Posted on 12/13/2009 8:25:24 AM PST by AmericaTalks
It certainly did not take a long time for one of the world's greatest athletes to fall from grace. Just a few weeks ago, the only news Tiger Woods made was on the golf course.
Then suddenly, everything changed. In one incredible, tragic moment, Woods became persona non grata. How did this fall from grace occur? Why did this shining star in the world of professional sports virtually destroy his career and marriage in one fell swoop?
Because he could.
Propped up by celebrity, ego massagers and roadies, Woods could get anything and everything he wanted in an easily accessible manner.
And apparently what he wanted, was women. Many, many women. Some of whom he may have paid for. In so doing, he destroyed his marriage and tarnished his reputation as this squeaky clean, all American guy who just loved the game of golf.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Whether it be in politics, business, entertainment or sports. When one reaches a certain stage where God-given talents become an enabler of undesirable behavior, temptation is irresistible. And it doesn't help that those that Woods surrounded himself with probably didn't try to stop his self-destruction.
The fallout from this is that his wife Elin will probably divorce him, and take him to the cleaners in the process. She has reportedly already spoken to a divorce attorney, while at the same time purchasing a home on an island in Sweden only accessible by boat.
Big sponsors such as Gillette and AT&T are deserting Woods and rightly so. They cannot be associated with a philanderer, perhaps even a sex addict. It will be interesting to see how his behavior will affect his career, such as it now stands.
It is theoretically possible for Tiger Woods to rebuild himself. Other high profile individuals have recovered from scandals involving sex, drugs and alcohol. But the degree to which Woods sank, especially with the number of women who have come forward to say they were involved with him, including some with whom he reportedly engaged in sex acts in exchange for money, means he has a tough road to hoe.
And this may require him to disappear for a long, long time.
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It must be a misprint. Probably should read, “He has met some tough hos on the road”.
You owe me a keyboard, the monitor I can clean.
How could that nice clean cut young man be associated with such trollops and floosies?
“It must be a misprint. Probably should read, “He has met some tough hos on the road”.”
Funniest line I’ve read today!
Live by the media.
Die by the media.
I remember Tiger's dad saying something about Tiger running for president some day.... well that's done.
I think that the money, fame, and parasites helped Tiger do what he wanted and with no moral compass, he is going to do what felt good..... thinking with his small head and not his big head. Like a typical rich jock. I was more shocked that he got married in the first place. Swedish blonds are a dime a dozen and with his money he could have kept 5-6 in the bullpen at all time. He just screwed up, not the first and not the last.
This is a distraction, but like an 18 wheeler hitting a small car... you know it's bad, but you can't take your eyes off of it.
AS far as the wife and all the comments about how beautiful she is... no matter how good she looks, somebody, somewhere is tired of her sh#t..... like eating ice cream, steak and champagne 24 hours a day... eventually you get bored. So without a moral compass, you will cheat.
That's a pretty good point that I haven't seen made. Everybody just assumes that this will blow over in a few months and Tiger will go back to winning tournaments and raking the $$$ back in. But without endorsements, he'll be lucky to keep up with the alimony and child support.
Worked for Clinton, so it should work for Tiger.
It may be too late for Tiger to fix this. I think he blew the opportunity.
If he would have quickly opened up to the media, claimed some sort of bogus psychological ailment such as “sex addiction” or alcoholism, checked into ‘rehab’, and went on Oprah to cry about it, he would have easily gotten away with it. He could have then been in a good position for a huge book deal.
He apparently has no clue when it comes to manipulating our morally/mentally bankrupt pop-culture and media to achieve a desired outcome. Now his life is ruined. Of course, he could go without ever swinging another golf club, and still be wealthy enough to live for the rest of his miserable life.
May I additionally suggest that the sportswriters above all others had an irrational interest in him--to the detriment of coverage of many other fine golfers?May I also add that I know more than the one thing "for real" about Woods, namely, that he is an unlikeable guy in person (no matter the hype from his sponsors putting him in an agreeable commercial), a nasty and temperamental golfer on the course. Most of the time, the photographers didn't put Woods' outbursts on camera for the world to see.
