Official Tiger Car Crash/Infidelity Thread

[Fat Slice]

You know it strikes me that there is something about Tiger that makes people - certain people - really want to crucify him over this.

Married Charles Barkley gets a DUI while trying to pick a prostitute for a SECOND go-round and nobody cares: http://tinyurl.com/cu3hgy

Squeaky-clean skate queen Nancy Kerrigan busts up her agent's marriage, and she stays on Corn Flakes boxes, does Disney ice shows, etc: http://tinyurl.com/ygjo4yh

Marv Albert bit a woman on her back and was accused of sodomizing her (he plead to a lesser charge and they waived the sex charges). NBC dropped him but picked him up a couple of years later. Even then, the reaction was more comedic than vicious schadenfreude.

Something about Tiger...who he is...the sport he plays...his success...his deification...just rubs some people the wrong way. His bad behavior is just what they've been waiting for in order to unload on him. Well, he did it, and they're having their day. I hope they enjoy it, because he'll get past this and come roaring back on the golf course, after which they can go back to their silent stewing and bitter mumbling.

[tonyy]

You know it strikes me that there is something about Tiger that makes people - certain people - really want to crucify him over this.

I agree with you 100% on this. For so long, Tiger has been the face of golf, a presumed family man and now his life has crumbled in a matter of 2-3 weeks.

I've seen people actually enjoy what is happening and its just mind boggling.

[MrKadash]

I've seen people actually enjoy what is happening and its just mind boggling.

I have too, and it's my opinion that they are people who are jealous of his skill, successes, and seemingly larger than life persona. I see him as a man with extraordinary talent and work ethic, but at the end of the day he is a human being who puts his pants on just like Joe Schmo down the street. People who cheer for his demise have a problem keeping things in perspective (related to their own insecurities), or so I think. Then again, I'm incredibly jealous of his skills...

[Fat Slice]

at the end of the day he is a human being who puts his pants on just like Joe Schmo down the street. People who cheer for his demise have a problem keeping things in perspective, or so I think.

make that "takes his pants off", ya know, just to be accurate.

[Big_M]

I agree with you 100% on this. For so long, Tiger has been the face of golf, a presumed family man and now his life has crumbled in a matter of 2-3 weeks.

Personally, I have always been impressed by Tiger's ability, but less so by some of his actions. I don't hope for his demise, but rather I hope he examines his situation and makes some positive changes.

I do know what you mean by some people seeming to root for his failure though... and I think jelousy is part of it... the other part is that some people just enjoy watching train wrecks.

[golfdad]

there is a lesson for all, at tiger's expense.

french philosopher pascal once claimed, "all of man's misfortune comes from one thing, which is not knowing how to sit quietly in a room."

[iacas]

He's been sucking up endorsements to the tune of about 100 mill p.a. from corporations, some of whom now see him as toxic.

That's the past. He earned his money and kept filling the role for which he was paid. His role was "play a character, help us advertise" and he did. They got what they paid for.

The events of Thanksgiving onward will affect his FUTURE earning potential, but you can't claim he didn't deserve or earn his money up to this point. It's not your decision to make - and those that were capable of making the decisions clearly liked what he offered at the price he offered it because they agreed to the contracts. And to others: just because you saw some marketing with TW on it doesn't mean Tiger owes you something - an explanation, a public appearance, whatever.

Why? Because he's perpetrated the biggest con job in the history of sport. The guy really is some sort of a genius in his own way for making fools of so many for so long.

He made fools of people who let themselves be fooled. Look, if you saw Tiger winning a tournament and though "gee, I bet he's a great husband and a great guy" then you're the fool already.

Tiger is still perhaps the best golfer ever. That's all any reasonable person could deduce from what we've seen of him for the past 20 years. Sure, he put out photos of his kids and a seemingly happy family. Maybe some people formed an opinion of him because of those. But those images didn't appear in ads. He's never sold himself as anything other than "Tiger Woods" in the vast majority of ads. What you assumed about him as a person is up to you. I looked at the ads and thought "Tiger = wins a lot of golf tournaments." I didn't look at them and think "Tiger - great all-around guy, totally stand-up, probably a great hubby." Executive version: Chas, calm down.

