Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the Jimmy V Celebrity
Golf Classic, which is a tribute to the spirit of Jim Valvano, who
died of bone cancer in 1993.
Valvano is probably best know for leading N.C. State to the 1983
NCAA Championship in a stirring upset of Houston. Though Valvano was
not a particularly good golfer, he enjoyed the game, especially after
he left the coaching sidelines.
Over the years Valvano played in more than his share of Captain's
choice/rubber chicken charity affairs, and eventually reached a point
where he wanted his own tournament. He wanted a tournament for his
friends and their friends. He also wanted serious competition.
In 1990, The Rossi was born.
Named after ABC Sports
golf analyst Bob Rosburg for his uncanny ability to call a shot before
the player strikes the ball, The Rossi was, as
one organizer described it, "the antithesis of all other golf tournaments
in existence in that it was irreverent in all its dealings with golfers."
Nothing was sacred, yet everything was sacred if it dealt with tradition.
The proverbial gift bag was nothing more than a grocery bag with insignificant
stuff. Every player was referred to with the surname Rossi. There was
even a uniform, often times being all-white attire, even if it meant
wrapping masking tape around the shoes to make them conform to the
code.
The actual Sunday golf was just a small part of the weekend, which
included a black-tie dinner on Saturday night, a pre-tournament breakfast
and a post-round Bean Blast. But there was a deeper reason for The
Rossi than good-natured ribbing and spoofing. The Rossi was about brotherhood
and camaraderie, rekindling friendships that might have gone unattended
to over the years.
The Rossi was your weekend dewsweeping foursome multiplied many times
over with a lot of other bonding activities thrown in. Valvano played
in the first three Rossi tournaments before passing away. The next
three or four were held as informal tributes to the man, but eventually
The Rossi faded away after 10 years.
The Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic is a larger, more politically
correct version of The Rossi, but the core value remains. While the
Classic helps raise money for cancer research - over $8 million since
1994 - it also promotes the value of friendship.
Golf has a way of doing that among people. And in this instance,
for a good cause.
DOUBLE CLICK
www.golfclassic.org
Along with golf-related items, this Jimmy V Celbrity Golf Classic
site helps promote the need for cancer awareness and, maybe more important,
funding.
