I'm Not... Tiger

...and thank God for that!

Today is the day Tiger Woods begins what he hopes will be his greatest comeback to date; the one where he overcomes a personal shortcoming far worse than a mediocre mid-range game on the greens; the one that may finally display a small crack in the titanium we've come to know as his nerves; the one where he has to publicly admit a very private transgression.

Today is not a good day to be Eldrick.

I have a lot of feelings on this topic, but I don't have a ton of time this morning, so I'm just going to say this: To all of Tiger's fans that have turned their backs on him, shame on you. Never once did you flip on the Master's because you thought, "Hey, I bet Tiger is a really good person and I'd love to see him be successful." No, you turned the television on because you wanted to see him hit it 4oo yards off the tee. And whether we like it or not, being a decent person is not a prerequisite to being the world's best golfer.

And by the way, Tiger's faults and infidelity don't necessarily make him a bad person, they just make him a person. We have this tendency to look at actors, athletes, musicians, etc. as these superhero type, perfect individuals. The reality is, they're no different than you or I, for the most part (just ask Us Weekly). And who the hell are we to judge?

This man was beloved a year ago because of the things he could do on a golf course. Our perception was that he was just as successful a person off the course in his personal life, whatever that means. We didn't know that he was struggling with an "addiction" (which, by the way, is total BS) and so we loved him. We loved him for being a ridiculous golfer with a great wholesome persona; a persona he had to wear like a crown of thorns fastened to his head by the viewers (and, incidentally, sponsored by Nike).

And he did not live up to that persona or our expectations, and now we chastise him for it. And we do so not because he cheated on his wife, but because he let us down! (How stupid is that!?) We turn our back on a man because we wrongly applied values to his name. If word broke out that Ron Artest was serial cheating on his wife, would anyone stop cheering for him? No, it'd be fodder for opposing fans, but home crowds would not waver. We know this to be gospel (ironic) because we saw it firsthand with Kobe Bryant and his infidelity situation.

So to Tiger's "fans" I say, in short, shame on you. You're no better than any unfaithful spouse. You reap all the benefits from watching him play the game, only to turn on him at the first sign of trouble (or some hot waitress at Perkins).

And, Tiger, don't worry, the sponsors come back. Isn't that right, Kobe?

Be well.


PS - Today's Trivia -- Can you guess who woke up and worked out this morning??