Peter Aliss, the BBC golf commentator is wrong. Tiger Woods is bigger than golf. Why else would his minor accident in his gated community be front page of The Sun when there are wars going on in the world? So since sports’ larger than life pariah is taking an indefinite leave from competition, I am as well having a breather from watching golf. Do I even follow golf when Tiger Woods is not in contention? No. I don’t waste my time with the Padraig Harringtons or the Colin Montgomeries. It’s my glory-hunting persona. In 1997, Tiger’s ascent was in conjunction with tennis’ Martina Hingis. CNN at that time thought Tiger’s age of 21 compared to Hingis’ 16 was ancient in comparison. Almost thirteen years later, the likes of Hingis has gone and been featured in Strictly Come Dancing but Tiger is still top news.
Top news for all the negative reasons, if I may surmise. Sponsors pay top dollar for squeaky-clean representations. Infidelities. Transgressions. Indiscretions. Those are not the words associated with sports’ number one asset. Sports is a brand. It’s only understandable for the sponsors to back out. It’s all about image. The world of reality and superficiality are intertwined. Wasn’t Tiger himself who said and I paraphrase that prize money in golf are what matters and the list of endorsements only affirms your agent’s ability?
I agree, of all people John Daly, would you believe? Phrases, such as he should go on Oprah, or they should not stay together for the sake of the kids, they should stay together because they love each other reverberate for this shout out. It has never been Tiger’s style to talk about his personal life. It’s there for the world to see and speculate, his idea for a girlfriend or a wife. He is a family man now and in a highly-conservative society, he should be judged harshly. As for those girls, they’re making hay at the moment, enjoying their time in the spotlight. Maybe a few would be in one or two reality shows. I don’t get it, Tiger’s wife is a blonde knockout, former bikini model. It doesn’t bode well for women in general who may not be as pretty to feel secure in conjugal bliss.
Hopefully Tiger would be be back in time for the majors -- there’s the Masters in April. The US Open is in Pebble Beach, the British Open is in St. Andrew’s. I know the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits does not chime with broad familiarity as the rest, but it’s a major and should resonate. Time is a great healer. Tiger should learn a lesson from this experience and remember as a public face, the press especially the tabloids are a powerful tool to make or break a commodity.
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