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THE TAIL OF THE TIGER
Thanksgiving is a special time for all of us, but the Thanksgiving of 2009 carried a special significance to the golf world. OUR idol, the number one golfer in the world, turned out to be a mere mortal.
After the initial shock had worn off , speculations began of what he would do for damage control. Rumors about his marriage, his endorsement contracts and speculation if he will play again in the near future. In recent years, we have seen many of our outstanding athletes being caught using performance enhancing drugs. If all of our politicians in Washington were scrutinized to the degree that Tiger will be, and punished accordingly, we would not have enough of them left to run the country.
One of the problems that comes to our mind is the millions of dollars lost from lack of sponsors of tournaments and TV contracts. When Tiger entered a tournament, TV ratings and gallery attendance skyrocketed. Tiger was easy to promote and sell.
The worse part of all of this is that he let down thousands of kids, both in and out of his program. These children idolized him and he turned out to be just another in a line of failed “role models.”
The millions of adult fans also feel let down and disappointed, but we are getting used to this sort of thing and will recover.
His marriage problems will not effect the golf industry, but the tabloids will. He could get divorced or they could use the Clintons' approach and stay together, but I don’t think they have the desire or motivation to use that approach. We will let the tabloids handle that matter.
This is an on going story and will change from day to day. Presently he is considering getting away from professional golf for a period of time. I imagine he would like to just be a reckluse, which is a natural reaction. Personally, I think he should take the Bill Clinton approach and just laugh it off as if it was incidental. He should realize that the average sports fan will forget about this in 6 months. So many sports heroes have been scandalized, but they are almost always forgiven by their continued good performances in their chosen professions.
I have been in this world a long time and am more or less a moralist, but the years have also made me a realist. Sports figures, both professional and amateurs, are entertainers to the public. Scandals abound in the Hollywood arena and their fans and media thrive on them. . The girls involved with Tiger will have their moment of fame, even though it identifies them as what they are. I am sure that their parents brag about them. Sports figures are no different, but go about it in a different way. If Tiger would play next week it would be a media circus and sponsors would fight to find a spot to share in that attention.
Tiger messed up big time and no matter what he does in the future, he has been tarnished forever and nothing is going to remove that stain.
Were Alabama to be playing for the national championship and have their star player found guilty of murder and to be sentenced to die the next day, Alabama fans would demand that he be allowed to play that day and the exection put off until after the game.