As roars came from around the Country Club the mood built. Could it be? The biggest comeback in Ryder Cup History&? It got closer and closer until finally the crowd believed! As I watched I was taken in& I was there& my heart was pounding.. I was cheering and jumping up and down!

Justin Leonard started his own comeback, from 4 holes down with only 7 to play. Impossible! But wait& he won a hole. and another & then a long put found the hole and yet another! Tied. Coming to the 17 hole with the result still in the balance he faced a 45 foot putt with many of his teammates and the rest of the golfing world watching. To sink this impossible putt to almost win The Cup!!!! The putt climbed that fabled green where and American had put down a couple of British golfers to win the Open many many years ago. Could it&. Maybe& but it was rolling quick&. Had to be perfect to go in& and in it went! That putt did not guarantee that the Americans would win the Cup, but it all but sealed the deal!

The celebration that was all from "across the pond" for the first two days was now on the side of the "Good Guys". It erupted! Held back by a superb play from the Europeans on the first two days and by a heart stopping close competition on the final day. It spilled over on the green and players and spectators "Let Go".

Jose Maria Olazabal had to wait for it to calm down and calm down it did&. Just like the celebration of the Europeans on the first two days. He had all the time he needed to collect himself before he attempted the putt& He missed and that sealed the deal! He missed not because of the celebration, not because his line was crossed& he missed the putt because it was difficult and in golf some go in and some do not. For the Europeans they did the first two days& on this 17th green on Sunday, it did not.

The glum faced Europeans trooped in to the press conference and only could talk about the abhorrent behavior on the 17th green. Oh, the heckeling& They said bad things& They cheered our bad shots&The fans were an equal opportunity hecklers& Dave Duval got his share for the first two days for calling this event "just an exhibition". Grace? Not here. Sure, some of the things said as a player prepared for his putt were uncalled for.

Golf is a quiet sport. But when you have a team competition like this you cannot expect the same behavior. Especially when it was a victory like no other! It always has been a little interesting to me that a baseball player has to swing at a 90 mile an hour fast ball with the crown screaming, but a golfer has to have it dead quiet while he hits a ball that is standing still.

If you are going to build up the competition as golf has for the Ryder Cup, don't expect fans to quietly clap when the "Good Guys" do great things. Let the cheering roar, and in the end let the players set the example.

Sure the behavior of the crowd could have been a little better, but in the long tradition of golf, hearty congratulations to the victor would have tasted better than the heaping helping of sour grapes served up by the losers.