The obligatory Tiger Woods post
("Obligatory" in its more common sense, that is, meaning "not at all obligatory, but if I use the word, I can subtly, wearily, comment on the omnipresence of the Woods story while not letting it deflect me from adding to it".)
No doubt there are thousands of examples of dissonance between perceptions of Woods before and after his ahem. This is one I stumbled upon today. It's from a 2007 radio essay by Clive James on how black public figures are often burdened with the undue responsibility of being representatives for an entire people (though it seems to me that Woods has come to be perceived less so as the years have passed, but hey):
Arthur Ashe has gone now but Tiger Woods, in another sport, has risen in his place to adopts the duties of the black champion who wins everything but is also the perfect gentleman at all times. Just occasionally he allows himself to bounce a misbehaving putter off the green but if he even once called it a dirty name he knows what would happen next. He'd better not be caught eating even one extra hamburger. There are white American golfers who can barely fit into the bunker along with the ball, but Tiger has an obligation to go on looking gorgeous, and, above all, behaving like a saint.I'm fairly sure he has called his putter dirty names, and been criticised for it. Of course, he wasn't behaving like a saint, either...
(Here I point out that this is the last time I'll ever mention Tiger Woods on this blog, making it seem as if I have made a great sacrifice by condescending to raise the issue, and reassuring the reader that I am better than the nasty rabble, really I am.)
I think, if a punishment is due, it should be that he no longer be Tiger, but instead, just Eldrick. "Eldrick on the 13th green, now...just a slight slope away towards the right; what do you think Eldrick will do, Andy?" "Who?" "Eldrick."
Not that a punishment is due, mind you...
I just don't get why people were so shocked - he's an athlete that goes on (PGA) tour and his first name is Tiger. Did we really expect a Saint?
(This is an obligatory comment for the Obligatory Tiger Woods post)
Obviously, no human is perfect, and what shenanigans Eldrick has gotten himself embroiled in are a personality blip at worst.
What is utterly excusable is the calibre of women he chose of his utterly gorgeous wife.
As the philosopher Newman said, "Why go out for hamburgerwhen you have steak at home?"
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