Quick question: Did any of you root for Tiger because he was a moral, upstanding citizen? No. You didn't. He's not a priest. He's a golfer. You know who he is because he is good at golf. And if you root for him, you are rooting for a guy known for throwing his clubs, swearing after bad shots, fist-pumping in celebration and having a "killer instinct" that helps him "rip his opponent's heart out."
Sure, he smiles and wears sweater vests, but if you were under the impression that he was an infallible, great guy, you weren't paying attention (even though he has done a lot of charity work and built schools and so on and so on). And if you rooted for him or liked him based on this assumption, then you really shouldn't be watching sports in the first place.
Half the reason I like Tiger is his Eff You attitude on the course. It's why everyone loved Michael Jordan too. And I'm not sure if you noticed, but he' one of the most bitter, surly, unlikable people alive.
If you like sports, you want to see sports played at the highest level. If someone plays a sport at the highest level, more than likely, that person has a character flaw that helped get them to that level—over competitiveness, selfishness, obsession, envy, a feeling of disrespect.
And if it's not the drive to sports perfection that gets them, it's the power and fame that comes with it. Even though we all are supposed to hate people that have a lot of money and not care if they have problems, money does cause problems, and power and fame will exacerbate flaws and vices that every person has inside of them.
Sports voices like Jim Rome for example, will go to their mic or computer and say that Tiger needs to come out and issue an apology and explain himself because he's such a public figure. And I get that this is the world we live in now—but that doesn't make it right. Why does Tiger owe you an apology? He owes one to his wife and kid—no, not your kid, his kid. I get that he is a public figure, but he's a public figure for playing golf, and the only reason that netted him $1 billion is because people like you and me liked watching him play golf. We didn't watch him because he was faithful to his wife and walked old ladies across the street.
So, am I an ass because I will still root for Tiger and be interested when he plays? If I am, then that's unfair. I watch sports like it's a scripted drama. I don't care about the professionalism and multimillion dollar contracts. I never want to know bad stories about guys (unless I already don't like them), but I do want to read good stories (when I like them). I'm a simpleton when it comes to sports. I hate guys, but I hate them because they get overhyped or they hit a game winning shot against my team, or they took more money to leave Cleveland (Umm, maybe I do hate multimillion dollar contracts.)
I didn't mean to climb on a soapbox, and I don't really mean to defend a man who cheated on his wife. I'm not entirely sure what I mean to do. I thought I was trying to be realistic, by understanding that Tiger is rich golfer who probably has character flaws. But by expecting his indiscretions to stay out of sight and out of mind in this day and age, when legit news sources cite TMZ as a source, I am being unrealistic.
I mainly want to express a general distaste for stories about athletes' personal lives. It's not my place, and I don't want it to be my place. I just want to sit on my couch, drink a beer and watch sports without having to think rationally or view these people as real human beings. Is that so wrong? (Don't answer that.)
So, yes, I turned a bizarre story about the wrecked marriage of the most famous and rich athlete in the world into something about me. (Which, I suppose, is the same thing everyone else is doing with this story.)
I guess I'm being nostalgic for a time like the 1920s, when players could be boozing, womanizing racists, but you didn't know a thing about them except their batting average and spot in the lineup. Man, what a great world that would be.
(You know, except for the women, minorities and families in those guys' REAL life.)
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