Wednesday

Cigar Guy Humor-Is there a Male/Female Disconnect?

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 The finish was dramatic and the ensuing celebrations were raucous, but it's mid-October and the 2010 Ryder Cup has been relegated to history. 

We'll retain memories of lavender sweaters and rain delays... and the roar of the crowd at the 17th on that riveting final day when Graeme McDowell punched an iron to six feet.  We won't soon forget Hunter Mahan's tears at the press conference that followed either.  Those will be some of the lasting memories. 

But thanks to a spontaneous photo of a less than memorable Tiger Woods mis-hit, what many will remember most about Celtic Manor 2010 is a photo taken on-the-fly by Daily Mail photographer X as Tiger flubbed a chip in and more specifically,  "Cigar Guy", a stogie-chomping, mop-topped, MAJ impersonator, wide-eyed and smiling, in the background.
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"Cigar Guy" managed to transcend golf.  He was photo shopped and set to music in hundreds of different ways, appeared on myriad talk shows around the world and will undoubtedly appear on numerous doorsteps this Halloween.  Like nothing else from the 2010 Ryder Cup, "Cigar Guy" went viral.
 
But why? That's the question my assistant Jordan Golf Girl Junior asked me the other day. "Granted", she said, "it made me giggle like a little school girl, however, I did not by any means find it phenomenal... actually to me, it was quite silly and fairly banal.  What, exactly, is the big deal?"  
 

She asked me... like I'm supposed to know these things... and I had to admit I too was puzzled by the disproportionate popularity of this somewhat sophomoric personage.  So I suggested to GGjr that she look into it and... astute assistant that she is... she conducted an informal survey at her college campus last week, and at a local "19th hole" over the weekend.  What she discovered seems to reveal an interesting humoristic gender gap: When asked why they felt the photo had become so popular, the males described the photo with worlds like brilliant, epic, hilarious and awesome, while the females tended to chuckle and shrug their shoulders. 


To illustrate the point further, Jordan quoted one of her guy friends, "Dude! You go to a golf game and you see people who are uptight... or really into the game. Seeing something out of the norm is just... like... weird. Like why wouldn’t it become a big deal?” 
 

I thought about this, then I thought about CaddyShack, David Feherty and the Three Stooges, and that brings me to tonights topic: Is there a major disconnect when it comes to what men and women find funny?  And if so is the gap particularly wide when it comes to golf?  What do you think, is the "Cigar Guy" just the latest poster boy for schlubby male humor... or an optimistic symbol of hilarity and wonderment?  That's what we'll be talking about tonight on "Only Two Things", and we'd love to hear your opinion. You can join the conversation too... on-air... by using our call-in number, which is: 917-889-9592. Or weigh in at the chat room, or on Twitter... or just have a listen at Blog Talk Radio. We'll be live from 9:30 - 10:30 ET, hope to hear from you.

15 comments:

  1. Quite a topic for tonight! My father was pretty much a cigar guy all his life. I've had a few forays into it, but generally not a smoker.

    Instead of buying a nice Partegas, I buy a pack of baseball cards instead. The cards don't get used up as a cigar does, and I get less dizzy. I am back to my childhood. :)

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  2. Here's the thing. Women aren't funny. There I said it. Of course there are exceptions - ie. Chelsea Handler but in general ... female = not funny.

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  3. Shark - No, here's the thing. Women don't need to be funny.

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  4. I think it's not that women aren't funny... it's just that women don't find funny stuff funny. Ha ha.

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  5. I reacted the exact same way GGjr did. As in he,he... yawn... yeh, um that's funny. But it's not THAT funny. The first or second photoshoped montage that followed was pretty hysterical but the joke quickly became old for me. Hate to sound sexist but I think men are just more simplistic than women. :>)

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  6. it's funny because he looks like a garbage man, front row, at a really snooty sporting event. like he he was beamed there from curbside Queens. AND he's INTO it. that's hilarious!

    stephanie

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  7. There you go. In just a few sentences a woman nails it. Tells us all exactly why it's funny. Way to go Stephanie.

