The Bloggomist: The Local Boy
Sports Opinion

There are about a million questions swirling around the scandal involving Tiger Woods, his wife, and an unknown number of women scattered in a proverbial oat field that could have Wilt Chamberlain grinning from ear to ear.  And yet there really is only one question that has been confounding talk show hosts and polarizing opinionated factions that are emerging from the woodwork almost as quickly as the gossip-rag stories about new mistresses: should we care?  I just might have an answer that could possibly put all the controversy to rest.

Should we care about Tiger Woods?  Does it really matter?  Does it change our lives?  The short answer is simple.

No.  We probably shouldn’t.  Why?  Because it doesn’t.  Our perception of Tiger might shift, but ultimately it doesn’t affect the way our world spins or significantly alter the fabric of society.  Celebrities, especially successful athletes, are privy to a world of opportunities, options, and temptations most of us can barely imagine and sometimes–many times–they don’t take the road less traveled.  They don’t “do the right thing.”  Old story, cliché movie, we’ve heard it a million times.  In a city like LA, it’s called yesterday’s news.  Online it’s called TMZ.

The question I’m asking myself is can I still care about the Tiger scandal?  Kobe is an easy target, but let’s just look at the past year’s shenanigans.  College coach Rick Pitino and a nighttime romp at a local restaurant.  Superbowl champion Ben Roethlisberger accused of rape by a casino host.  Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez both admit to steroid use.  I feel like the time my dad and I hopped into the delicate fencing of Mask of Zorro right after sitting in two hours of Blade and its bloodletting vampire kung fu.  I’m desensitized and so is–I’m fairly sure–the rest of the American public.  Nothing surprises us anymore.  Not many of us could have predicted something like this but when the world’s highest paid athlete conducts a life as shrouded and tight-lipped as Tiger has, it doesn’t seem unfair to assume there might be some skeletons in the closet.

I’m not saying I’m not a little bit disappointed.  Not because Tiger really owes me anything.  He never swore to be a paragon of moral uprightness.  He was committed to being the best athlete, and in that regard he’s gone above and beyond any expectation.  But I think every one of us has this small, irrational hope that the successful people we watch and idolize will conduct their life on a higher moral plane.  Why?  Because they’re our heroes.  And in our minds our heroes should be courageous, resilient, humble, faithful, fearless, loving–all at the same time.  Is this too much to ask?!  It probably is, but we hope all the same.

Image courtesy of: Business Week

That’s why Kobe’s situation was different.  He was the people’s champion.  So when he messed up, the public felt betrayed.  They though they knew Bryant.  The person they loved and worshiped–he murdered that image the moment he mounted the podium and admitted his wrongs.  And they hated him for it.  It took years for him to earn back his respect.  Tiger might actually enjoy a more forgiving situation.  Less people watch golf or care about the sport and its stars.  His life was so private there isn’t a familiar persona he supposedly turned his back on.  He was a fierce competitor but his personal life was as mysterious as his godlike putting abilities.

So yeah, I’m disappointed, but do I think it’s going to damage the future generations?  No.  I don’t think anyone really looks at star athletes and their philandering and think I’m going to sleep with a dozen different people because they do.  People decide to sleep with a dozen different people because they want to themselves.  This master plan didn’t originate from Sportscenter–they were birthed in the middle school locker room.  If we were going to punish athletes for their “transgressions” in the interests of protecting future generations we might as well censor 90% of music that everyone is lip-syncing.

It’s sad to say it, but Tiger’s star has already been dimming.  Ever since returning from surgery and rehab he’s played well, but gone is that stranglehold he’s held on the sport for so many years.  This scandal leaves a tarnish on a career that may have already seen its glory days.  I hope I’m wrong, but these symptoms seem like those foreboding signs that, when it’s all said and done, people will point to as the beginning of the end.

“Tiger Proofing.”  That’s the term people coined to describe the futile attempts of courses and competitions to level the playing field for Tiger’s competitors.  Rick Reilly wrote an excellent blurb on ESPN.com that made a painfully truthful point.  If there’s anything this whole ordeal has proven, it’s that the champion who could not lose finally seems. . . human.  Now it’s up to his competitors, sponsors, and fans to see whether they can extend the gift of redemption and allow a humbled man to pick up the pieces and start anew.  Is this too much to ask?  Hopefully not.

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To see more from Caleb Lin, visit http://evilmonito.com/author/caleb/