I adored Tiger Woods. I loved everything about him. His fifteen stroke Masters win, his one-legged U.S. Open playoff victory against Rocco, hugging his dad after tournament wins, the ridiculous chip shot he hit at the Masters a few years back- even his commercials, like the one where he’s bouncing a golf ball on his club before he hits a booming drive midair. When I first heard that photos of Elin and his newborn son were released I actually Googled them to have a peek. He was the reason I watched professional golf. And in a sports world where the most dominate athletes become polarizing (you love them for their greatness or you hate them because of their greatness- Kobe Bryant, Derek Jeter, etc.), Tiger Woods attracted nothing but fans. Nobody disliked Tiger Woods; everybody rooted for him.
It’s understandable to me that his story has crossed into mainstream media. I heard that three major networks carried Tiger's news conference today, which does not surprise me in the least. Tiger Woods- through marketing, through performance, through personality- transcended the sports world. There’s a reason he spoke at Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities. He’s that big.
I’ve heard a lot of radio and TV personalities, as well as read a few writers, trying to critique Tiger’s apology from today. I will be honest and admit that I haven’t listened to but a few snippets of his prepared speech that the radio played, and nor do I care to. His apology today was not meant for me, for you, and for anyone outside his family. The only people who should be accepting (or critical) of Tiger Woods’ apology is his family, the ones he’s hurt. They are the ones who get the choice on whether to accept it. It bothers me that people are complaining of the speech sounding too “robotic” or “rehearsed”. It bothers me that people are questioning Tiger’s sincerity. That’s not for me, or anyone, to judge.
But Tiger’s actions are. Even before all of his tabloid drama, the throwing of golf clubs and swearing after bad shots made me tilt my head curiously. And from the many women he’s cheated on his wife with to the bizarre Thanksgiving car crash, Tiger has made me look at him in a completely different light. And because of his actions, I will never be a fan of Tiger Woods again. I will never adore Tiger Woods the way I once did.
***
Do you remember a toy you once loved as a child? Those toys were hard to give up, even after you outgrew them. I had many toys I couldn’t bear to get rid of, so I would stash them somewhere in the back of my closet- a keepsake that would become forgotten but not gone. That’s what the Tiger Woods I once adored has become- a keepsake. He’s now in the back of my metaphorical closet, soon to be forgotten, but not gone.
I lump him in the same group as Roger Clemens, Michael Vick, and OJ Simpson- disgraced athletes who will never be able to win me back over. He’s in that category now.
I’m sure Tiger will bounce back someday. He’ll apologize for his actions many more times, expressing his remorse. He’ll return to playing championship caliber golf. Perhaps he’ll reconcile things with his family and move forward happily. But it’s never going to be the same for me. He’s tainted my image of him, and that cannot be changed, no matter how much time passes or how close Tiger Woods gets back to being the Tiger Woods of old.
Thanks for the memories, Tiger.
~Mikey D
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I was a fan of Tiger because he was really good at golf. And if he comes back and plays golf really well, I'll still be a fan. I really don't care who he has sex with.
I don't care what professional athletes are like off the field. I would be willing to bet that I would detest most of them if I knew them personally. (at least of the star players making millions of dollars)
I don't think this will change my impression of him at all. I thought he was an ultra competitor, and I think he still is. The part of his apology where he said he thought he was "owed these temptations" after his hard work for years is dead on. He's been more focused on being the best golfer in the world than anyone else and he's been doing it since he was a little kid. The part that makes me sad is that the media in the 50s/60s wouldn't cover this story. The media that followed athletes around knew that many had affairs, but they didn't let the story leave their circle. Now we're following their kids around. I'm not saying "poor Tiger" at all - I just think it's sad that the media is all tabloid and that CNN uses TMZ as a source.
Unless I misunderstood, I think you're being way too harsh by comparing him to OJ, Vick, and Clemens. They all broke the law (albeit one only allegedly). Vick killed dogs with his bare hands and Clemens helped tarnish the legitimacy of his sport.
Kevin- I agree with you. I don’t think I would like many athletes if I knew all about their personal lives. But because I do, I can’t help but look at them in a different light. I can’t ignore the fact that Tiger Woods portrayed a family man image, a person close to his dad and mom with a loving wife and family, and it all turned out to be a lie. It’s a character issue with me. While I completely respect his game and was a fan of it for so long, I can no longer root for someone with his integrity and character. It’s personal, yes, but it’s the way I feel.
Adam- I agree with you as well. The media today does bring athletes’ personal lives into the forefront more than ever (did you see the photos of the U.S. Olympic snowboarder who left Vancouver?). But that’s just the world we live in now. Sad? Maybe. But it is reality, and Tiger knows that. And I agree with you that Tiger is right when he says he is "owed these temptations". It comes with the territory of being ultra-successful after so many years of hard work.
But he’s a married man. If you want to submit to the temptations, don’t get married. Don’t cheat on the person who has vowed to love you for the rest of their life. I take marriage very seriously and view it as something beautiful and sacred, which is partly why I have the feelings I do about Tiger. It does seem harsh to lump with him the convicted criminals like OJ and Vick, but it’s less about what they did, and more about how I view them now as athletes and people. It’s a disgraced group of athletes I will never be able to appreciate or like again.
When I said he thought he was "owed these temptations" I think that is exactly why he acted the way he did - I don't agree that he was actually "owed the right to cheat on his wife". I don't respect his actions at all and I think he is probably an arrogant asshole in real life who is only sad that he got caught. But I don't care about that as a fan because I don't think you can fully judge how they are in real life. Sure, there are people who I really like because I think they're genuinely good people. Yzerman, Granderson, Tayshaun. But you never really know.
I think famous athletes live in a world of priviledge and attention that I can't even begin to comprehend. Cheating on spouses is very common because they have many more opportunities for temptation. Am I saying it's not wrong and that excuses it? No. But this is not a new thing. You wouldn't have seen Kobe holding a press conference about his affair if it didn't involve a rape trial. So why are we seeing Tiger?
Because Tiger is bigger than Kobe. Tiger’s reach goes far beyond golf and sports, and into the general public. Like I said before, Tiger had a certain image he portrayed that I would say 90%+ of the public believed in, so when Tiger’s car accident and cheating became public knowledge, people gave it extra attention. As a society we gravitate towards those stories that contradict what we thought to be true, and when sex is involved, it takes the story to a whole new level.
So I guess what it comes down to are two groups of people: fans of Tiger because he’s a good golfer, and people who aren’t because of his recent actions. You and Kevin are obviously in the first. And while you’re right that I can’t fully judge Tiger, I can still judge him based on what I do know- he cheated on his wife. That does it for me. I don’t care if he’s still 99% good guy- knowing what I know now, I can never root for him again. And if I find out more of the same about other athletes, I will feel exactly the same way (part of me is hoping that I don’t find out the truth about a lot of the stars I like).
Post a Comment