Americans have emotion on their side in this Ryder Cup

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Paul Azinger and Nick Faldo have added the final players to their rosters for the Daniel Boone edition of the Ryder Cup.

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A couple of years ago the whole world poured their hearts out to a European stalwart going through a real-life crisis. And in the aftermath of his wife's untimely death, Darren Clarke was able to hoist his team on his broad shoulders and then down a Guinness in celebration. But that was Ireland in 2006 and this is Kentucky in the year of the Perry. Maybe the Americans actually have the sentimental advantage this year -- and a little home cooking, too -- but I could just be grasping at straws.

Nick Faldo could have picked that Geico lizard with the British accent that likes pie and chips and the European Team would have still been favored in the Ryder Cup. Of course, that would be a bad idea because someone in Kentucky would slip a hook in his mouth and use him to catch a large-mouth bass. In the end, it came down to three guys for Nick Faldo. He went with his fellow countrymen Ian Poulter and Paul Casey. Clarke seemed like a sure bet after winning two weeks ago for the second time this season but Faldo opted to go in another direction.

Faldo will get enough criticism in Europe for leaving Clarke, and even Colin Montgomerie, off his team. Quite frankly, the British tabloids are far better at insults than anyone on this side of the pond. I will say that what the purely American mindset fails to consider in these circumstances is the fact that the Europeans view themselves far more as a team than the individuals. Our view is that individual accomplishment is rewarded by a position on the team. Although he didn't say it, somehow Faldo must feel that his team will be better positioned with Casey and Poulter as teammates. Remember, those guys have absolutely hammered our boys in the last two matches.

That fact has not has not been forgotten by the American captain. If Azinger needed any reminder, Sergio Garcia took care of that on the first playoff hole at The Barclays. El Nino cast the first stone in the Ryder Cup when he canned a putt from 25 feet on the first playoff hole against Vijay Singh, then pointed at Faldo in the CBS tower and blew him a kiss. A month before the Ryder Cup and the matches were already on Sergio's mind.

This year has been different for a lot of reasons on the American side, though. First, Kenny Perry came out and took the most unusual path to the team that anyone has ever taken. He committed himself to one goal and brought the Ryder Cup back to the American conscience far earlier in the season than in previous years. He only played in one major championship this summer, and that was after he had already secured his spot on the U.S. Team. All he wanted to do was qualify one last time for the Ryder Cup in his home state, and he did.

Kenny will be joined on the team by Captain's Picks Steve Stricker, Chad Campbell, Hunter Mahan and fellow Kentucky longball hitter, J.B. Holmes. So on the 12-man squad there are six fresh faces. For most team competitions that may not be a good thing. But our Ryder Cup veterans all hold losing records and most of them have been rolled over soundly the last few years.

The Europeans always throw a few names at us that have us scratching our heads. Tell me all you know anything about Soren Hansen and Oliver Wilson. I don't think that Soren was one of the kids that sang "Um Bob" and Oliver is no relation to Dean, Mark or Woodrow. But if history repeats itself, they will make every putt they look at for three days and pour champagne on Sergio's head on Sunday afternoon while our guys look on like Bill Buckner wondering how the heck that ball got through their legs.

Maybe that won't happen this time. I am generally not a glass half-full kind of guy but I feel there is something special about this American team. First, Paul Azinger has been surprisingly quiet since the PGA Championship. Second, we are really supposed to lose this one. That's not a mindset we take too kindly to over here, especially in places like Kentucky.

Over the next couple of weeks you will hear American players saying things like, "It is just an honor to be on the team" and "We are going to give this our best shot in the spirit of competition." But what they really mean is "we are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore." Granted, all of our great champions have gone down in flames these last several years. Everyone knows that. But if this thing was a foregone conclusion we wouldn't be talking about it nearly as much as we are. Across the pond they are talking about it because they think that they are going to beat the Americans again in our own backyard. Over here we are talking about because we are taking this one personally. Kenny Perry and Paul Azinger have seen to that. Let's hope these other boys fall in line behind them.