The Age of Man

I know, I know, the Tiger story was Thanksgiving, not Christmas. But the admirable Sally Jenkins ponders his meaning in today’s paper. Why does anyone still care? Here’s why I do:

At most, I am an extremely casual golf fan; however, I appreciate greatness in sports wherever it appears. And from the moment Tiger Woods announced his hiatus from golf, this story (or at least its ramifications) became legitimate sports news. (Ask Michael Wilbon, whose interest in the personal lives of athletes couldn’t be less.) But let’s put sport aside for a minute.

Even if Tiger’s marital indiscretion is none of our business, this story is really interesting because it suggests so much about the media and its audience–the essence of public life in our culture.

Was it ever Tiger’s life purpose to advertise wristwatches? Of course not; his life’s purpose is to be the best golfer who ever lived–and amazingly he’s succeeded. The media loved building him up, and we in the public loved buying the story. Tiger had a unique place in our popular culture: he is absolutely successful at what he tries to do (which made him great for Nike and Gatorade), and he seemed to be the most boring and plain person anywhere (an image which appealed to conservative corporations such as Accenture and Buick).

Tiger has no obligation to say to sponsors, “Gee, before you pay me millions to be in your wristwatch ad, let me tell you all about my marital infidelity.” (Agatha, if you’ve mentioned your greatest personal failings in a job interview, I’d be amazed–and even more so if you kept doing it after repeated rejections.)

In addition to all the marital dishonesty, Tiger deceived himself about how much dissonance his public image and true self could tolerate. And he’s being punished for it, big time–these revelations easily will cost him hundreds of millions of dollars.

We aren’t being totally honest with ourselves either. Just because I have seen Tiger on television doesn’t mean I should feel comfortable using this guy’s first name like he’s a real live guest in my living room. (Yet I do!) The facts are: I do not know Tiger Woods; he has never made me a promise; it would be foolish of me to buy a Buick just because of his commercials; he is merely an athlete; and if I ever considered him a role model I did so unreasonably (or with insufficient information) and at my own risk.

Yet many people still say that Tiger’s true failing lies in his refusal to apologize publicly. That is fascinating.

Should Tiger accept us for all our faults, and give us the public apology we demand but don’t deserve? I hope he doesn’t. But I would like to see him return, from his low-down dirty place, to the pinnacle of athletic achievement.