Like many sports fans, I was dubious about "Tiger vs. Phil," this Friday's live pay-per-view showdown betwen Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Why should I fork over $19.99 for a meaningless exhibition between two iconic golfers past their primes? Isn't this the kind of greedy money grab that ultimately doomed boxing as it disappeared from free TV?
With no spectators at Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas (except invited guests and assorted corporate fat cats), you have to wonder what the heck Turner's B/R Live Report will show between shots during the four-hour event (3-7 p.m. ET).
MORE: Tiger vs. Phil: Head-to-head record, all-time stats
But as we get closer to Turner's $9 million winner-take-all match, I've come around on this idea. This is an opportunity to see the two biggest names in golf go head to head, with all the trash-talking, gamesmanship and six-figure side bets you won't see on broadcast/cable TV.
Think LeBron James and Steph Curry, or Michael Jordan and Larry Bird, playing H-O-R-S-E for millions. It's mano-a-mano: the most elemental contest in sports. Woods and Mickelson even delivered the kind of staredown at their joint press conference Tuesday that's de rigueur at boxing/MMA pressers.
If you don't want to buy or watch Friday's match play, that's fine, more power to you. But I will.
Here are five reasons why I think this reality TV show could be, as MJ would say, nothing but net:
Tiger Woods is back
My first reason is simple: I want to watch the 42-year-old Tiger Woods play competitive golf. Don't forget it was just a year or so ago that people were writing the world's former No. 1 off, saying he couldn't get off the couch, much less compete against Mickelson and young bucks such as Jordan Spieth. Well, times change.
Spinal fusion surgery seems to have solved Woods' back woes. The 14-time major winner roared back this season, contending at the British Open and firing an electrifying final-round 64 at the PGA Championship. In September, he won the Tour Championship. It was Woods' 80th PGA Tour win — and first in five years. As Woods triumphantly strode up the 18th fairway, hundreds of fans spontaneously surged behind him.
Golf's messiah had returned. TV ratings for NBC's coverage of the Tour Championship's final round surged 206 percent.
Hell, Tiger fans like me are so starved for the sight of Woods, the real Woods, playing championship golf, we'd pay $10 just to watch him warm up on the range at Augusta National. After his Tour Championship triumph, the wiseguys in Las Vegas were quick to install the four-time Masters winner as a co-favorite at the 2019 tournament, along with Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.
The 48-year-old Mickelson hasn't had the season Woods had, but he ended the longest drought of his career with a playoff win at the WGC-Mexico Championship in March. It was his first victory since the 2013 British Open, a stretch of 101 worldwide tournaments.
Don't forget, Riverboat Phil is the type of hair-raising, go-for-broke golfer who's better suited to one day of match play than four rounds of tournament golf.
TIGER vs. PHIL: Date, time, how to watch
Talking smack
For most of their careers, Woods and Mickelson have disliked each other. Woods arrogantly considered Mickelson (and everybody else) his inferior as a golfer and athlete.
Mickelson could only pine away for all the majors and tournaments he would have won had he not played in the "Tiger Era," much like Turner's own Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing of the Knicks can only say "What if?" about playing at the same time as Jordan.
Yes, the battling duo have mellowed into a friendship, but it's based as much on business than real affection as they plot their next career acts. (They talked about possible future business ventures Tuesday.)
Don't kid yourself. This is not Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. They want to beat each other's brains out Friday — and every other day they're on the same course, if only for bragging rights.
"It's my chance, after losing so many majors to you, and so many tournaments to you, to get a little something back," a smiling Mickelson told Woods during Tuesday's press conference in Sin City.
Woods quietly jabbed back, noting the much ballyhooed "rivalry" between the two is completely "jaded" toward his side. He's right. Woods has 80 PGA Tour wins to Mickelson's 43 and 14 major victories to Mickelson's five.
Wanna bet?
Within minutes of Tuesday's press conference, the two rivals already had their first wager: Mickelson bet $100,000 he'd birdie the par-4, 415-yard first hole. Woods said to double it. With that, this event was off and running.
Golf and gambling have gone hand in hand since sheep still strode the links in Scotland. Golf legends from Walter Hagen to Lee Trevino were hustlers as well as sportsmen. The white-shoe, blue-blazer crowd at the PGA or USGA try to ignore it. But the biggest golf pros frequently gamble between themselves, just like weekend hackers with a $2 Nassau, except their debts are much, much higher.
Both Mickelson and Woods like to bet. Both made clear Tuesday they are sore winners who rub it in to losers, too.
