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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Wie might as well
skip collegeIF Michelle Wie's goal is to be famous -- and all indications are it is one of the parts she loves best about this whole adventure (she relishes facing an army of TV cameras the way I savor approaching an all-you-can-eat buffet) -- she shouldn't wait to go pro.
No, maybe not today, even as she sits two strokes off the lead in an LPGA major. Maybe not this year, and maybe not next. But not long after. Soon. Definitely by the time she hits 18.
Yes, this flies in the face of everything I've written previously about Michelle Wie. That she's rushing it. That all this is moving too fast. That it's great that she's great (yes, it's an amazing story), but she should really just slow down and smell the flowers and be a kid.
Well, too late for that.
Sure, there is always talk about watching cartoons, and giggling, and going to the mall. And all that is true.
Yes, she really is 14.
But she's already living in another world.
Really. No matter what your take on it, she's not a normal kid and doesn't want to be. She's already made that choice, with her eyes wide open. Or (and this is the part of the debate that I think always gets lost here, when everyone says to just let her do what she wants) as wide open as a 12-, 13-, 14-year-old's eyes can be.
The rest is just details.
Semantics. She's still an amateur. Officially. But her schedule speaks for itself.
She's already missing the Punahou Carnival. Already taking off school days to live out of suitcases and play with pros. Already giving up the experience of a high school team.
Let's face it, that corner's been turned. Even I realize that now.
So let's look at -- as they say in the mafia movies -- the life she has chosen.
This week, from the Kraft Nabisco Championship, comes the first hint she might skip Stanford. Makes sense. From all of her previous comments, did anyone really think she would deign to play on the Stanford women's team? No. And the NCAA isn't in the habit of making celebrity exceptions the way the pros have.
Everything she's ever said or done tells you she's shooting to be something big. Bigger than big. Not just another woman pro. No. She wants to live on another planet.
She loves the attention. She basks in the spotlight, loves to feel its warmth upon her face (not that there's anything wrong with that). It's fun for her. She thrives on this stuff.
And that's why if that's what she wants she can't wait too long.
Michelle Wie isn't a sports sensation because she's a potential all-time great golfer (which she is), but because she's a potential all-time great golfer who happens to be a 14-year-old girl. And all this goes away the minute she turns 22.
Ask Annika what being the greatest player in the history of women's golf gets you.
This isn't about money. The LPGA pays rather well. Michelle is a millionaire either way.
But she's suddenly a lot less interesting if she's all grown up (and playing men won't be such a big deal by then).
I'd like to see her slow down, but she's already made that choice. With that in mind, she can't wait until she's too old if to be something truly new.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
