Tiger Woods

This was a post that I started today on Facebook. I really got a lot of feedback on it - so I thought I'd put it on my blog.
Marie Winters Adams -
Disappointment of the year for me - Tiger Woods. My boys adored him and even got to see him play once. Not a very good role model anymore.

Marianne Folsom Anderson couldn't agrre more.

 · Claire Hansen -OK, I am not TW fan, but you know what? He is seeking help and he didn't lie about anything and he has to deal with his family. This is a man with whom the law of marriage was difficult. I don't see him saying, "Look at me, mold your idea of a hero after this!".

Nope, he just played golf, made commercials, and gained endorsements. That's the part that had anything to do with us, the general public.

So, it can be said of Tiger Woods that he was a hard worker, consistent in his craft, and a reallly great golfer. That's what your kids will remember, they weren't married to him.

It is a sad tragedy to see a man and his family fall apart on national TV. He hasn't retaliated against the media, spoken cruelly of his spouse or the women he was infidelitious with. He tried to keep it quiet. There is still a semblance of dignity there. No one wants Tiger to succeed at home, not the media (bcuz that is more cash flow). not his fellow golfers(because he is a Titan and this might be TW's breaking point), and most of all Tiger(he has to confront what he thinks success means and deal, and it willmean becoming someone he never knew himself to be).

How sad...
So, don't be so hard on the Wood. He has enough to deal with.

 · Sylvia Hammond
@Claire, you are very generous and kind to see the human side of this tragedy. However, the mothers of young golfers will no longer be saying, "Work very hard and someday you may grow up to be just like Tiger Woods!"

 · Betsy Ide Dunbar
 I feel the same as Marie. When you are in the public eye, you have the responsibility to be a role model.

· Diane Folsom Packham
Marie, I agree with you wholeheartedly. There are too many athletes and celebrities who get caught up in themselves that they forget all that's right. It is only when they are "caught" that they act "sorry"??

 · Jackie Bell
I'm so disappointed too. I truly admired him. However, I think the women who got involved with him, (for what reason I wonder )then told all of the details are disgusting. Why would you want the public to know that you had involved yourself, and took money/gifts from a married man? I agree that Tiger really messed up. That said, I am so glad ...
that my life is not played out in the media....how horrible to have your mistakes publicized and speculated upon. I think the public has placed him on a pedestal...and the only place to go from there is down.

 · Roger Pugh
 Technically, he was never a good roll model - now he is simply a caught role model!
There is a difference in an honest man who lies about nothing and an honest man who lies about nothing when he is caught!!

· Sue Farias
People need the Lord. And in this case, the Lord, and a good sexual addiction therapist. Sad situation - his poor wife and children. She thought her husband was faithful and committed, and although she will be secure financially in the settlement, it can't compensate for the broken trust and heartbreak this has brought to her life. I pray for them. Never really did follow golf, though, but when something like this happens, everyone hears about it in the media.

 Marie Winters Adams -
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Good comments - something to think about...

Claire Hansen :
We are all still trying to make Tiger fail proof.
Sylvis has a good point, and I'd like to add that
there is nothing wrong with telling your kid if he works hard he can succeede at what he does, even like Tiger. That guy earned everything he got, everything. We all do.
No one used Tiger as a model husband, except his wife.
I don't know that they, " act sorry", conscidering they are dealing with a complete train wreak in a public light. What we see is the residual coping face that seems dishonest, it is in a moment of hard fought realization that things will be different. If we forget to show compassion there will be no charity....
I am glad that people are human. It's a good thing we aren't born perfect. All of us would fail miserably and we'd be saying all this stuff aboout ourselves. However, we have perfection to be within us.
Jackie is right, pedastals are meant for heroes who fall before we see them as human.
Not only that, but a kid should be able to look to his parents and know that they work hard for everything they got and one day, that kid can do the same for him/her self.
It is a cultural fallacy to see talent as superiority within perfection, it is talent, a God given right to them that use it. A tool to perfection.

 Maurine Winters -
Good comments everyone! It is always so sad to see someone you look up to cause so much destruction with their family and friends.....those who trust them. They have no idea how much their actions hurt those who love them.

 Mindy Catlett Doty
Tigers entire life was a lie and there is absolutely NO dignity in betraying your wife over and over again with fame seeking women who care nothing about family or themselves. He carefully plotted and paid off people to have his secret life kept secret from the public. There is NOTHING honest or dignified about that
I hope now that his world has...
crashed he will find help that he needs but he has already destroyed lives and crushed the hearts of golfing fans around the globe. Perhaps the pressure was too great and I don't understand (not being a celebrity) but there are many other ways to deal with the stress than to self destruct. I feel no remorse for Tiger. He got caught. All that he deals with was brought on by himself. I hope he can rebuild himself into a dignified honest man but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
A big shock and let down for 2009.

Jackie Bell
Let's don't forget that what we know comes from the media - who's ultimate purpose it to sell papers/magazines. They are hardly scrupulous, the more scandalous the better. We don't know what actually went on, only those actually involved know. It's not for us to judge, especially when we don't have the facts...


Yesterday at 5:06pm · Terri Hartman Urie
I saw a sign today that said"Tiger Woods is changing his name. It will now be "cheetah Woods". thought It was kinda funny because it took me a minute to figure it out!

Yesterday at 6:47pm · Marie Winters Adams
That's funny, Terri.
I just want to say 'Thank you' to all of the great comments on this subject. I appreciate the response. I feel much more validated on my feelings of Tiger's debacle or should I say demise?! :)

 Marie Winters Adams
As an afterthought to my last post there:

I have to say that Jay thinks this will all blow over and he(Tiger) will be ready to start the next Golf Season and be just as great as he usually is. That will be interesting to see. Any thoughts??

 Claire Hansen
Just a final thought, every word we say here might one day judge us. We all betray family in ways that might not be as obvious as Tiger's, but it is a betrayl nonetheless. As Americans we really do tend to see what we want to see in others.
Mind our words carefully.
Tiger and his family should be in our prayers.

Mindy Catlett Doty
Yes he needs our prayers because it's going to take the Miracle of forgiveness for him to try to "fix" all that he has broken. But come on already Claire, we are talking about a celebrity who betrayed his family in the worst way MANY times on PURPOSE. I for one, DO NOT betray my family in any sort of degree close to Cheetah Woods! And for you to ... See Moresay that we all betray our families is crap. I may disappoint my familiy at times but NEVER betray them. I do feel sorry for his wife and children, the real victims in this whole scenerio. I pray for them that they might rebuild their lives. They are the ones who have been publicly humiliated and they are the ones who deserve their privacy during this trial in their lives. NOT Tiger.

Marie, I whole heartily agree with Jay. Tiger will be back on top in no time. He's still the greatest golfer ever. As much as the media/people like to bring others down they also build them back up pretty fast. Can you think of a celebrity scandal that someone hasn't bounced back from??