Boston-Homer

The Child Star...

So, I avoided writing about this for as long as possible, but I guess it's time. Tiger Woods is a man-whore, there a said it. A few years back in college I wrote an article when another one of my sports idols, Barry Bonds, was going through his denial of steroids. Unfortunately I cannot share that article with you because The Crusader (Holy Cross' paper) is out of order right now.

When I wrote that article I talked about how disappointed I was, how mad I was that the 10 year old inside of me who sat in the seats of Candlestick freezing his butt off was lied to.



I can't wait for this again, whenever he decides its time....

Now I am left thinking the same thing about Tiger. My first memory of Tiger was when he was a 20 year old, he was in full fist pump mode hitting a 45 foot putt catapulting him to his record third straight US Amateur Championship. He was captivating, talented, and down right nerdy. Just watch this clip after he won that event. He is an awkward 20 year old. However, in his interview after he win he says "Tonight I am gonna party like hell." It resonates just a tad differently.

Comparing Tiger Woods to Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, Roger Clemens or any other athlete who has fallen prey to any sort of vice might not quite be an accurate comparison.

I think we have to put Tiger into the category of Cory Feldman and Drew Barrymore. Tiger was like them, a child star. A prodigy whose life was controlled from the moment he stepped onto Mike Douglas' stage. A prodigy whose father, although loving, was also a little bit crazy.

"Tiger will do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity." That is something Earl said right when Tiger turned pro, talk about some pressure, good God.

Tiger's life was molded and crafted to be exactly where it was, until that November night. It was publicly perfect. He starred in many great moments, winning and losing. Hitting great shots and making all his opponents better (see: Y.E. Yang). He had the gorgeous wife (is she a sad-sack in the sack??), the cute kids, the money, the smile, the children's center, and the yatcht.

Tiger's childhood was robbed from him. He spent it playing golf, sure he loved it, he loved the competition, but clearly there were some things that he missed: causing trouble, dating, experimenting, and whatever it is that cool kids do. Tiger was not a cool kid, Tiger was the golfing geek who was 1-iron thin and very bright. He probably didn't go to parties, he was too busy hitting 9-irons while his dad sat in the cart with that annoying reverse sound buzzing to increase Tiger's concentration.

Where am I going with this? Tiger's life was always golf. Tiger's life took him away from anything fun. He loved to play golf, but he must have craved the ability to do other things. He must have craved some sort of freedom. When Tiger turned Pro he immediately fell into millions of dollars. He was surrounded by people who would help him. He had older Pros around like Mark O'Meara to help. He had his dad looming over him.

As time passed Tiger began to earn more freedom from his father. Earl's health began to keep him away from Tiger's daily happenings. Tiger's new found freedom took him to new places, places that a curious teenager would have learned were probably not the best places to go.

Tiger fell into the world of bad decisions. He believed his mistakes would effect no one, including himself. His childhood, like those of Drew Barrymore and Cory Feldman and others, was driven by a desire to be successful and make money. They might have been driven by outside forces and once they had chances to make their own decisions they went crazy.

Tiger Woods went crazy, how long has he been going crazy? I don't know. Is this just the beginning? I don't know. But part of me thinks I have nothing more to be surprised about anymore. Although everytime I say that I find myself surprised by someone else...

Tiger Links:
Maybe Tiger thought he could walk on water....

Charles Pierce in Esquire about Tiger....

If you have not read Charles Pierce's article on Tiger Woods from 1997 you have to. Tiger's arrogance comes out. Which he was burned for and is part of the reason he went into his bubble, not to come out again until this whole affair thing came out. The belief that people around Tiger had in him made him seemingly infaliable. Clearly this is not true. Reading the article in the light of what has recently happened makes a lot of it make some sort of sense. It also brings about the question, did he think he was carrying a torch for golfers everywhere by sleeping with the woman the baseball and basketball players were landing? Enjoy...

Do you think they might be related to Tiger Woods??

"Tiger, you will never meet anyone in the world who is a mentally tough as you. He hasn't yet, and he never will." Earl Woods. This is a great video and I think that quote from it really brings up an interesting point...

Tiger is so mentally tough on the golf course. It is his major strength over all his competitors. How does his moral-compass direct him in a completely different way when he is off the course... it is a tough thing for me to wrap my head around.

Tiger + steroids = uh oh....

This was one of my favorite Tiger clips. It was the longest time I got to see Tiger interact with normal people...its too bad that no one will have that response again.