We here at SOGJ have been following the Tiger Woods headlines rather closely since the car accident heard around the world occurred on Friday, November 27th. Here are two different looks at who is to blame for this mess and what the future holds:
Not so tough now, are ya buddy?
Why You Can’t Blame Tiger (By: Superman):
I feel bad for Elin Nordegren. I think that she does not deserve to have her personal life and its problems displayed on news station and gossip magazine while and her life crumbles around her. It’sawful. But here’s where I differ from almost everybody on this issue, I don’t think you can blame Tiger.
Since Tiger was a child he has been trained and programed, primarily by his father Earl Woods, to win at all costs. This means that he does not allow any result in anything other than a complete victory. Through his years of junior golf, college golf and then into his professional career, Tiger has done nothing but dominate. Along the way he has built up a sense of invincibility that has allowed him to excel at the very highest level in the world of golf. Now, that same swagger has caused his meteoric downfall.
Tiger never thought he would get caught while participating in his many “transgressions.” (Early nominee and leader in the clubouse for 2010 word of the year, by the way. If this Tiger story holds on until March, then it’s a lock.) If he was caught in the act of cheating on his wife (the supermodel) it would have meant that he lost (especially if he was caught with the Perkins waitress…double loss), and if we know only know one thing about Tiger Woods anymore it is that he just does not accept failure. I believe that him cheating on his wife became part of a mentally twisted game in Tiger’s head. He then became so obsessed with winning this ‘game’ that the cheating and lies became second nature. After all, Tiger was just trying to win.
That makes Tiger Woods the adulterer the same person that his parents created, that the media and the golfing community has encouraged, and the same fiery competitor that Elin married. So can we really blame Tiger for being himself?
It is no secret that Tiger ran in circles with Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. These two were known for their infidelity and party habits and perhaps Woods was just trying to keep up with his buddies.
The most important question is this: If Tiger Woods was into this kind of lifestyle, who will be the next sports superstar to get caught? Could it be someone like LeBron James, Albert Pujols or Tom Brady? Initially the first reaction is: “of course not.” But wouldn’t you have said that three weeks ago when asked the same question about Tiger?
Sorry Tiger, It’s Over. (By: K.J.):
I was twelve years old when Tiger Woods burst onto the golfing scene in 1996. I have been a fan of Tiger Woods ever since…until now.
No athlete before Tiger had shown the dedication, focus and perseverance towards their craft quite like Tiger did with his golf game.
His famous “I am Tiger Woods” advertisements showed men, women and children wanting to be just like him. He was the ultimate role model from 1996-2009. He always said the right things at the right time, picked the proper avenues for endorsements and sponsorships, and showed an amazing drive to be the best he could possibly be every single second he was on the golf course. How could anyone, let alone a golfer, not look up to Woods?
Tiger was the most dominant man in all of sports, and had the respect of every athlete on the planet. With the evil side of sports glaring its ugly head with steroid allegations, illegal gambling, and fixed games, Tiger was the one athlete that Americans could point to for hope. Now, unfortunately, it’s all gone.
It turns out that we were being fooled all along. We thought Tiger slept, breathed and ate golf. He was likened to a golf robot who was sent to Earth to do one thing: win golf tournaments. In reality he lingered behind the velvet rope at all hours of the night, even during tournaments, looking for his next booty call. The initial news has taken a turn for the worse even, now there are rumblings of: drugs, alcohol, prostitutes and porn stars. What the hell was Tiger into?
Even television golf announcers would talk about the pure dedication of Tiger and how he never took his mind off of the game between his first tee shot on Thursday and his final putt on Sunday. It was all a lie…a magnificent front put on by ‘Team Tiger’ for the better part of his twelve years in the spotlight.
No longer is Tiger Woods the clean cut, prototypical American super athlete. He is now the public face for celebrity sleaze and terrible judgment. He is now the prototypical cheating husband and a rather poor father figure for his, or any, children to look up to.
America used to go nuts for any golf item bearing a Nike swoosh or Tiger’s”TW” symbol, as it was the mark of a champion and a classy individual. Now, I refuse to wear any “TW” gear in public in order to avoid conversations about the topic.
Tiger Woods has robbed the die-hard golf fan of the most important and entertaining three year stretch in golf history. The period of time when Tiger zeroed in on Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championship wins would have been epic. Now, I could care less is Tiger even wins major #15. Actually, I hope he never does.
I’m not dumb, however. I still have no doubt that Tiger Woods has more talent and skill in his big toe than a majority of PGA Tour pros do in their entire body. But here is one major factor to consider: Has Tiger ever been the bad guy? Has Tiger ever had to compete on Sunday with a crowd rooting against him? It will be interesting to see how Tiger reacts to these changes, which will be more widespread than one may think.
(Side note: No question that Phil Mickelson is now golf’s #1 man. After his crusade against his wife Amy’s breast cancer during the summer of 2009 and his creative play around the greens, I think that the American golf fan will pile on his bandwagon against Woods.)
I know what your thinking, “Where have you been? We have missed you so!” I feel your pain. When we undertook this little blog we weren’t really sure how it would all shake out and now we have kind of figured it out. It’s really hard to write everyday and maintain a blog with good posts that people enjoy. It gives a person a whole new appreciation for those who actually do this for a living. But we or me whoever is able will try our very best to keep it updated daily or weekly. So thank you so much for your continued support and keep checking back!
Superman
K.J.
Mr. Erin Andrews
Berg-Dizzle
