A Tribute To Brendan Jones

I feel we need to recognize the athlete that becomes the sacrificial lamb for the greater storyline. After all, Krusty the clown needs his Sideshow Mel to complete the comedy sketches.

Enter Brendan Jones, an Australian golfer who just happened to get the wrong draw at the wrong time.

I'm sure Jones expected a tough day; he was a 16th seed in the Match Play Championship which means he was going to have to beat a top seed to advance. But there are top seeds and then there are gigantic, titanic top seeds.

Seeing your name on the MPC bracket sheet right next to the name Tiger Woods is like being invited to the Academy Awards only to find out you're up against Heath Ledger for best supporting actor.

But Jones handled it like a good sport. He didn't declaim his draw even though he admitted that his sleep habits may have suffered because "you're always thinking the worst when you're lying in bed." In other words, he did his best to put a brave face on as the Tiger tank came blitzkrieging towards him.

And to his credit, Jones didn't embarrass himself. It would have been easy for Jones to go into a downward spiral after he heard the roar of the crowd as Tiger was introduced and the following super fast start by Woods that included a birdie and eagle on the first two holes. It would have been simple to get into it with the obnoxious spectator that vocally anticipated a complete blowout.

Jones remained professional though and at the end of the day he had lost, but not by too terribly much. Jones even managed a joke afterward, saying "when he got four-up with four to play, I told people that's where I wanted him, but it didn't work out that way."

Sure, a loss is a loss. And Jones probably wasn't real happy with his draw, especially after seeing that half of the top seeds were actually upset in the first round. But he handled his role of lion to the Tiger gladiator with class. And even though he may have gotten a win had he played someone else, he can now be certain that his name will be printed on trivial pursuit cards for years.