THIS WAS A CONCEPT I WROTE ABOUT OVER A YEAR AGO WHEN ABOUT 15 PEOPLE WERE READING THE BLOG. IT IS A GOOD DISCUSSION TOPIC THAT IS WORTH YOUR BRAIN POWER…
In Sulphur Springs, Texas we have three big grocery stores: Wal-Mart (yeah, it’s a Super Center), Brookshires, and Piggly Wiggly. While all from time-to-time get customers, one dominates the grocery business in this town. The Wal-Mart Super Center is constantly packed. It has all the advantages: lower prices, more check out lines, ability to buy your kids superman pajamas and a plasma tv on the same trip, and open 24 hours everyday. Sure Brookshires and ”the Pig” have business or they would close, but Wal-Mart consistently out-do them. (Side note: I try to avoid Wal-Mart as much as possible because of the obscene amount of florescent light and there is always a load of people there.)
I watched some of this week’s PGA golf tournament on TV. It was not one of the four major golf tournaments; it was the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The main reason I watched was to see if Tiger Woods, who is coming off major knee surgery, could get back to his dominant, winning ways. In fact, I found myself watching this seemingly insignificant golf tournament over the NCAA Elite Eight basketball games to see if Tiger could make a comeback. He only drilled a 12 foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational by one shot and match the largest comeback in his PGA Tour career. Yesterday he won at his third tournament after a nine month layover that included major knee surgery. The crazy thing is that nobody is surprised. He wins last year’s US Open on one leg and nobody is surprised. He has become so dominant in professional golf that it is expected that he will win and be better than everyone else simply by showing up. (Another side note: I find it hilarious that people can’t figure out why Tiger is so dominant compared to the other golfers. He is the only guy on tour that works out, that’s jacked, and that’s in shape. All the other guys look like my Uncle Hal. Think about it. It makes sense.)
So what does Wal-Mart and Tiger Woods have in common? They are dominant in what they do. The question I ask myself: Is it a good thing for something/someone to be so much better than every single one of their competitors? Is it a good thing for cities when Wal-Mart dominates sales? Is it good for the PGA when Tiger dominates every tournament? Is it a good thing that smaller, hometown grocery stores shut down or struggle month-to-month because Wal-Mart is down the street and they can’t compete? Is it a good thing that when Tiger doesn’t play in a tournament many people (including myself) will not watch a second of their coverage? Some say yes, others no. This principle can be applied to anything that completely dominates their field.
Thoughts?
I think it is a good thing for Tiger to dominate. I for one don’t watch when he is not in contention. I also don’t think it is the fact that he is going to win that I or anybody tunes in to watch him. We watch because of the amazing things he does. If Tiger puts himself in a “hairy” situation. He does something incredible to get out of it. So to me it is great for Tiger to dominate.
What the PGA needs is someone who can Challenge Tiger, not in just the winning aspect, but also in the AMAZING aspect. Where time after time they do the things that no one else could. If they had that, people wouldn’t tune out on Tourney’s that Tiger wasn’t in. So it isn’t Tiger or the fans fault that no other PGA pro has the Amazing Factor that Tiger does.
Now I am not sure about Wal-Mart. They are a good thing, because they keep prices down. But they have also closed a number of self-employed family run groceries over the years. That stinks. I don’t know what the balance should be, but there seems to me that a good balance of “Mom & Pop” stores that offer personal attention and service with the Mega-Store offering lower prices would be great. How to acheive that? I don’t know. Maybe it could start with limiting the number of Wal-Marts in an area. I mean we have 4 super Wal-Marts here in Pensacola alone. And it only takes 15 minutes to get anywhere in this town. So you can be at 3 different wal-marts in the same about of time.
Sean – I am very curious to see the statistics of how many people watched the PGA tour events on television the nine months Tiger was injured to the television statistics of when he plays. I bet the difference is massive. I still think the lack of competition and complete dominance can be a bad thing. Look what the NBA did when MJ left…it tanked for 5-8 years. And that’s a team sport.
Your Mom & Pop vs Wal-Mart conversation sounds an awful lot like Dunder Mifflin vs Staples.
