Whoops. Another icon falls. Sports figures just keep going down like the proverbial dominoes. Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Tiger Woods. But he is such a good golfer! The best. The sports pundits line up in their suits and nod and speak in low tones. Yes yes he has made some bad choices but I believe he will play even better because of this…ah incident. Ah…yeah. That’s what this is really about…Tiger Woods playing even better.
Tacit understanding in sports world is that athletes at the top of their games get a pass while the not so lucky fall because they were not playing at the top of their game. Remember the Michael Jordan gambling mystery? His father ends up murdered on the side of the road at the same time rumors of Michael Jordan’s addiction to gambling were swirling around. We remember it here in Chicago. Or Pete Rose. So he bet against his own team. So what…he was a great player and should be admitted into the Hall of Fame. What’s a little gambling on the side.
But Tiger cant drive his way out of this one. He can’t make that miracle hole in one and hold his fist to the heavens and clomp on across the green and leave all of it behind. He has fallen into the muck of celebrities gone bad. Funny how all that talent gets lost in the goo of endorsements and branding worth billions when you go from the golden boy to the fallen one. There should be a way to just make it all go away. In the sports world you lose one and then you win one and you go on. Not so fast in tabloid land.
Seems Tiger was the ball to his wife’s driver. Or so we can assume. And now all those girls seem to be falling out of the woodwork. Seems Tiger is the amateur in the world of adultery. Rule one. Never text at night when your wife is asleep. She can hit redial. Rule two. Never leave a message with your last tryst saying to change your message to a generic greeting because your wife might be calling. The harlot might sell your request to a network. Rule Three. Always keep your clubs locked up in case your wife decides to use one as a weapon after she hits the redial on your cellphone.
Ah yes. But these are not the rules of the golfer. A clean swing. A firm grip. Follow through. These are the rules of that world left behind on a clear cool morning where the fairway is ever so green and a man who makes a billion dollars on endorsements can see for miles. If only he could put the genie back in the bottle. How to remake an image forever tarnished? Maybe a better game. Play a better game. He will be even better! Better go with nine iron for this one.
William Hazelgrove writes in Ernest Hemingway’s Attic. His latest book is Rocket Man.
http://www.freado.com/player/bookplayer.php?contentid=4738&authorid=3736&preview=1
Awesome post! I agree with you, whenever Tiger decides to come back to the PGA Tour, he will most likely dominate more than ever. Regardless of what he’s done off the course, he’s still one of the best golfers ever. It is a shame that big superstars, such as himself, think that they’re untouchable.