It was evident by the celebration on Monday that the Europeans love the Ryder Cup much more than the Americans. And I'm not talking about the golfers.
Two years ago, when the event was held at Valhalla in Kentucky, there was hardly a peep on this side of the pond. I'm not trying to generalize here, but I'm not sure most Americans even know what the Ryder Cup is. They know what the Olympics are, and they are aware (although they may not want to be) of the World Baseball Classic.
But what makes the Ryder Cup special is the fact that it's us versus all of Europe: Spain, England, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Germany. And it's the best golfers in the world: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker, etc.
Kudos to the Americans for a spirited effort in the singles session on Monday, especially from 21-year-old Rickie Fowler, who rallied to halve his match. Stricker, on the other hand, earned just a half-point against North Ireland's version of Fowler, Rory McIlroy. That was a big result considering the final score.
There are a lot of 'What ifs' from the weekend, but the fact is the Cup is now in Europe and will be until 2012, when it comes to Medinah in Illinois. Let's just hope the U.S. gets a little more excited about it.
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