More insight, perhaps, into what drives Tiger Woods on the golf course. Apparently his college teammates enjoyed mocking him by calling him Urkel. That’s just a big bowl of wrong. Tiger only attended Stanford for two years, but those were 1994-96, which was right in the wheelhouse for that lovable sitcom, Family Matters, in which Jaleel White played the uber nerd. This revelation comes in Woods’ E! True Hollywood Story special that airs tonight at 10 (ET). Excerpt:
“The golf team is not like being a college football player, it’s not like he was a basketball star, so he wasn’t the big man on campus,” said someone who knew him then, “He had a nickname, Urkel; he felt like it was insulting to him, he felt like it was borderline racist. And it just made him feel like he was back in high school again.”
Video following the jump.
As any true Family Matters fan knows, Urkel started out as a relatively minor character when the show debuted in 1989, but soon grew into its biggest star; even driving a couple of the other characters to the sidelines and off the program entirely. Kind of makes the nickname appropriate, in a way.
Look for my pal Brooks on TV tonight, as he’s going to be interviewed in the E! True Hollywood story piece.
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Tiger Woods Was Nicknamed ‘Urkel’ in College [US Magazine]
Tiger Woods was nicknamed ‘Urkel’ by teammates on his college golf team [New York Daily News]
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- BC - Apr 14, 2010 at 3:46 PM
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Could be worse – they could have nicknamed him after Reginald VelJohnson’s character on the show:
http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/2009/08/05/carlwinslowfinal2.jpg
That is one BIG chunk of man.
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- dc - Apr 14, 2010 at 3:48 PM
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I can’t believe stories like this make front page of MSNBC sports. Let me see here, before TW had LASIK eye surgery to correct his near-sightedness, he wore contact lenses during the day, and glasses at night or in his private life. He is black. Urkel is black and wears glasses. Therefore, TW = Urkel = black nerd/dork who is some sort of fraud undeserving of any of living The Life.
Reminds me of my high school days as an Asian-American kid growing up in the Midwest in the 90′s. People used to call me Michael Chang to mock me, out of pure ignorance and without any just cause for the actual comparison.
Wonder what people used to call the author of this article in HS or college. F*ckface or Sh#thead. Haha. That’s hilarious. Must mean he must have been one. Guess that trauma’s why he’s writing this crap blog, instead of actually being a productive member of society
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- lindav92683 - Apr 14, 2010 at 4:08 PM
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I think that most of the race issues come from the minorities themselves. It’s probably time to get over it guys. If you don’t feel good about yourself, them nailing every blonde white chick that you can get your hands on isn’t going to help.
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- ArkyArk - Apr 14, 2010 at 5:50 PM
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They should have called him ASSHOLE!
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- Mic - Apr 14, 2010 at 6:03 PM
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Not only is this a lame story but older than dirt. The Urkel name calling was out in the open as soon as he one a is first PGA event. Rick Chnadler must have been living under a rock.
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- Dan Olson - Apr 14, 2010 at 6:54 PM
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I can’t believe this “article” wasn’t written by Florio.
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- lemonella - Apr 14, 2010 at 9:04 PM
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Linda, blacks, many of us will get over the race issue when it is no longer an issue. Whatever ethnicity you are, you probably have ever had to deal from the rascist side of life. So, stop with the get over it. Blacks will get over it when no one on this earth believes there was ever a holocaust created by a madman to annihilate jewish people. Do think they should “get over it also?”
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- Cee D - Apr 15, 2010 at 11:27 AM
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I was called Urkel all the time growing up, mainly by other blacks who found a focus on academics and being cerebral to be off-putting and contrary to staying true to black culture. Because I’d rather read than play basketball, I was humiliated for it and basically exiled from black America – even my own family to an extent. It breaks my heart that it happened like that, not because of me being teased, but because of how much more Black Americans could do if we saw achievement outside of sports and entertainment as something good rather than something bad.
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- kimmer - Apr 15, 2010 at 12:18 PM
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I am Alaska Native. We used to tease other Alaska Natives (Indians) if they were nerds by calling them Urkel. So what? Its about being a nerd, not about being black. Urkel was a nerd. Now, if the show was about an Indian Urkel, even better! Ever watch “Smoke Signals?” That WAS about an Indian Nerd. And it was funny!! Blacks need to get a thicker skin. Of course, amongst Indians, self deprecating humor is part of our culture (most tribes in Alaska, anyways). Maybe in Black culture, that ain’t so. But wait . . . amongst themselves it is! So . . . I don’t get the beef at all.
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- bob - Apr 15, 2010 at 2:30 PM
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Victor, where is your dad ?
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- ArkyArk - Apr 15, 2010 at 4:25 PM
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Okay, when I was about 4 years old and came whining to my mommy cause someone called me an bad name, she told me (now write this down!) “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!”
Now shut up, and grow a pair! Sheeeesh!
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- Won one - Apr 15, 2010 at 8:36 PM
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Maybe this is how Tiger was treated throughout High School too. Probably didn’t get laid much or maybe even a virgen, into his twenties. Probably feels the time is right, you know, to make up for all of his past “down” time. To “prove” that he is a “player”. What Tiger doesn’t know is that, once an “Urkel” always an “Urkel”.