[Zeph]

Tiger made quite a point of keeping his private life just that, private. All we saw was him and his family together at events and such. Keeping these things under the radar was probably one of the reasons for wanting to stay out of the media as much as he did.

[Vance87]

You sound like my dads friends. They are loving this and love beating up a man when he is down. I bet he will get supportive cheering from the fans.

We can see with great horror that we all live off the lust and misfortune of others; that's vision, not contradiction. It surely casts a cold reflection of glory.

We aren't what we used to be. Or should be. Since when is comedy a viable excuse for our blasphemies...?

[just hit it]

We can see with great horror that we all live off the lust and misfortune of others; that's vision, not contradiction. It surely casts a cold reflection of glory.

WOW!! Gettin kind of heavy.

In my opinion all this is fairly simple. None of Tigers current problems should affect how we think about his golf game. Everyone is right, these are personal issues. They have been plastered all over the web because he is a hugh celebrity, not necessarily to "bring him down". He may have added to his problems by being so unaccessible in the past, kind of added to his mystic by being so private. We watch because it is interesting, in a train wreck sort of way. And I believe he recently commented (couple of months ago) that he and his family didn't make the news much because they are kind of "boring" (his words). Well, he's not boring now. If this divorce is definite, then I believe he will back fairly soon. It'll be big news at the first tournament, then it will fade down. Just like the news stories have. Best thing that can happen for him now is to start winning again.

[colin007]

this is of course just my opinion but i think for tigers best interest, and for his prefessional and personal life, the faster he gets divorced the better. i really dont think he would be happy living with elin any more, knowing how tight the screws would be from here on out. being single again will allow him to go after as much poon as he wants and will let him move on with the majors chase ASAP. with his lawyers it wouldnt require all that much actual court time for him, im sure. this in no way reflects on elin at all. i hardly consider her at fault in this. im just saying, from tigers perspective, divorce is the best outcome.

[Lemay427]

I dont think he will be running around anymore, but who knows, maybe he really is self destructive.

Here is a good interview with Paddy

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4755628

[lobsterzilla]

I dont think he will be running around anymore, but who knows, maybe he really is self destructive.

who gives a piss what he does after he gets divorced? How would it be self destructive?

[Three Putt]

I dont think he will be running around anymore, but who knows, maybe he really is self destructive.

I hope he grows up a little, I almost felt embarrassed for him reading those text messages.

[Chas]

Whatever he does he shouldn't pretend to be what he is not. Have all night parties on that yacht, that's what it's designed for. I don't care a flying **** what he does to whom and how, just don't live a big lie to your family, friends (some of them anyway) and business associates who have made you rich as Croesus.

Erik:

1) I haven't spent a cent based on Tiger's "reputation" so he didn't fool me in the sense that he duped those corporate suckers, in historical proportion. This fiasco will be in the MBA texbooks and no mistake. I never went to an event because Tiger was there (even tho' I really enjoyed seeing him play - and still will .....), nor do I read Golf Digest because he's a regular contributor. I bought his book on golf because I have enormous respect for his knowledge and talent - that will never change.

2) "Look, if you saw Tiger winning a tournament and though "gee, I bet he's a great husband and a great guy" then you're the fool already ."

Well you don't know me at all Erik and that little quote in no way describes my reaction to seeing him play and win, in person or on the box. I'm impressed by his skills and by his candor in interviews about the way he has played on any given day. Also that he does an excellent and generous job of acknowledging the good play of others when it's earned. He is a true student and respecter of the great game of golf - it's clear that he has completely devoted his life to the golfing ideal. All of this is to his credit except that he has sacrificed much, perhaps he's starting to see that now. Pity he was such a louse with his family and such an irresponsible business person - that makes him an utter fraud in my book.

3) " But those images didn't appear in ads. He's never sold himself as anything other than "Tiger Woods" in the vast majority of ads. What you assumed about him as a person is up to you. I looked at the ads and thought "Tiger = wins a lot of golf tournaments." I didn't look at them and think "Tiger - great all-around guy, totally stand-up, probably a great hubby.""

Are you actually familiar with the Accenture ads at various major hubs? He was so highly paid by them because he allowed himself to be so represented - his role was very active Erik. It was all about Tiger-the-man. No wonder they've ripped/deleted/pulled everything remotely associated with the guy, who was on just about every .ppt slide and document at the company apparently.

