have been very tough. I guarantee they do not have daughters.
ReplyDeleteCall my son underachieving or whatever, but watch anything you say about my daughter.
After all the hype it's finally good to see her win against a pretty wicked field.
ReplyDeleteAs a female golfer who is constantly struggling to find the perfect swing, I have always loved watching Michelle Wie play. So I'm not a hater either. Not much of a hater period.
ReplyDeleteMichelle must feel a huge sense of relief and vindication. I know I would.
Vince is right, she is still young and I'm sure this is the first of many W's for her.
I also noticed she seems to have replaced "like" with "you know" that's progress too. ;o) It's got to be tough having a microphone shoved in your face with folks just waiting for you to screw up.
I think she was victorious all around. Congrats to Michelle!
Michelle's parents have made it very tough for her to grow up 'normally'. Their drive for her success has put her in the spot light and kept her there. It really is like Tiger's ascent. And both Tiger and Michelle and good looking people that the camera (and the masses) loves to watch. That brings even more pressure.
ReplyDeleteSome of her antics have not been great and have reflected badly on her - I'm sure she has acknowledged this, even if only privately. But she's still only 20, so what do people expect!
I think it's terrible that there are Wie-haters, or Tiger-haters for that matter. We're supposed to be watching (and playing) the sport because we love it, not because we love or hate a particular player.
I'm delighted to see Michelle win - the Solheim Cup did wonders for her - and she will go on to win many more. As John said, she should now have the breathing space to go and develop her potential.
Does anyone remember Pete Sampras's speech when he won Wimbledon that last time? Remember his comments about not having friends as he grew up because his parents encouraged him to play tennis all the time. Consider Michelle Wie, and now consider the thousands of kids all over the world who are being driven to achieve sporting success by their parents - but who will never realise their parents' dreams. Personally I think that's screwed up.
Yeahhhh!!!!! Michelle Wie is originally from Connecticut making her the hometown hero. I'm so proud that she's really breaking through.
ReplyDeleteHaters vs Lovers. There will always be haters and lovers in sports. It's called competition. Even in golf, fans have their favorites and their non-favorites. We root for the underdogs and boo and hiss at the bad guys.
Being that golf is a more reserved sport than say hockey, fans privately boo and hiss.
I believe that Michelle Wie's career could have been handled a little better a few years ago. When she was entering mens' tournaments the spotlight and pressure could have been nothing more than enormous and unbearable. Just a teenager and expected to perform in a huge national spotlight such as that was not in the "child's" best interest.
She's going to be a beast in the next few years.
Im happy for her see what all the hating will get you
ReplyDeleteWe were thrilled for her win yesterday! It's about time she shut up the *nay-sayers*. Way to go Michelle!
ReplyDeleteI never doubted Michelle for a minute! So psyched about her win. WoooHooo!!
ReplyDeleteI just hope this doesn't restart them on getting her to play with the men. That was what was wrong.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I'm sure Michelle Wie's parents love their daughter very much and always wanted the best for her. Like all parents there were probably times they questioned their decisions because as parents we've all questioned our decisions at times. I often wish we had pushed our children harder in the areas of their exceptional talents (gymnastics and piano) but instead we chose to "let them have a childhood". Everyone applauded our decision at the time, but in retrospect I'm not at all sure I didn't deprive my kids of the greatness they could have achieved.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, they turned out to be fine, happy adults. But quite honestly I still think about it sometimes. Mr. and Mrs. Wie after all the criticism they faced for their decisions, must be very proud and happy.
Very nice piece for the most part, P. Good work.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to throw around the word "hater" when someone says what they think - but if you think about it honestly, there was very little "hate" going on around her. Maybe some professional jealousy from other players - and definitely some disgruntled men on several tours when the circus came to town - but what you call "hate" was critcism for the way she was trumpeted in the media. She got herself in trouble with her own words...the ones between all the um-like-y'know-totally's that were in there...but it was the media that kept putting those words out there instead of giving her room to grow up.
So, is your definition of a "hater" anyone who didn't fall at her feet and kiss her toes in worship ?
Mr Carlson - where did you get the idea that Wie is from CT ? She was born in Honolulu, HI.
ReplyDeleteIn case courtgolf reads this, I just want to remind him that: She's nine months younger than Tiger was, 3 years younger than Lorena was, and 5 years younger than Annika was when they won their first pro tournament.
ReplyDeleteI was happy to see her win and hope that seeing her battle down the stretch with Paula, Morgan & Christie becomes a regular occurrence.
Vince: If you add up the total number of hole-in-ones that you and your daughter have and multiply them by a billion, its still one less than your underachieving son!
