Wednesday
Dec022009
The Tiger Thing
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 04:48PM
It's a shame, isn't it?
From an early age Tiger has carried a great weight and has done so admirably. He is blessed with a once-in-a-generation talent and perhaps cursed by the proud and boastful predictions of his late father, Earl. Yet, until Thanksgiving night, he had met or exceeded expectations. He is, after all, the man who won the US Open on a broken leg.
However, to some extent and forever more, the bubble has burst. He is not the man we thought and hoped him to be.
As he pointed out in his statement, he is "human." It's a silly thing to say, really. But it is a necessary reminder, for since the appearance on the Mike Douglas Show Tiger always has seemed less human. He certainly seems less human on Sunday afternoons when he is incapable of losing a golf tournament, or when he pulls off the impossible shot, or when he holes the impossible putt. His Midas touch on Madison Avenue has been less than human. His effect on the game of golf, from tournament purses to course architecture, has been less than human. At the ripe old age of 34, Tiger has become both a brand and a legend. Now some small part of that is gone forever.
By and large the world will forgive Tiger. Come next spring he will be stalking more victories, more championships, more records, and the golf world will once again be enamored with the majesty of his game. In time the rest of the world will see the advertisements and that billion dollar smile and the events of Thanksgiving night and the "transgressions" of Tiger will be only a faint memory. In time he will again be less human.
Let us hope, however, for the sake of Elin and Sam and Charlie, that the private Tiger becomes more human. His young family needs less Tiger and more Eldrick.
From an early age Tiger has carried a great weight and has done so admirably. He is blessed with a once-in-a-generation talent and perhaps cursed by the proud and boastful predictions of his late father, Earl. Yet, until Thanksgiving night, he had met or exceeded expectations. He is, after all, the man who won the US Open on a broken leg.
However, to some extent and forever more, the bubble has burst. He is not the man we thought and hoped him to be.
As he pointed out in his statement, he is "human." It's a silly thing to say, really. But it is a necessary reminder, for since the appearance on the Mike Douglas Show Tiger always has seemed less human. He certainly seems less human on Sunday afternoons when he is incapable of losing a golf tournament, or when he pulls off the impossible shot, or when he holes the impossible putt. His Midas touch on Madison Avenue has been less than human. His effect on the game of golf, from tournament purses to course architecture, has been less than human. At the ripe old age of 34, Tiger has become both a brand and a legend. Now some small part of that is gone forever.
By and large the world will forgive Tiger. Come next spring he will be stalking more victories, more championships, more records, and the golf world will once again be enamored with the majesty of his game. In time the rest of the world will see the advertisements and that billion dollar smile and the events of Thanksgiving night and the "transgressions" of Tiger will be only a faint memory. In time he will again be less human.
Let us hope, however, for the sake of Elin and Sam and Charlie, that the private Tiger becomes more human. His young family needs less Tiger and more Eldrick.
in Golf
Golf
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