You just don't seem to get the fundamental dishonesty, the massive fraudulence, of what he has done. Do you think most of the target audience of those ads could care a monkey's about the Game of Golf? Of course not. Very few of them have shot double figures let alone held a driver in earnest.

Time to stop making excuses for the dirty old ****** and move on. Just face up to what your hero has been doing in secret all these years, despite his public persona as a doting family man and paragon of virtue. Look, none of this in any way diminishes his stature AS A GOLFER, we are 100% agreed on that. But it isn't his reputation as a golf that he's fighting to save right now is it - good luck to him with that.

Excellent interview with Harrington btw, very thoughtful. Now there's a man for whom I have very great respect, as a person and as a golfer. Call me a fool and maybe I'll be proven wrong but I really like Paddy. Wakey wakey ..... this isn't just about golf chaps.

[Lemay427]

who gives a piss what he does after he gets divorced? How would it be self destructive?

Self destructive in the sense that all the women you sleep would kiss and tell. The constant tabloid stories would still exist if he sleeps with every cocktail waitress in Vegas and Orlando even after the divorce.

[iacas]

I don't care a flying **** what he does to whom and how

If you don't care, stop posting. You don't get to allege that I care because I'm posting while saying the opposite about yourself.

just don't live a big lie to your family, friends (some of them anyway) and business associates who have made you rich as Croesus.

And what part of that affects you?

And who's to say he lied to his business associates? Did he somehow fail to win 14 majors and 71 PGA Tour events? Did he sell himself as the clean-cut guy you think he has? You don't know that.

I haven't spent a cent based on Tiger's "reputation" so he didn't fool me in the sense that he duped those corporate suckers, in historical proportion.

You're saying these things as if they're fact, but they're not. You don't have the first clue what people thought they were buying.

2)

You keep trying to make the point that he lied. I contend that he sold the story of "I'm a great golfer." That's not a lie.

Pity he was such a louse with his family and such an irresponsible business person - that makes him an utter fraud in my book.

Conclusion not substantiated. You don't know that he was an irresponsible business person. And you've made your opinion very clear - no need to keep repeating yourself.

He was so highly paid by them because he allowed himself to be so represented - his role was very active Erik. It was all about Tiger-the-man.

It was about Tiger as a golfer. His wife and kids didn't appear in any of them. Virtually every one I saw showed him in golf clothes with a golf club in his hands.

You just don't seem to get the fundamental dishonesty, the massive fraudulence, of what he has done.

Please stop stating your opinion as fact.

Do you think most of the target audience of those ads could care a monkey's about the Game of Golf? Of course not. Very few of them have shot double figures let alone held a driver in earnest.

Relevance? None. They were based on his reputation as a kick-ass golfer.

If I see an ad for... Lebron James, I don't automatically assume he's a great guy. I know he's one of the best basketball players in the game right now. I don't care one lick about bike riding, but I know who Lance Armstrong is. I couldn't care less about boxing, but I know who Muhammed Ali is. You might not be into science, but you see a picture of Albert Einstein and you think "really smart dude." So no, I reject the idea that others took the ads to mean "I'm Tiger, I'm a great hubby."

Time to stop making excuses for the dirty old ****** and move on.

First, I'm not making excuses, nor do I really care about Tiger's personal life. I don't need to "face up" to anything.

Second, consider taking your own advice and move on.

But it isn't his reputation as a golf that he's fighting to save right now is it - good luck to him with that.

I never said otherwise. I've said several times I barely care about his reputation off the course except how it might affect his golf. Tiger's not my buddy - I don't care if some guy I don't know is cheating on his wife, and Tiger's just a guy in that category. The only way this matters to me at all is how it affects golf in general.

I'm also a fan of the truth, and your opinions aren't truth. You've made your opinion known.

[PrairieParson]

Lemay makes a great point I had not thought of. Assuming T. Woods gets a divorce, he will likely continue his pursuit of cocktail waitresses, porn stars, etc. This is likely to hit the tabloids occasionally. Some papparazzi might find him a juicy target. I don't know what this will do to his golf scores. It would bother a lot of people, but TW is not your normal type guy. However, it will affect his endorements, IMHO, but he can afford a pay cut and not have to change his lifestyle much. TW will be a topic of discussion for many years, IMHO, for his scoring on and off the golf course.