During the years, sports fans have learned in dribs and drabs about Mickelson's penchant for gambling. According to ESPN, Mickelson paid off a $1.9 million debt "related to sports gambling."
Woods has also been known to hit the casinos in Vegas. Sports fans have long followed the crazy gambling stories about Jordan, Barkley and other superstars over the years.
Finally, on Friday, we might get a real window into the big-money bets that rich sports stars wager between themselves when the TV cameras aren't watching. Mickelson said the side bets between the duo could reach six or even seven figures.
Look for them to bet on everything from longest drives to closest to the pin. The money won/lost will come directly out of their pockets and go to charities of their choice.
Tiger Unplugged?
Make no mistake, Tiger is the draw, but Mickelson has been the real salesman for this PPV event and its assorted media partners and corporate sponsors.
It was Mickelson, not Woods, who cracked the best jokes and had the press eating out of his hand Tuesday. He was funny, loose, self-deprecating. Calling the event "Tiger vs. Phil" rather than "Phil vs. Tiger" was his "first loss."
Lefty oozed confidence going into Friday: "I want to be able to sit in the Masters champions locker room and talk smack."
So why should fans fork over $20 for this exhibition rather than going shopping on Black Friday?
Both players will be mic'd up. Mickelson argued the event will give viewers "unique" insight. We'll hear the conversations between Mickelson, Woods and their caddies as they plot distance, pin placement and club selection.
Woods admitted he likes to mutter snarky comments under his breath to competitors. We've caught bits and pieces of his irascible personality over the years when broadcast networks fearfully showed him cursing after a bad shot. But this could be the debut of Tiger Unplugged.
So cover your ears if you don't like bad language. Get ready for some F-bombs, HBO-style.
Glimpse of sports' future?
The general idea of "Tiger vs. Phil" isn't new. Decades ago, TV networks showed golf icons like Nicklaus and Palmer on "The Skins Game" and "Shell's Wonderful World of Golf."
But those shows were on free broadcast TV. For better or for worse, this is golf's first splash into pay-per-view. If "Tiger vs. Phil" banks, say, 500,000-plus buyers, look for more of these pay events. If not, the whole idea could be stillborn.
Mickelson predicted the event will provide a "glimpse" into the possible PPV future of sports. You'll hear the banter, the curses, the strategy, the jokes. To Mickelson, the format will truly allow viewers to get inside the ropes in a way they never have before. There will be tech gadgets galore, including drones flying overhead. For the sports betting crowd, there will be live on-screen odds. Fans will be able to bet on their phones.
Pat Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive turned media consultant, thinks Turner picked a good time and price point for this event.
Woods’ first tournament win in five years catapulted him back into the public eye. Golf fans can’t wait to see him renew his quest for Nicklaus’ record 18 major championship wins at the 2019 Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and British Open.
Many sports fans are off from work on Black Friday and socializing with friends and family. Sure, the $19.99 price tag isn't cheap — but it's "reasonable" compared to the $80-$90 cost of many boxing/MMA events, said Crakes, the principal of Crakes Media Consulting.
MORE: Mickelson calls Tiger the greatest of all time
By the same token, the pressure will be on Turner to make this a good show, he warned. The media giant will have to fill the dead air between shots with compelling content about Woods and Mickelson. Turner should devote the same kind of production as it would for an NBA playoff telecast.
If Turner pulls more than 250,000 buyers, it will count "Tiger vs. Phil" a major success, Crakes said. If golf's first PPV event is a hit, look for Turner and other media companies to come up with similar offerings for an on-demand media world. He can see an event where American golfers take on Europe a la the Ryder Cup. The one-on-one nature of tennis would also lend itself to similar PPV events.
'This is an experiment, but it’s an experiment with a lot of potential," Crakes said. "Let's see what happens."
There's still a lot of what-ifs going into Friday. Both Woods and Mickelson played poorly during the Ryder Cup in France. The air could quickly leak out of this event if they stink up the joint, or if one or the other is completely dominating the match-play format.
During an appearance on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," Mickelson argued there's a "FOMO, or "fear of missing out," for sports fans.
Said Mickelson: "You will be missing out on banter, on on-course challenges, on smack talk, on things you never get to see on a telecast because we're mic'd up. So don't let FOMO get the better of you. Watch."
ESPN's Tony Kornheiser joked that there's another reason to buy: It's a great way to escape your family on Black Friday.
Who said Lefty was the best salesman for this event?