Admirable Arrogance

If you asked people, most would say they are very put off by arrogance. Not me. Sure, I don't like people who are very cocky, but when they have managed to blow passed that level and gone into full-blown arrogance, it's an entirely different emotion. It is actually impressive to watch someone who has so much confidence in themselves they are willing to ignore facts and reason when it comes to their own abilities. We should all have such self-confidence.

I bring this up because last night I was watching the only reality show I enjoy, The Golf Channel's "Big Break". For those of you who don't watch (which I'm guessing is approximately 98% of my readers), the show takes 11 amateur golfers, puts them through a series of challenges, eliminating one player a week and the winner of the show gets money, an endorsement contract and a sponsor's exemption into a PGA Tour event. It's a big deal and if you manage to win it could really change your life forever.

The thing is none of these guys are very good. Obviously, they're better than me, they just aren't good enough to be professional golfers. I mean, if they were they wouldn't need to be on the show. Much like "American Idol" I'm pretty sure only one or two of the people who have ever appeared on the show have gone on to have any success. But you would never know it from hearing these guys talk about themselves. They reminded me of every D-III athlete I have ever known, who all believe they would be in the pros if they had just played for a different coach or had been seen by the right scout. The fact that they are undersized and slow have nothing to do with it, it is someone else's fault.

The guy eliminated last week, who only had survived the previous two shows because people played even worse than he did, went on a rant about how he was still the best golfer on the show, he could beat every person there, he was a "legendary ball-striker" and figured he would just go out and Monday-qualify, then win a PGA event. Clearly, that wasn't going to happen because the guy couldn't hit the green from a waste bunker, but his delusions of grandeur were inspiring. This guy was also what I liked to call "later tough" meaning he would say nothing in the moment but after it was over, when it was just him and a camera, he would talk about how the other guy was lucky he didn't kick his teeth in. Because apparently in addition to being an amazing golfer this 5'9", 160 lb guy was also the toughest man alive. Again, to watch him say this and know that in his heart that he believed every word was inspiring.

I think the reason I am impressed by people who have such arrogance is that I just don't. I'm very confident in my abilities, but instead of encouraging me, the voice in my head is always telling me I could do it a little better (this is also why I am my own worst editor). I'm not saying the world would be a better place if everyone went around like that, inflating their abilities, because in actuality it would lead to nothing but empty promises and unfulfilled guarantees. However, I think we could all stand to have the voice in our head being a little more arrogant. Maybe just keep it to yourself. Or, at the very least, don't go on national TV and tell everyone how great a golfer you are when you just left a 20-foot putt 9 feet short.