Listen, I am a 100% unapologetic Ian Poulter fan. I will stand by the statement up and down, and will defend pretty much any argument from the “ugh, I hate Ian Poulter” people. The only place I consider it genuinely fair is from the fan that hates him for his Ryder Cup performances. Ok, that’s fair. The truth is, Poulter is pretty well-liked by many of his peers on Tour and is one of the more generous players with his time.
Yes, part of the fun in sports is being obnoxiously opposed to certain players just because. The other side of the coin is being absurdly attached to an athlete you don’t even know. It’s good fun. The fact is, if you truly knew any of these people, many of your heroes are probably terrible people and many of your enemies are probably great people. Ndamukong Suh anyone?
What I appreciate about Ian Poulter is that he’s honest and he’s more than happy to give people insight into his life. Good or bad. If you really take a fair look at him, you’ll find he’s an inspiring and impressive story. Rags to riches even! The guy was motivated and ended being one of the best golfers in the world and a Ryder Cup legend. Poulter’s accomplishments go beyond golf, however.
As a fan, I’ve followed Poulter for years. In all of that time, he’s raised what has to be in the millions for a charity called Dreamflight as well as invested countless hours of his personal time in participating in Dreamflight activities. (You should check out Dreamflight here.) I also challenge you to see how much time he spends signing for fans/kids at events. Poulter is notorious for being one of the best signers on Tour. You will also find that he is engaging with fans during practice rounds. Meanwhile you have Bubba yelling at everyone and refusing to participate in traditional long drive contests. But yeah, Poulter’s an animal.
Anyway, to my actual point here. I can go on about random reasons to support Ian Poulter far longer than anyone cares. The PGA Tour recently released a 15 minute profile on Poulter that I think is really good. I think it does a great job of giving the public a good look into Poulter and his brain. Even if you don’t like Poulter, it’s an interesting glimpse into an interesting personality. The special is aptly named ‘Ian Poulter – It’s Complicated.’ If you have 15 minutes, it’s worth the watch. One thing you can’t argue with is that Poulter’s journey to success is impressive and he has accomplished some great things.
