Tiger's Hat Throw... "Disrespectful"?

I've continued to enjoy reading the now... 925 comments on the article about Tiger's win at Bay Hill on Sunday. The most baffling to me remains this one from "Silus 2000"...

"The hat toss was disrespectful. He's trying to intimidate his opponents in victory, and prep them for failure at the next event. It was not necessary. He should have just handed the magic putter back, and tipped his hat to the crowd."


Somehow I don't think it was the throwing of his hat that intimidates his competition. I think it's the fact that he is capable of doing the impossible under pressure time and time again.

But should the hat toss be banned? Let's look at some other famous hat tosses and decide if we're dealing with something inherently aggressive...


Who: Odd Job
Hat Toss Facts: Used his steel-rimmed top hat to kill Tilly Masterson in Goldfinger.
Aggressive?: He did kill someone, so, yeah.



Who: West Point Graduating Class
Hat Toss Facts: For over a hundred years, graduating seniors toss their caps at the end of commencement. The caps are often lined with money and retrieved by local children who get to keep it.
Aggressive?: Yes, they're soldiers, but they're ultimately using their hats to give kids money... I'm going no on this one.



Who: Fred Funk
Hat Toss Facts: Upon sinking his par putt on the 18th hole at the Players Championship in 2005, Fred Funk slams his cap to the ground.
Aggressive?: This is Fred Funk we're talking about.


Who: Mary Tyler Moore
Hat Toss Facts: At the end of the opening credits of the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary spins around and then tosses her beret into the air while the lyrics of the theme song say, "You're going to make it after all..."
Aggressive?: You're kidding, right?

Alright, after looking at history, I'm going to take the side that Tiger should be allowed to toss his hat again should he so choose. Unless of course it has a sharpened steel blade under the brim, but last I checked the Tour is currently doing random hat tests. I'm willing to risk it.