I’m going to briefly dip my toe into the Superfund site that Tiger Woods’ life is quickly becoming and I’m going to do it for a simple reason.

I write about sports.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Tiger Woods is sports. It’s kind of hard to write, think, talk, or ponder on sports, the nature of sports, the meaning of sports or the implication of sporting culture without talking about the guy who, just recently, was acknowledged as the first billionaire athlete.

It’s sort of like talking about cars and not touching on engines.

Doesn’t work.

So just because Tiger and his many supporters don’t like the topic, it doesn’t mean they get to look down their noses at the people whose interest is piqued. They don’t get to choose in what context people refer to their boy.

Who created the interest in the first place?

Who crafted the image?

Who happily climbed up and sat on the pedestal?

So the interest has turned nasty, and the questions are tougher and the glare of the spotlight is starting to burn. That’s what happens. Deal with it.

Tiger and his handlers, his employees and his friends, and every one of the sycophants who wanted to be in Tiger’s circle of trust, they’re all just as guilty for allowing this to happen.

Tiger deserves his privacy? Sure. But so do I and so does everybody else, and we’ve been force-fed a 24-hour-a-day Tiger diet for about a decade now. I’m hooked. I’m a Tiger junky. Don’t hate the addict for wanting his fix; hate yourself for giving him his first taste.

I’m not judging Tiger, mind you. Let’s be perfectly clear. Absolutely no part of me is dumb enough to play the moral blame-game. I’m not perfect. But, surprise, surprise, neither is Tiger. So we have something in common after all. And I didn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on fancy watches or millions of dollars on fancy consulting contracts, I didn’t have to switch mobile-phone providers, I didn’t have to swaddle myself in swooshes and I didn’t have to drink my weight in energy drinks. Heck, I didn’t even have to shave.

Do I feel sorry for Woods? That’s a harder question than I think most realize. These were his actions, and his alone. Nobody forced this behavior on him. I feel sorry that he seemingly put so much at risk for so little reward with so little regard for the possible consequences. I think, for now, I reserve my sorrow, my pity, and my hope for something better to come of this for Tiger’s wife, Elin, and their two children, Sam and Charlie.

Will I forgive Woods for his transgressions? That’s really not up to me. Woods isn’t looking for my forgiveness. He’s looking for the forgiveness of those who matter infinitely more, his family first and then his friends.

Will I look upon Woods with the same slack-jawed awe ever again? Probably not. And not because he screwed up. My jaw won’t drop to the ground anymore because now I know he’s human, as human as I, and he’s just as fallible as the rest of us.

This was a case of hubris, of disregard for others and of ego run amok. It’s nothing new. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again.
Tiger will be back, I’ll bet. Lord knows he could disappear forever, sequestered away somewhere and never go wanting, but I don’t think that same ego will let that happen.

No, he’ll be back and his pursuit of 18 will again be what everybody talks about, but he’ll never be the same.
And maybe, just maybe, that’ll be a good thing.

Parting Shots….

Any Redskins fan who still wants to get rid of Jason Campbell, blow it out your ear. This past Sunday’s game proved nothing other than how spectacularly awful a first-overall quarterback pick can be. JaMarcus Russell was getting booed in Oakland before he got on the field. Dude completes less than 50 percent of his passes. All Campbell does is take shots, get up, and keep his team moving. You really think the Redskins are going to find someone better in the draft than Campbell? Or do you believe that one of the GM’s of one of the teams that has a better QB is going to trade him to Washington for…. ? What, exactly? Vinny Cerrato and a sack of magic beans?

The BCS is still such a sham that all the other shams duck their eyes and shake their heads. And it’s still run by the crookedest bunch of crookedy crooks the sports world has ever seen. “When would our student-athletes study if there were a college football playoff?” they boldly ask while counting their zillions. Ha! My hope is that Alabama and Texas play to a scoreless tie and TCU and Cincinnati both win going away. I’ll have to watch to find out though…

And the best thing to watch this holiday season? The Winter Classic on January 1. The Philadelphia Flyers vs. the Boston Bruins. At Fenway. Awesome.

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