FORT MYERS, FLA. – We were in the dusk of the Golden Era for sports writing travel with American newspapers in 1997, when I was able to convince the bosses at the Star Tribune it would be a fine idea to cover the Ryder Cup.
This wasn't a routine request, as it was being held at Valderrama Golf Club in southern Spain.
Yet, the stars were aligned for a sales pitch:
Our guy Tom Lehman was at his peak and would be playing in his second Ryder Cup. Tiger Woods would be playing in the event for the first time. And it was the first time the Ryder Cup was being held on the Continent, as an honor to Seve Ballesteros, the European captain.
"It's historic, boss," I said. "We should be there."
There was some vacation tossed in beforehand and costs were split, but being at Valderrama to witness Seve's manic racing around the cork trees to urge Europe to a 14½-13½ upset remains the travel triumph of a long sports writing career.
We had an overnight in London on the return trip and I purchased a half-dozen newspapers to check the coverage. The glory that England's sports writing stars found in this narrow victory over the Yanks was astounding.
It was while reading those sentences of over-the-top tributes to Seve and his squad that it was emphasized to me how much more important international sport is to Europe and the rest of the world than it is to the United States.
