Pop Quiz: Can You Tell the Difference Between Tiger Woods and a TIGER Grant?

Some Americans might be surprised to learn that there is a federal program that goes by the name of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery ("TIGER Discretionary Grant" for short), which, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) website, "provides a unique opportunity for the DOT to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve critical national objectives. Since 2009, Congress has dedicated more than $4.1 billion for six rounds to fund projects that have a significant impact on the Nation, a region or a metropolitan area."

Other Americans might be surprised to learn that a man going by the name of Tiger ("Eldrick Tont" for long) has won 14 major golf tournaments and spent 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as the world's number one ranked golf player.

This quiz will determine which kind of American YOU are:

1) What does this image represent?

 
A) Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters at Augusta National in Georgia.
B) The Beartooth Highway Reconstruction Project. The full project on what is known as "America's Most Beautiful Highway" involves the complete reconstruction of a seven-mile segment of a scenic highway in a rugged and remote area northeast of Yellowstone National Park within the Shoshone National Forest. It will reconstruct a segment of the Beartooth Highway which has not been rebuilt since its original construction in the 1930s, supporting an "orphaned road," which is not on Wyoming's highway system. Since 1994, FHWA has deemed this segment inadequate and substandard. (Source: U.S. DOT)
C. All of the above.

2) What is pictured here?

(Credit: Keith Allison/ Flickr)

A) The Doyle Drive Replacement Project, which will use TIGER funds to close the gap in a $1.045 billion financing package for the replacement of Doyle Drive in San Francisco County. The project will help create the new Presidio Parkway, which includes construction of a high-viaduct structure between the Park Presidio Interchange and San Francisco National Cemetery, replacing a bridge rated by the Federal Highway Administration as the fifth worst bridge in the nation and the worst in California for structural sufficiency, providing a new important commuter route for both highway and transit riders in an environmentally enhanced way and within the existing footprint. (Source: U.S. DOT)
B) Tiger Woods getting ready to tee off with Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo at the 2012 AT&T National Pro-Am in Pebble Beach.
C) None of the above.

3) How would you describe the following picture?

(Credit: Ozgur Guvenc/ Shutterstock) 

A) A photo of Tiger Woods participating in a high-profile publicity stunt by driving a golf ball while standing on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey.
B) Neither A nor C.
C) The Central Phoenix Multi-Modal Transportation Improvements project, which will use $1.6 million in TIGER funding to conduct an environmental assessment and conceptual engineering study for the South Central Transit Corridor, a 5-mile light rail line operating on Central Avenue between downtown Phoenix and Baseline Road that the Phoenix City Council identified as the locally preferred alternative for high-capacity transit service in fall 2013. (Source: U.S. DOT)

4) What historic event is captured in this video?

A) None of the below.
B) Tiger Woods winning the 2008 United States Open Championship at Torrey Pines in LaJolla, California on an injured knee, which, only days later, would require surgery and prevent Tiger from playing the remainder of the season.
C) The return of stormwater flow into the Everglades National Park at this location for the first time since 1928 as a part of the Tamiami Trail/Everglades Restoration project, funded by in part by a $20 million TIGER grant. (Source: U.S. DOT)

5) Which Tiger is hard at work in this video?

A) A bridge demolition project, funded in part by $12.5 million in TIGER funding. The demolition is part of an effort by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) to relocate and construct the Mayfield Road Transit station under the existing Mayfield Road Bridge. The station will replace the Euclid-E. 120th Street Station that has fallen into disrepair and also rehabilitate two transit bridges serving the RTA Red Line Rapid Transit. (Source: U.S. DOT)
B) Tiger Woods penalized two strokes for signing an incorrect scorecard after taking an illegal drop on the 16th hole at the 2013 Masters at Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.
C) A Bengal Tiger.  

6) Which two famous Americans are pictured in this photo?

(Credit: Keith Allison/ Flickr)

A)  The 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods.
B) The Seward Marine Terminal Expansion Plan, which, funded in part by a $2.5 million TIGER grant, will develop a master plan for Alaska Railroad Corporation's Seward port facilities, which will cover conceptual/preliminary design of the port and upland support facilities. (Source: U.S. DOT)
C) True
D) False 

7) This display of strength and agility is properly described as what?

A) This is a trick question.
B) Tiger Woods going 1-3-1 as part of the controversial and historic winning American team at the 1999 Ryder Cup, played at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. 
C) The installation of two new electric cranes at the Port of Providence. $10.5 million in TIGER grant funding helped expand and upgrade the Port of Providence in Rhode Island by replacing two aged diesel cranes, one of which is currently non-functional, with new electric, barge-based cranes that will enable the Port to handle container traffic. The Port also plans to install wind turbines and solar panels that are expected to generate enough electricity to cover all the port's electrical needs. (Source: U.S. DOT)

Correct Answers
1) B
2) B
3) A
4) C
5) A
6) A
7) C

Add up you answers to find out which kind of American you are. 
0-2 correct answers: You probably don't know the difference between a lion and a bear, much less a TIGER Discretionary Grant and 14-time major Champion Tiger Woods.
3-4 correct answers: Better than mediocre, but don't hold your breath in the hopes of $20 million in discretionary grant funding or an at-large bid to the U.S. Open any time soon.
5-7 correct answers: Great job. Now all that's left for your life is to pass the civil service exam or earn your PGA Tour card.