If you are curious, here are the comments from last time I brought this up:
KYLE B.
ehh..very good topic..i think i would have to yes and no!! yes, because its life!! everything and everyone has something else dominating them!! and thats how it is, its not the person or super centers fault that they are so good at what they do, maybe the smaller or less popular should see what the COULD have and strive to get better!! no in a sense that competion brings a lot of people down, im sure the other PGA golfers notice all of Tiger’s media coverage and succsess, but they cant let it get to them. in small towns, some people may like the homie touch to smaller sotres and the friendlyness, and others may prefer the “super” place that everyone goes to!! i dont know..thats what i had to say :]
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Heather
I don’t think it’s a good thing for something/someone to be so much better than every single one of their competitors because the essence of complete dominance is that it elimates competition. This give way to more power than one thing or person needs and the ability to whatever they choose with that power. Its the same reason why our country made laws again monopolies. In a worldly sense, competition is a great thing and very necessary for our economy and government. Just think about the difference between the repulican side vs. the democratic side of the presidential race. Our vote practically didn’t count by the time Texas voted because John McCain already had it locked up; he had no competitors. Whereas, with Hilary and Obama every democratic vote counts because the race is so close. Just a thought.
However, I do think aspiring to be dominant in what ever you choose is good. We have to always push towards greatness. Some of us will reach it and some will not. I guess that’s it for now.
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Scott
I don’t necessarily see it as “Dominance” by Tiger & Wal-Mart, but a lack of effort by their competitors. Think about it. You can’t tell me Tiger’s talent is that much better than everone else’s. You wins because he works at it. If Phil Mickelson put in the hours that Tiger does, he would be at the top every week with him, but instead he has a gut and run out of steam by the end of the season. Wal-Mart vs. Mom & Pop is a little bit more complicated, but it’s still the same idea. I bet if Mom & Pop stores got creative then they could compete with the giants like Wal-Mart. They can reduce their overhead or even work together with other Mom & Pop stores to leverage buying power to buy goods cheaper.
As much as I hate Tiger winning every week and having to fight through all the people at Wal-Mart, I have to say it CAN be a good thing in the long run. The reason I say that is because it forces competitors to step it up which will create even greater competition and that greater competition will be able to benefit everyone involved.
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Kade Wimberley
Dominance Isn’t Something That Anyone Is Born With.. I Think It Is a Great Thing Because ( Like The Newest Jordan Commercials Say) ” There Are No Cinderellas”. Dominace Is Payed For By Blood, Sweat , and Tears… And We’re Lucky To Be Able To See People Who Worked The Living Crap Out Of Themselves To Be Dominate In Anything They Do..
Personally I Find Lance Armstrong Amazing.. Anyone Who Influences Someone Else for the Good is doin somthing right..
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Landon
hmm… interesting topic. Although I love to see individuals aspiring to greatness and all that jazz, in the case of Tiger, his perpetual victories do take some of the fun out of the tournaments for me. But is it unfair that Tiger always wins? Absolutely not. I think he’s definitely earned his monopoly. But that also raises the question of whether or not humans are born with different capacities, and this always troubles me. Are all men (and women this time) really created equal? People obviously have varying capacities for intelligence, athletic ability, etc… but where do these capacities come from? are we born with them or do they emanate from the amount of time this individual has put in?
To me, Wal-Mart’s monopoly is a different scenario. In small towns like SS, the “competition” has to know that they will be out-produced by a multi-national corporation decades old. I think Wal-Mart realizes this, or they wouldn’t be exploiting the lack of labor laws in foreign countries and ignore the world current demand of free-range and free-trade products (which are more expensive and would cut their profits in half).
So for Tiger, I say yes, it’s ok for him to perform his best. Wal-Mart, I say no. There should be an equally profitable competitor anywhere a major corporation is planted, because technically, in SS, Wal-Mart IS a monopoly, which is illegal.
Maybe I’ll start blogging….
Having Tiger Woods in the PGA has helped and hurt them. When he’s there the ratings sore and merchandise sells. When he’s not there, no one cares. I remember watching Golf in the early 90′s when Garcia and all those other (now no name) guys were at the top of the list. Those were good days, always tuning in just to see who might win. Now if Tiger isn’t playing, I could care less. So Tiger has been good and bad. When he leaves the game someday, PGA will hurt unless someone else comes to dominate.
Wal-mart…. I have a heart for the Piggly Wigs out there. Many times I go to another supermarket here in Abilene rather than going to wal mart. I do like wal mart but hate what they have done to so many people. I say the Walton’s should distribute their riches to the mom and pops of the nation to help them survive. They’ve done everything they can to not be monopolistic by the definition but that is exactly what they have done. No one can compete. I love the small towns in northern states because you can’t find a wal mart. Its great. Some day Wal mart will fall. But that could be a while.
I’m out of opinions.
Also! SS needs a Super Target. Lets see how walmart does then…
Nice post Brian. Tiger is back! I think that you have some very valid analysis and it is not hard to draw the parallels between Tiger and Wal-Mart, they are both the most competitive and dominant in their own fields. You pose a lot of interesting questions, but I’m not in a position to even attempt to answer them.