When Tiger first came onto the scene I rolled my eyes at all the hype. I figured his Dad was full of it when he talked about his son’s greatness. I knew he was a dominant force in college, but there was no way he could do that on the PGA Tour. I didn’t want to believe he could be that good. I really, really wanted to him to fail.

Each time Tiger played, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for him to fall flat on his face. I got devilish enjoyment out of every fairway he missed. I held my breath hoping he would botch his bunker shots. I prayed for putts to scream off of the green. I wanted him to golf like me.

I made fun of the way he crouched down and cupped his hat when he lined up his putts. I was annoyed by his seriousness on the course, his piercing glare, and his toothy "I just won again" grin. When he won I chalked it up to luck. When he lost, I whipped out the old "see I told you so" card.

Today I’m a card-carrying member of the Tiger Woods Fan Club. I’ve become a participant in Tiger-mania. I am in awe. I still sit on the edge of my seat and hold my breath when Tiger hits, but only because I know no matter where his ball lies or how far he is from the pin, it could go in. I don’t want him to play like me, I want to play like him. I even crouch down and cup my hat when I’m lining up my putts.

I cannot not watch Tiger. Every time he addresses the ball I get butterflies in my stomach. My adrenaline starts pumping. I’m thinking, "How can he top that last shot?" It doesn’t matter if it’s a tight match like the PGA Championship or a blow out like most of his other wins this year, I’ll sit there for hours and root for him to crush the field by 20 strokes instead of the 11 he already has.

This kid is so good, I can’t even compete with him when I’m playing Sega golf. I’ll punch buttons for hours and swing as hard as the computer will let me and I don’t even come close to Tiger’s real life "if you don’t see it, you won’t believe it" accomplishments. At the NEC Invitational in Akron, he whacked a ball from the fairway to the green, just a couple feet from the hole, in the dark. He couldn’t even see the flag. I saw it and still didn’t believe it.

For a long time, I didn’t want to believe Tiger was good. Now, I believe Tiger will be the best there has ever been. I know it’s early in his career and he’s only 24 years old, but that’s my point. He’s only 24 years old. Think of everything he’s accomplished in the five years he’s been on the tour. Now think about what he’s going to do over the next 30 years. Wait. Don’t do that. Your head might explode. Just sit on the edge of your seat and soak in his greatness. Don’t forget to breathe.