I breathed a huge sigh of relief for Michelle! So nice to get the HUGE gorilla off her back by getting this first (of many) win under her belt.
ReplyDeletePeople forget how very young she is...not even 21 yet! I saw her several years ago in Palm Springs and her swing is a thing of beauty to see in person.
She is a sweet girl who has maintained her well being through a challenging time.
Congrats Michelle!
Cheers!
Catherine
lol Matt - still not impressed with the 9 months younger than Tiger and 3 years younger than Ochoa argument. Wie has been playing on the LPGA Tour (and pretending to play on the PGA, Nationwide, and Asian Tours) since she was 14. That's 6 years of playing with the pros. Woods and Ochoa didn't start teeing it up with the pros until they were done with college. Tiger won within months...Ochoa took a little over a year.
ReplyDeleteWie are family, to paraphrase a phrase.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the "haters" Court, you're right, there weren't that many actual "haters" ... mainly just nay-sayers, and disgruntled men on tour and in the media. As far as negativity from other LPGA player. That, for the most part, was fabricated by... men. (PS. Many Men just LOVE a cat fight)
ReplyDeleteFather and underachieving son are really funny and endearing. ;o)
Court,
ReplyDeleteI thought Wie spent a brief period of time here in CT during her middle school years. I could be wrong though as I can't find any evidence of it. Wishful thinking then.
Michelle is also in University. To achieve this win while juggling practice with her studies is all the more meaningful to me.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed quite an open "comraderie" among the LPGA players. Michelle was welcomed into it. This really showed by her efforts in Solheim and appreciation that came from her teammates.
There are several gals on tour who seemed to "up" their level of play. Let's remember these stories as being part of the mix that will take the LPGA higher than ever.
P - does your hubby know you hate men this much ? (see ? Two can play that "hater" game)(lol) This idea that only men tell the truth...err..."hate" on Wie is nonsense. The stories about the players not liking Wie came from...THE PLAYERS. Last time I checked, all the players on the LPGA Tour are women. Not even a Tranny for you to blame.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I can't remember a legitimate person actually saying or writing that they "hate" Michelle Wie. They, including me, have pointed out her fantasy world statements and actions, her hypocritical statements and actions, and her serious lack of English skills - but never a personal "hatred" for the girl.
As much as you try to pretend, women aren't exactly all sweetness and light. The term "catty" isn't used to describe men. Pick any episode of "The View" and you'll see everything short of an all out brawl. I have heard women rip another woman to shreds because they didn't like her shoes.
LOL - we might enjoy a good cat fight and some hair pulling and shirt shredding from time to time, but that doesn't make them right.
Sorry Mr C - Wiesy is a lifelong Hawaiian until she moved to Stanford.
I, too, offer congratulations to Michelle Wie on what have seemed to have been an extremely long journey. I always felt that others were not looking out for her best interests. Whether those "others" be her parents ,management or a combination of both I am not sure. To have a 13-14 yr old young lady with amazing potential go full force into tournament golf against men, forcing her to try to do things she was not physically or mentally prepared for was a huge mistake. In my opinion, the actions of others caused many of the setbacks that delayed this promising and future star from realizing her potential and winning golf tournaments sooner.
ReplyDeleteI am ecstatic that Michelle finally won. I love to watch her play golf, she has power, finesse and she is learning to do just the right thing at the right time. She could do really well out there for a really long time.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Golf girl, I have just discovered your existence, recently, and you can blog in anything you want to.
Michelle is only 20 years old and Tiger Woods didnt win his first tournament until he was that age. I think we need to give her a few more years before we make an assessment on whether she lived up to her potential.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see Michelle win. =)
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting to see all this Wie Love after her win. I hope it continues and I look forward to her winning many more now that the monkey is off her back. They say the first win is the hardest and once you know how to win, things change. As far as her parents go, she's 20 and regardless if we think it's good or bad that they are always there, perhaps it's time for her to step a bit further out on her own (perhaps they're waiting for her to be of legal drinking age..). While I don't think the LPGA should put all their hopes on one player, she certainly is a pretty good example of how one player is learning to be all they can be, and she looks pretty darn good as well....
ReplyDeleteGo Michelle Go!
I'm beyond ecstatic about Michelle's win and have always been a HUGE fan - so sure call me a Wie Warrior too! I think the confidence Michelle gained from the Solheim Cup really pushed her over the top to get her first win! Well and that fact she wore her lucky Solheim shoes at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
ReplyDelete-Pink Diva
"Girls Golf Get Over It"
www.pinkdivagolf.com/blog