It dawned on me during the past week that Tiger Woods and Andrew Luck, in addition to grabbing a lot of sports headlines, share a great deal in common.
First of all, they both went to Stanford.
Both are very good at what they do. Woods, on the way to becoming the world’s number one player, won 14 Majors. He was ranked number one for 683 consecutive weeks. That’s weeks, not days!
During his college years, Luck was arguably the best quarterback in the game. He was the Heisman runner-up two consecutive years. That’s not the same kind of dominance over a sport like Woods exhibited but in 2012, the Indianapolis Colts made him the number one pick in the NFL draft. He quickly led the hapless Colts to the playoffs in his first three years, including two division titles, an AFC Championship appearance, and he earned a spot in the Pro Bowl each year.
Another dubious similarity between the two Cardinal is both had career threatening injuries derail their careers. Both required surgeries. Both missed significant time. Both feared they would never play their sport again. Both defied odds and worked their way back into the spotlight. Time will tell if they can obtain long term greatness again.
Both athletes, realizing what they missed, seem to be grateful for their second chances and they seem to be having fun, a lot more fun than they had the first time around.
Written by Craig Shemon
