Hmmm, it seems Tiger Woods ran up a triple bogey on his marriage fidelity scorecard. For those of you who are not golf fans, that’s 3 over par on a single hole – something that never happens to Tiger on the course.
Quick poll. I’d like to know where you sit on the ‘Why did you do it, Tiger?’ question.
- I feel sorry for him.
- What the hell was he thinking?
- He made his bed and now he has to sleep in it – or out of it as the case may be.
- Don’t really give a damn either way.
I’ve been trying to puzzle out where I sit. When the news first broke I was loitering in the apathy camp. Yet another public figure whose reputation imploded because of a sex scandal. What else is new? But I’ve migrated from apathy to bewilderment and finally landed in just plain pissed off.
I’m generally a tolerant person who allows for people’s faults and foibles. After all, my glass house has a few cracked windows. But the more I mulled over Tigergate the more exasperated I became. Let’s face it. If there ever was a person who truly had the world on a string, Tiger Woods was it.
Blessed with enormous natural talent (which to his credit he harnessed and coupled with a burning desire to be the best), he is the undisputed #1 player in golf. Tiger is on the fast track to being declared the greatest ever in the game having already eclipsed the career wins records of Hogan and Palmer and closing in fast on Nicklaus and Snead.
He is married to a stunningly beautiful Swedish model (Yes, I know that sounds shallow but holy crap she is gorgeous!) with whom he has two children.
He is incredibly rich having won millions on the pro tour and landed endorsement contracts that dwarf his winnings. Tiger has been called sports first billionaire athlete.
Fame, fortune, family and sports immortality. Tiger Woods had it all. But he risked losing a huge chunk of it for the sake of illicit sex. What he did can only be described as stupendously stupid which is ironic in a way. He was off the scale in terms of success and now he has set a new bar for foolishness.
The price Tiger will pay for his “transgressions” remains to be seen. Some of his endorsement contracts could evaporate. It’s already being predicted that, if his wife ditches him, he’ll be hit with the biggest divorce settlement in history. $3 million is being bandied about as possible figure which will put a noticeable dent even in Tiger’s bulging bank account.
Tiger Woods and his squeaky clean (but ultimately bogus) image was for years a metaphor for the dizzying heights of success and the embarrassment of riches it brings. In the course of a week he has fallen from grace with a resounding splat. He is not a metaphor anymore. He is simply another fallen hero who is scrambling for a safety net.
Yes, I know I’m being pretty hard on him. He is human after all. I don’t expect him to be perfect. I don’t even buy into the notion that he has a duty to be a role model. But I do expect him to recognize his abundance of blessings and act accordingly.
When I think of Tiger Woods now it automatically calls to mind an unfortunate truism. How much is enough? Just a little bit more than what I have right now. Tiger had it all but couldn’t resist reaching for one more (well, technically three more and counting) apple.
Years from now when Tiger retires from golf he will leave behind a spectacular legacy. But there will always be a black mark on his legacy and that is truly a shame.
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Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel”. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
Tags: golf · hero · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · sex scandal · Tiger WoodsNo Comments