Talented? Certainly. But having met in my lifetime every major figure in golf, I can state categorically that in noble character and generous spirit, Woods pales in comparison to the likes of Jones Hogan and Nicklaus and others too numerous to name.
Regards . . . Penny
infidelity is a spectrum, and although it’s always very wrong, IMHO not all cases of it are equivalent. There are many ways to ‘cheat in a marriage. The vows pretty much universally say to ‘love’ and ‘cherish’ (or something along those lines). When a person disengages from their spouse and ‘leave’ them emotionally that is also breaking of the vows. When a person replaces the importance of their spouse in their life with something else (e.g. a job, a group of friends, a hobby etc.) they are in a manner ‘cheating’ their spouse by reserving the best of themselves for something else in their life. It may not be as bad as infidelity, but it is plenty bad and hurtful.
As a child I lived in a house in which my parents belittled each other, constantly, to their children (e.g. telling your 10 year old son that his father is a lazy bum that she never should have married, and that ‘other men were interested in her’ etc.). There wasn’t any ‘cheating’ that I knew about, but clearly there was no respect of their marriage vows in many other ways.
So, in a situation in which that is true, people can and do make big mistakes, like infidelity. The proper thing to do is obviously to end the marriage before even thinking about another relationship, but it doesn’t always work that way.
That circumstance is very different than having a flippant disregard for the marriage, and having that attitude that whatever you can get away with is just fine. Neither is right, but they are not equivalent.
I am not a golfer, but I know someone who works in the world of professional golf. She pretty much agrees with your opinion of Woods. He is definitely not well liked among other golfers.
The press built him up because of his mixed racial background and made him THE symbol of professional golf. This scandal is going to hurt pro-golf for a while, but it will come back, and come back faster if Woods stays away for a few years.
This saying drives me crazy. Who hoes a road?
*********************************************
Nobody. But Tiger rode a lotta hos.
“It’s a tough ROW to hoe!”
True. But I think it’s been modernized to “tough Road to Ho’,” as in “My feet are killing me. 42nd Street sure is a tough road to ho’.”
At least that’s my take on it. /humor
A few athletes have the ability to transcend their sport and create a general interest among the fans. Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Joe Namath, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Tiger Woods, Mary Lou Retton, Bruce Jenner, Ali, George Foreman and a few others were able to create interest outside of the fan base. Other players, like Tim Duncan for the San Antonio Spurs, may be terrific players, but they don't have star power. The controlling entities for these sports try to identify these athletes and puff them, sometimes bending the rules to make them even bigger. Jordan, Johnson, and Tom Brady certainly got star treatment that other athletes don't get in terms of calls on the field of play. The same could be said of Woods in terms of the steroids rules.
They've also tried with athletes like McNabb, Kobe and Shaq, but even though they puff them relentlessly, for some reason, the fans don't warm to them.
Eva, without giving away my connection to tournament golf, I have observed some simple things about golfers. For one, if they're likeable, they can get away with outrageous behavior (throwing a set of clubs in a pond, for example).Of course, some top players were guilty of infidelity, but they were discreet rather than overindulgent the way Woods has been. (And I'm not suggesting infidelity is acceptable; it is an offense that should not occur.) Had Woods an affair or two and been respected by his playing partners (many if not most of whom deemed him as an aloof, egotistical loner), he could survive to try to beat Hogan's and Jones's records of US Open titles (four each).
But the revelation of sexual orgies has now (IMHO) doomed him from ever winning another major even should he try. He cannot withstand the mockery that will follow him from now on.
Regards . . . Penny
At worst, golf will fall back to the level of popularity it had before Woods came on the scene. Golf is primarily followed by people who love the sport, while others don't care at all. Without a figure that transcends into the general public consciousness, the sport will go back to the true fans. This happened with gymnastics (Retton), and swimming.
This saying drives me crazy. Who hoes a road? It’s a tough ROW to hoe!
LOL......... That comes from people who have never lived and worked the fields out in the country.
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