Ryder Cup: victory for a united Europe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/01/ryder-cup-europe-golf

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Europe is united in rapture after the "Miracle of Medinah", the greatest Ryder Cup comeback since the last one when the Americans pulled off their own epic piece of escapology in 1999, more of which later. In front of a highly partisan USA-chanting crowd, this continent's finest golfers put on a display of unity and purpose that must be the envy of all Europhile politicians, and be enough to send a shiver down the spines of the Eurosceptic lobby – I wonder if Nigel Farage struts the fairways.

The sight of a strapping German chap leaping into the arms of his Spanish teammate after he'd sunk the winning putt was extraordinary. I doubt the head of the Bundesbank will be doing that to his counterpart in Madrid any time soon. But was all this European camaraderie a product of mutual love and understanding or was it just an outpouring of collective animosity against a common enemy: the US of A?

This fixture, like many in sport (and politics), has history. The Ryder Cup used to be contested between the US and Great Britain and Ireland. But the Americans almost always won. Then in the late 1970s – before the Maastricht treaty and the single currency were born, and after another thrashing by the US – it was suggested by the great Jack Nicklaus (who has probably done more for European unity than Jacques Delors) that perhaps it would make for a better contest if the British and Irish could add a few European players to their team. There was one fellow in particular that might make a difference, a golfing genius called Severiano Ballesteros.

Initially the US still won, but by the mid-1980s the balance of power began to shift. In 1985, Europe finally prevailed. Then, as now, there were grown men in V-neck jumpers crying their eyes out, hugging each other and spraying champagne all over the place. The Americans took it well: it was good for the competition if the other lot won occasionally, especially if it was in Europe.

But then a couple of years later Europe won again, on Nicklaus's home course in Ohio. It all started to get a little bit serious. The Americans desperately wanted to win the cup back. In 1989, they were once again bested by a Ballesteros-inspired Europe. Tensions between the teams rose when one of the Americans fell out with the Spaniard during a match. In a few short years, the biennial competition had morphed from a gentle gentlemanly encounter into something more resembling a fierce football derby.

By the time the 1991 tie came around, the Americans were really desperate to win. It was played at Kiawah Island on the Atlantic seaboard and dubbed (by the Americans) the War on the Shore. The Americans won, but amid appalling scenes of jingoism and very ungolf-like redneck aggression that was more in keeping with team sports that use a bigger ball. The die was cast and reached an infamous apotheosis at Brookline in 1999 when amid more scenes of inappropriate jubilation, the Americans came back from miles behind in a mirror image of what happened on Sunday. The current captain of the European team, Jose-Maria Olazabal, had to wait to take his final putt while a jubilant American team stomped all over the green in premature celebration. It was a gross transgression of golf etiquette and plain old bad manners. The Europeans returned home fuming and humiliated.

On one level, victory for Europe at Medinah was simply a fantastic sporting achievement: against the odds and away from home. But it was also payback for Brookline: a sort of golfing karma, what goes around comes around. That's not to say the Europeans were on a revenge mission. They were not because they had an even greater inspiration – Ballesteros, or Seve, as he is known. Seve died from a brain tumour last year at the age of 54. He and Olazabal formed one of the great partnerships in Ryder Cup history. Seve is seen as the father, and now perhaps god, of European golf. The players all had a silhouette of him stitched on to their sleeves and they all wore his favourite colours of blue and white.

There was no great animus with their American counterparts on Sunday; the game was played in the right spirit. In fact, the Ryder Cup is a great competition, which the latest edition has only enhanced. Part of the appeal for both sides is to beat the other lot from across the pond. Perhaps from this side that could be construed as anti-American, but I think not. As in other great sporting rivalries we love to beat them, and they love to whup us. In fact, maybe the concept should be spread to other sports. How about Europe versus the US at basketball?