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  8. .

    its FUNNY to all men because, here we see a guy who all other men would emulate if it were not for spousal/significant other connection(s) with the married/engaged/spoken for guys, those men who therefore can't be like him root him on and support him - and any single guy is automatically "cigar guy stuff" and this dude provides ammunition

    its NOT FUNNY to women because women know the above about men is true, and if they allow one guy to be funny, well, next thing you know, there goes the neighborhood, and no man will ever again have to shape up to be "marriage" material

    this is how women WISH to see men act - and women must SECRETLY stick together on this and cannot allow any buffoonery among the men to go unpunished (more public the better so that all men get the message)

    same way you will NEVER hear any women taking Tiger's side, or as a woman, coming forward and admit to pursuing a gravy-train meal ticket lifestyle thru providing sexual satisfaction - they ALL were "in love" - r i g h t !

    however, as to the men, the converse as to how men wish to see women, and that whore/saint complex thing,(every mans dream is to marry a saint, who, even if only occasionally, acts like a whore, for him exclusively, of course) men can't keep secrets so we all know publicly this is true

    why do i feel i'm stating the obvious ? is this news to anyone ?

    anyway be well

    frankD
    ftlauderdaleFLA

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  9. this is how women WISH to see men act.......

    OBVIOUSLY SHOULD BE

    this is NOT how women WISH to see men act......


    IS there anyway to allow edits after a post here ??

    frankD
    ftlauderdaleFLA

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  10. Stephanie did nail it. One of the things that folks are missing is the humor of "where" he looked like this. It's situational.

    I thought it was pretty funny, but I haven't added Cigar Guy to my wallpaper or anything.

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  11. .

    patricia,

    i am listening to you (it's thursday afternoon) speak about WYGYKYL on your show last night regarding an LPGA match play event you attended

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>trivia question - do you know what that golf course (WYGYKYL) has, specific to MATCH play, THAT NO OTHER country club caliber course has ?

    frankD
    ftlauderdale FLA




    >>>>>>>>>>>a real life nineteenth (19th) golf hole - not the bar in the clubhouse - but a par 3 19th - with the explicit purpose to be used in the event of a tie in a MATCH that has gone the full eighteen (18) without a winner - kinda like the golf equivilent of overtime play (no, i don't know what happens if the tied players are still tied after playing that par 3 19th)

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  12. Having slept on your blog about male-female humor, behavior, etc., I think guys probably laugh at cigar man for two distinct reasons. One is he looks slightly ridiculous and of course the setting adds to it. The other reason is that guys like that out there carry the torch for our slovenly side. We men have our insecure days and sometimes look in the mirror and are dressed reasonably well, but still see cigar man staring back at us.

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  13. Letterman (years ago while still with NBC) once did a man on the street search for a guy they would crown "Mr. Humidity." It was a sticky day in Manhattan and they find this guy perspiring heavily with a briefcase and papers falling out and rolled up bag with left over lunch, etc. I think people laughed at that for two reasons. One is it was a pretty funny sight. The other was everyone could identify with him. We (male and female) have all been there. I think people admired that he was plugging onward, etc.- an "everyman" with fortitude.

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  14. Never knew that about Wykagyl CC Frank. Very cool. It's actually a great venue, I'd love to see more events there.

    Lots of perceptive comments. :o)

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  15. .

    the JAL airlines sponsored a well attended LPGA event at Wygykyl for many years

    but ironically, as these things get more popular, parking and traffic becomes too overwhelming for the locals as well as the "host" country club (same as with westchester country club in harrison NY)

    when i was dating a fugazy (doris) whos dad owned a residential building directly on the south side of the golf course, we would watch the tournament from the roof

    i would see the last hole, that 19th hole, be passed by unplayed as LPGA players came off the course after their completed round, and i initially figured it was maybe a "practice" hole, until it was explained to me later about being used only as a MATCH play final and deciding extra hole

    it was my interest in the course, according to doris, more than my interest in her, so we broke up - apparently she had different reasons for wanting to go to the roof

    that's why i remember WYGAKYL

    frankD

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Lets us know what you think...