Tiger Woods is My Hero

So Tiger Woods did not win the masters. But still the Nielsen ratings for the first day of the tournament were up almost 50% from last year’s tournament, no coincidence; this was Tiger’s first tournament after his car crash and sexting debacle. This was great news for golf and for the networks that no doubt were able to profit on this comeback. But even if Tiger had not made his comeback, The Masters would have been filled with the best golfers in the world as well as potentially the best golf action of the year. But most people would have been probably lukewarm about the potential of watching the tournament without Tiger in the field. Now that Tiger was back our curiosity was piqued. We wondered about his behavior, how he would look, would he lose his temper, which he is known for, and would any of his mistresses show up? (Come on, I wondered about that). So in a sense our interest in his personal life translated into huge gains in viewership. But shouldn’t mere competition among the world’s best be enough to draw us in? Definitely not, especially in golf. Tiger’s mishaps in the last few months have shown us that this formerly uptight, straight shooter is human after all. No matter what we thought about what he did we could relate to his imperfection. He used to be the standard for excellence and decency but now he became another member of the “I should not have done that” Club, which most of us belong to, and I’m not simply referring to sexual mishaps. Although Mickelson won and deservedly so, I wonder what would have happened if Tiger had. How would have that had made us feel? Would we see him as just another golfer or as an example of how to pick yourself up and keep going? We can now see a vulnerable Tiger who was once deemed perfect, maybe not the most likable individual, but an example of personal fortitude and excellence, but not anymore. Now, considering the price he will pay in his personal life, maybe we will root for him even more until he wins and the networks will capitalize on that desire as they usually do.