Now that he is returning to golf, I cannot help wondering whether it will mark the beginning of the end of the media spotlight on his private life and consequently the public interest on him and golf.
Before the scandal and the relentless media splurge, I had never taken any much interest in Tiger Woods, in and off the field. I am a news junkie but even that did not include an interest on Tiger Woods. I blame it on his kind of sport and maybe his diffident personality. Pre-scandal Tiger Woods era, I just knew that Tiger Woods was the number one in golf, by how many Majors I had no clue. I also knew he had a lot of cash, how much he was worth, no idea. I could see him on CNN swinging away in an ad with a nice watch, the amount of money he made in the endorsements, I left it a blank.
Thankx to the scandal, I can now tell you that Tiger Woods is the first billionaire sportsman in the world owing to the millions worth of endorsements he had attracted and that he is chasing his 15th Major. These and a lot other goobledegook of golf that ordinary mortals like me would have never known had not Tiger Woods offered to take on us on a free crash programme.
Golf is an elitist sport. It is a boring gentlemen sport played in isolation, in well manicured lawns by guys donning neat clothes and caps with hankys at the ready. I am not sure whether these guys ever break a sweat to earn the millions they make. I am not sure it takes much athleticism to be a good golfer either. I see doting grandpas in the fields and few young guys. Worse still, there are hapless guys called caddies at the beck and call of these gentlemen, to make sure they don't do nothing. What is to be enjoyed swinging a stick, hitting an ever white small ball and watching it get lost past shallow ponds then follow it aint my idea of fun.
To many joe ordinaries and janes, golf aint no sport. A time waste. No wonder it took a long time to be considered an Olympic game.
The Tiger Woods melodrama helped confirm my dislike for golf. Unlike football, rugby, baseball, basketball and other games that the masses can understand and enjoy, our interest in golf will always be aloof, just like its high priests are unreachable. We cannoct connect with it because it was never meant to be.
Ask some African children in dusty playfields and muddy tracks who their role models are. Effortlessly, Usain Bolt, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Serena Williams etc will roll out of their lips in unison. No mention of Tiger Woods will ever be heard. Some kids are either named after these stars by their parents or they nickname each other in the playgrounds.
Tiger Woods sexcapade was such a big news story not only because of Tiger Woods ersthwile clean image but also because of the nature of his sport. A clean, gentlemen sport not associated with rough, badass characters you can expect to see in football and other games of the masses.
Imagine if Tiger Woods was a footballer, musician or a basketball star. We would have long forgotten about it.
Could Tiger Woods have changed the image of golf? I doubt not. He is desperately trying to win back the image that is associated with. If not, he would have confessed his sins in sordid details in open press interviews not the small doses he is serving out. A sportsman of a different sport would have been back in the field the following day with a smile. Tiger Woods is just keeping up with the character of the sport.
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the fellow is in good stead ...he is not seeing double balls in the pitch
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