Live Sports Saviors? Phil Mickelson Teases Potential Match With Tiger Woods
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- These days, with no live athletic competition to be found anywhere, most sports fans have been relegated to binge-watching "Tiger King." Yet a different Tiger may soon be able to deliver something else for sports fans to watch.
That's at least what some golf fans can hope for after Phil Mickelson sent out a pair of tweets on Sunday that certainly caught the attention of folks who are desperate to see any form of competition on their televisions.
It began when a Twitter user asked a question to Mickelson and Tiger Woods: "Do you think there is a chance you two go play a round mic'd up with one camera guy and just put it out there on a stream for people to watch?? We need live sports."
Mickelson replied with three words: "Working on it."
Working on it
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 30, 2020
Being in a fragile state, one sports fan begged Mickelson to please not tease.
Mickelson replied: "I don't tease. I'm kinda a sure thing."
I don't tease. I'm kinda a sure thing
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 30, 2020
In a separate conversation, Mickelson said he wanted to organize an event while remaining sensitive to the seriousness of the global coronavirus pandemic.
I will try to put up some content that is entertaining and fun but I also want to sensitive to the seriousness of the situation. Both from a health perspective as well as for those who aren't sick but will be adversely affected with their job or economically.
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) March 16, 2020
Under normal circumstances, a Tiger vs. Phil match would be a big deal, just as it was back in November 2018. That was when Tiger and Phil participated in "The Match," a made-for-TV, winner-take-all, $9 million event at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. It was a pay-per-view event, but technical issues led to it being made available for free. Mickelson won that event on the third extra hole, just before darkness became a significant factor.
Official viewing numbers aren't known, but considering it aired the day after Thanksgiving -- a day without too much going on in the world of sports -- it was a fairly big deal.
If a rematch were to occur during this extended stretch without any sports? Well, it may still be a pipe dream at this point in time. But suffice it to say, if it were to happen, it would be the most-watched golf match in the history of the world -- both on television and streaming online:
Hopefully, "working on it" can become "sure thing." The sports worlds needs to see it -- and also needs to stop watching the backyard zoo fella from Oklahoma. It's getting out of hand.