While there's a tendency to say, "Why this irrational dumping on Tiger?" the fact is that the reason he made 900 million in endorsements is because of an irrational interest in him by mega-companies and fans. That sword cuts both ways.
The lesson of this, although many won't learn it, is that everything you see in the media is a story. It's massaged, manipulated and spun to produce the desired effect. The only thing we know about Woods for real is that he is an excellent golfer. The pulling back of the curtain reveals a very different individual, and it only took one story to unravel the entire facade.
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.
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
But this wasn’t some creation totally of the media. Tiger was actively out there telling stores about his commitment to his family, how wonderful his relationship with his father was, and so on.