Bernie Fratto

Speaking
of
Sports 

by
Bernie 
Fratto

  
Master Phil

4/13/04
Nice guys do finish first… And, they don’t come much nicer. In the fall he loves Fantasy football. In High School, he was a pretty good pitcher and dreamed of going pro. He still likes to shoot baskets on his driveway in Arizona, and he is such a huge sports fan, his knowledge and banter can often be heard on ESPN radio as a guest commentator on the Dan Patrick show.

On Sunday, he not only won his first Major golf tournament, but he did it grand style, sinking a 25 foot birdie putt on the 18^th hole to edge Ernie Els by one stroke! And, Phil Mickelson is so likeable, even his opponents were happy for him in defeat!

Perhaps there’s something to the number 42… Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 wearing the #42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Novi High School Hockey Head Coach Dan Phelps called then Athletic Director John Fundukian 42 times before landing the job in 1998!

And, it took Phil Mickelson 42 tries before he won his first major golf tournament. Somewhat lost in the hoopla of every major sporting achievement is the fact that behind every story lies the heart of a normal human being. Everybody was rooting for Phil Mickelson, because he’s real.

In spite of the fact he’s a multi-millionaire, he’s married to a model, and he’s one of the best golfers in the world, he has remained amazing well-grounded, and still maintains the persona of an everyman.

It’s sort of ironic that media pundits still defined him as somebody that couldn’t win the big one, but he never let that effect his cool friendly demeanor. They said he wasn’t tough enough, he wasn’t hungry enough, he didn’t have the killer instinct. He’d been close too many times but couldn’t finish it off.

He proved them all wrong Sunday, and it was just a matter of time. Phil Mickelson knew all along his day would come, he just didn’t know when and he chose to remain humble.

Nice guys do finish first…

(c) 2004 Novi Information Network
www.novi.org

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Bernie Fratto is a freelance writer, radio personality, and motivational speaker.  His passion for sports comes in part from his experience as a former Cincinnati Red farm- hand.  "Behind every sports story lies the hearts and minds of real human beings" said Fratto.  "These athletic endeavors often serve as a metaphor for the game we call life."

Bernie is also the voice of Novi Wildcat Hockey and host of Wildcat Face-off, a local radio program dedicated to youth sports in Novi.