Remember back in 2006 when the Americans got their asses handed to them in the Ryder Cup at oakland Hills?  We all - myself included - were lamenting about the future prospects of the red, white, and blue in these annual team competitions.  Perhaps the guys were playing for their country too often, so that it lost its luster.  Maybe there was too much pressure being applied to our superstars.  The thought crept in that maybe even the American players simply were not as talented as their European counterparts.

Then the '07 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal brought us back to earth.  The Americans beat the Internationals soundly and faith was restored in the American team's talent.  In fact, calls grew to make Jack Nicklaus the permanent American captain because the guys so clearly loved playing for him.  With that encouragement in hand, we all crossed our fingers in hopes that Paul Azinger's new Ryder Cup methodology would take hold and result in a win at Valhalla.

And you know what?  It worked.  Captain America's pod system and coaching style not only resulted in a win, but it set the stage for the kind of confidence that the American team showed this weekend at Harding Park.  Playing for another lovable captain in Fred Couples, the Americans used what they learned from Zinger to cream the Internationals yet again.

The lasting impact of what Paul Azinger did for the American golf team is that he turned it into a program of compatriots instead of a consortium of individuals.  Zinger realized that the thing missing from the American squad was genuine unity and friendship.  By cultivating that in his pod system, the Americans realized that these competitions can be both fun and result in wins.  Older players took rookies under their wing, inspired confidence, and mentored players through the experience.

That same thing was evident this weekend at Harding Park.  Phil Mickelson went out of his way to help Sean O'Hair get his sea legs in this competition.  Lefty again went to Anthony Kim to boost his confidence after their strong relationship at Valhalla.  Tiger found a partner for life in Steve Stricker, who seemingly played with the motivation to prove to Tiger that he was a worth partner.  How about Stewart Cink developing a killer instinct?

These things may have been possible were it not for Paul Azinger, but they may have taken longer to develop.  Freddy Couples took advantage of what his predecessor accomplished and formed pairings based off of relationships that these guys had already explored.  A decent amount of the detail work - which admittedly is not Boom-Boom's forte - had been done for him by the players.  It not only made his job easier, but it made him look like a genius.  The end result was an American win that will likely manifest itself as a rematch at Royal Melbourne in two years.

As Golf Channel's Rich Lerner pointed out, the Presidents Cup is not something we look forward to, but it's certainly something we enjoy watching.  For all of the pressure and anger behind the Ryder Cup, there is an equal amount of fun and competition at the Presidents Cup.  The kind of aggression that the players showed at Harding Park can be recreated at Celtic Manor if Colin Montgomerie opts to setup the '10 Ryder Cup venue to promote a whole lot of birdies.  As a yankee, I hope he does because it will surely benefit the American style of play.

Either way, it seems now that the Americans have found a way to gel as a team of people - a real team.  If that's the case, then the USA has figured out why the Europeans had been besting them.  A real team with superior talent is a lethal combination.