The Tiger Effect

Tonight I am going to take a break from Iowa Hawkeye Football (don't worry it will come back soon with a recap of the final two games and a look at the Orange Bowl) and touch on a subject that has been all over the media. Tonight we look at what I believe is the beginning of the end of an icon.

In the mid 1990's Tiger Woods was blazing his way through amateur golf. He was being called "the next big thing" for the golfing world. He stormed the PGA tour and opened the game to the golfing minorities. Keep in mind that golf is played primarily by white folks, most of which are men. Tiger did great things for the people who normally wouldn't follow the sport but got into it and realized how enjoying it is. I am a golfer and have been playing since the mid 90's but I can honestly say I have never cared for Tiger. With that being said some of my dislike of him may come across. I will try to say subjective.

Every icon takes the same path: they are called "the next big thing", then they arrive and take icon status, and then they start to fade away (some more quickly than others). Tiger's once bright star is starting to fade. He constantly wins PGA tournaments and has some very lucrative endorsement deals. He is the wealthiest athlete on this planet. I'm sure he gives back in many ways and the public sees him as a nice guy. The latest allegations do come as a shock due to the way he presents himself in public. After his car wreck my dad wondered if he was on a sleep medication and that caused him to sleepwalk and then sleep drive. By some of the accounts this could be possible as it has been said that he was snoring and shoeless when authorities arrived. However, it's not the wreck that is going to hurt him, rather it's all of the talk of extramarital affairs is what will do him in.

A lot of my dislike in Tiger comes from his actions on the golf course. I will not argue that he is a great player but I don't think he's the greatest of all time. I still think that title belongs to Ben Hogan. His on-course actions are not that of a role model. If you can read lips you can easily see him say things I could print here but chose not to. There are a lot of 4-letter words. If he mishits a ball he slams his club to the ground. These actions are not respectful of the game at all. I'm not a professional golfer (not even close right now) and I get frustrated when I make a bad shot but I don't slam my club or say something I shouldn't. I brush it off and go to the next shot (kind of like Ricky Stanzi after throwing an interception, or 4). He is making millions playing a game that most of us have to pay for, and it's not cheap when you figure in green fees/memberships, clubs, balls, and other equipment. I see no reason for him to carry on the way he does while on the course.

My biggest issue with the affairs allegations is that the public knows about them. I know the media exists to pass along important information to the general public. I really don't think the media needs to show pictures of the alleged mistresses or even tell us that he had affairs at all. This is a private matter and the media may be the cause of his downfall. He may have a sex addiction and he needs to deal with it on his own. He may have started doing that as it is. Now the public knows way too much about his issues and will form damaging opinions of him. Affairs are nothing new and, unfortunately, they are fairly common. The reason his are amplified is because he is Tiger Woods, world's richest athlete. He's human and has human tendencies just like everyone else. It would be nice if the media would let him be during this time of turmoil so that he can get his life together peacefully and, maybe, be able to show up on the PGA tour next year and play golf rather than answer questions.