The Media: From a Tiger's View

This is my first post. This is my first post on the Tiger Woods Drama. I'm doing this one first because I hope to not be writing another post about Tiger in the future and I really want this to be over with. But for those of you who do not know who Tiger Woods is, let me humor you. Bear with me.

His name is Eldrick Tont Woods, nicknamed Tiger by his father. December 30th, he will be 34 years old (Happy Birthday Tiger). He was born in Cypress, California and he is 6 foot 1 inches and a very lean 185 lbs. He attended Stanford University for two years and opted to turn pro in 1996. He's 3rd all-time in wins with 71 and has won 14 majors (4 Masters: The Grand Daddy of them All). Tiger has won over 200 awards worldwide, most recently and most significantly Athlete of the Decade by The Associated Press. Tiger's ethnic background is African-American, Chinese, and Native American. Throw in the sprinkle of Thai and Dutch that he is and he is pretty much the World's Athlete, with heritage almost touching every continent. I will stop here as far as his accomplishments in golf. And now Tiger has added to his life's achievements the title of Adulterer and has tallied up to allegedly 18 mistresses (more than his tally of Majors. One more mistress and he would have had as many mistresses as Jack Nicklaus has Majors). We have all heard various media outlets take on this and here is mine.

When that Cadillac Escalade hit the fire hydrant and the tree and the airbag did not explode, I thought, this is exactly how Tiger's life is and has been. He's invincible and can not be touched. An airbag would not even attempt to punch him in the face. Then, the first officer on the scene said that when he arrived, Tiger was "sleeping". He didn't say unconscious. He said, "sleeping". You have to be mighty relaxed to be sleeping after an accident. Again, I thought, this is Tiger's life. I can do what I want, when I want, catch a nap, the world will be all the same tomorrow, for I am King of the World. Tomorrow I will tell the world my story as I see it and they will believe me and I will prepare for a new golf season and dominate the world and increase my billions with my beautiful Elin on arm and my children Sam and Charlie in tow. We will be viewed and sought after like the Kennedy's.

What Tiger did not realize is this. For as many people that love and adore him, there are just as many people watching and waiting for him to make a mistake. They were patient, like hunters. Calm, cool, knowing. It was just a matter of time. Five years, 15, 20, it didn't matter. It was inevitable. He could NOT be this perfect. That fire hydrant was a like the glacier that ripped through the Unsinkable Titanic. It started out as a minor accident and turned into an event of great proportion. It ripped through his exterior and within hours, mangled and destroyed the interior. Truths, image, endorsements, and integrity fell off his ship like those falling from the Titanic. And like a ship's captain, he attempted to keep everyone calm with his brief statements. "Everything is good ladies and gentlemen. I am Tiger Woods". And this is the era we live in.

The real question is, why didn't he realize this? Why was he so careless? Did he not know that everything that his family built and dedicated to this institution called "Tiger Woods" could be torn apart with the smallest of crinkles? Did this institution become so arrogant even they believed that they were invincible? It took only 3 or 4 years to build this robot called Tiger and about another 15 years or so to perfect. By the time he was 20, he was primed to be America's first Billionaire Athlete. Ladies and gentlemen, it takes one helluva plan to do this. His father Earl was a genius. Likened his son to Ghandi. It reminds me of the Death Star in the movie Star Wars. Perfectly built with one flaw. But it was a very small flaw but if penetrated the Death Star would be destroyed.

My speculation is that mom and dad reins were too tight. They had invested too much into Tiger Inc and they were NOT going to let a few minor temptations like girls ruin it. No chance of teen pregnancy or hanging with the wrong crowd. Tiger Inc would not let these flaws of natural adolescents hinder the greatest machine ever constructed. Girls are a natural weakness of men and takes much discipline and focus to avoid the pitfalls that come with relationships and girls or women. I'm sure that Tiger looked. Hell, he went to Stanford. In California. Do you know how many Miss America contestants went to Stanford? It's no wonder he only did 2 years! A year or two more and he would have a girlfriend god-forbid. I'm sure that Tiger had his college buddies conceal some of the things that he did in college to avoid the eruption of Mt. Earl. All in all, he just could never be a boy. I am not justifying his actions as an adulterer. But parents, telling your son that adultery is bad is not as good as prepping him to do the right thing. Barring him from the very temptations that are a natural attraction is as good as saying, "do it later". Telling your teenager that a boyfriend or a girlfriend is forbidden will most certainly create a closet freak within a few years. One part, to get back at you and the other part is just catching up. If you interview all of the sex addicts in the world, most of them will tell you that relationships were forbidden when they were growing up. The normal bump and grind game that teens play was not experienced. Sneaking kisses at 11 and 12 was a no-no. I believe that this was Tiger. When Earl died, the chastity belt was unlocked and the penis was exposed. In Las Vegas, LA, Paris, Upstate NY, everywhere. Tiger just let it all hang out. It was done with reckless abandonment. And Tiger Inc became vulnerable. The media pounced. And Tiger is pissed.

Should he be? Yes. And this is why. He is being accused of being a fraud. He's not a fraud. He is a human being. He never said that he was perfect. He never projected an image of sovereignty. He never pretended to be better than others. He never made political commentary, racial commentary, or sexist commentary. He was asked by the black community to be an advocate. He said No. I'm more than just black. He's been asked by political parties to endorse. He said my political affiliation is private. He's never criticized or made commentary about others in the entertainment industry. In fact, I've never heard Tiger make comments about anything but golf. Now, there are those in the marketing industry that are paid huge bucks to create perception and image. And this is why you drink Pepsi or Coke. This is why you buy BMW, Ford, or Chevy. This is why you drink Gatorade or smell like Acqua Di Gio. Because a marketing ad man created an image for you to believe in. Tiger didn't do it. The guys on Madison Avenue did it. Tiger is the face. I don't know. Maybe he should have told Tag Hauer or Gillette that he had a weakness for women. Maybe these companies even supplied him with women. Who knows? My point is that we should not hold anyone up this high and expect perfection. And if we do, then make sure that we pray to him or her once a week. Do not blame Tiger for taking the money. It was easy to be the guy that these companies wanted him to be. Earl created the machine that way.

Earl just forgot the girl thing.

Chris Wright