Redemption Song
Flashback to December 2009.
Tiger Woods was the talk of the world, he had just crashed his car, unleashing the life of lies he was living since getting married.
Mike Vick was in jail, paying the penalty for abusing and killing dogs.
Now imagine you and I were chatting at a holiday party and I said, “I bet a year from now Tiger and Mike Vick will be on the cover of ESPN The Magazine and Sports Illustrated respectively, and both covers will put them in a positive light.”
What would you have said to me? Would you have slapped me? Kicked me? Spread an evil rumor about me?
Clearly it would have been a ridiculous statement. However, here we are and Mike Vick is on the cover of SI and Tiger is on ESPN.
Vick's headline states, “What Michael Vick tells us about ourselves.” To be honest, I didn’t read the article, didn’t feel like it.
Tiger’s ESPN cover is about perfection in sports. The magazine picks the brain of some athletes about what perfection is, however Tiger was chosen for the cover. Ironic? I think so.
What do these covers tell us about our society? I think it tells us that if you do something really really well, we can forgive you. If you do something really really well that can earn people money and entertain them, then you are in great shape.
I wonder if as a society we want people to fail, because it makes us feel good to forgive. To err is human, to forgive divine. I guess that makes all of us divine.
What have Vick and Tiger done to really earn our forgiveness and adulation? I honestly can’t say. Vick has played well, earning him interviews and chances to show his new PR savvy.
Tiger has looked human, sometimes pathetically so, his awful speech in February and his atrocious play this summer completed his fall from grace.
The “redemption story” seems to be the buzz phrase surrounding Vick. He has redeemed himself and his image. Now the media has turned him into someone we can learn from? Oh right, I forgot I shouldn’t beat dogs to the point of death.
Tiger cheated on her...hundreds of times..no joke..
I am lead to wonder what happens to someone in a different profession who treats women like Tiger did, or who treats dogs like Vick did? Do they get a redemption story? Do they get a second chance? Are athletes given more slack because we do not expect as much from them morally? I don’t think so, or we wouldn’t have such an outcry when they do make mistake.
As a teacher if I were to do what Vick did, I would be fired, and I would have to explain what happened to any possible future employer for the rest of my life. I would not have the opportunity to go on TV and show how I have changed, I would have to prove it in an interview.
As I look out into the sports landscape on December 5, 2010 I wonder who might be this year’s redemption story? Here are a few nominees:
The guy sucks. He sucks in every possible way off a basketball court. He is a selfish teammate who has no one around him to make him shut his mouth or simply say the correct thing. He has the built-in excuse that his friends are his managers, so if he fires them he can become beloved by the country again (except Cleveland). Winning would also help. People hate when athletes make selfish choices, they love when those choices blow up in an athlete’s face. A 9-8 start is a good example.
Brett Favre:
My buddy Coyle and I reveled in Brett Favre’s pain after getting knocked out of the Sunday’s game against the Bills. It became even better when Tavaris Jackson tore it up afterward, leading the Vikings to a huge Bills win. Redemption for Favre could be a possibility, but I think people might actually be too sick of him…
Shaq:
After leaving the Suns and Cavs with a bad reputation, Shaq is crushing it in Boston right now. He is doing everything right. If you have not watched “The Association: Boston Celtics” yet, you should (the whole first episode is on Youtube). Shaq compares his younger days to being a CEO, the leader…. However he now thinks of himself as a member of the board, taking a back seat and letting others lead. If the Celts pull out a title win, he could be a redemption story.
I guess we will have to wait and see….
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