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 An Icon Without a CluePosted on Apr 8, 2010
By Mark Heisler Tiger Woods is finally getting on with his life in this week’s Masters. If Monday’s press conference offers a clue, when he finally got it right, taking real questions and showing some if not perfect humility and the charm that was always his to flash when he saw fit, he’ll be fine. Best of all, seeing as how he reigns over a subculture that doesn’t really care about anything but winning and having heroes to worship, he needs only be as good as he was to reclaim a lot of hearts. The warm reception at his first round shouldn’t have been a surprise. Golf fans don’t pay $200 for a Masters ticket (face price before Woods’ entry drove it into the thousands), drive to the suburbs and walk around those exclusive country clubs to heckle anyone, even if a lot of them read about Tiger’s sexual exploits in the grocery store press, exploit by exploit. Mark McGwire’s acknowledgment of his misdeed was much more open and more human than Woods’. Unfortunately, Big Mac is now just a Big Batting Coach, and can’t bring crowds to their feet with his majestic drives, prompting sports writers to reassess him in the context of continuing, quote, heroism. Not that Tiger’s life can ever be what it was when he was the unquestioned, untainted, most famous, most admired, richest, greatest athlete of all time. Advertisement Iconhood is a mystery to all but icons, but judging from what we can see them go through, it’s not as easy as it looks. That, of course, is a surprise, in itself. Any instruction has necessarily come from people who were never icons, like Earl Woods, and have no reason to think it isn’t the best thing there could be. Not that anyone in the history of stage parents ever took it as far as Earl, whose son wasn’t just going to give back to the community, but “do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity.” So that was going to be Tiger, Abraham, Jesus, Buddha and Gandhi? Actually, the best thing you could be is at peace with yourself, so whatever you have is enough and the rest of your life is win-win. In Tiger’s case, that’s a lovely wife who has stuck with him this far, two kids, more money than they can ever spend and a job he lives. In real life, things are very different in the stratified air of iconhood. It’s actually a high-wire act with something more always to be won—or lost—whether it’s major titles or the biggest prize of all, the one quantifying and proving one’s pre-eminence over all others ... Money. Very few people have ever been around someone who was raised to believe he was destined for greatness and actually achieved it, since there can’t be too many on Earth at the same time. I was as inner circle as press people got in Kobe Bryant’s first eight NBA seasons, which included the year he stood trial on a rape charge. It shouldn’t be a surprise that someone whose whole life has been on crusade will never reach an end point in which he realizes he has captured all there realistically was to capture. Both Woods and Bryant are demon workers with iron wills who will throw themselves at anything they target over and over until it’s theirs. And if there’s something out there they can’t have, like the greatest popularity, or the most endorsements? They just keep throwing themselves at it over and over. Bryant has made an amazing comeback, professionally and commercially. The rule in advertising, which abhors mixed messages or inferences, used to be: Once you’ve lost your glow, it’s gone forever. Kobe was the one who broke it, having gotten a lot of his back, with his No. 24 jersey outselling all others, even LeBron James’ 23. Nevertheless, there’s a ceiling Bryant keeps bumping his head on. When he broke Jerry West’s Laker scoring record, play-by-play broadcaster Joel Meyers called him “the greatest Laker ever,” starting a mini-uprising among local fans supporting Jerry West and Magic Johnson. Like Woods, Bryant is well-spoken, capable of charming anyone he wants to, and has years of competition left to buff up his image. At present, Bryant is no more enamored of the press as a useful institution in society than Woods. Bryant’s father, Joe, was an NBA player, and as the youngest child and first son, Kobe was the darling of his parents and two older sisters in a close, nurturing family. Nevertheless, it was Kobe who chose his own destiny—at age 5, he once told me. Woods was handed a golf club by his father but didn’t rebel at the regimen and expectations. He embraced them and believed in them, as he loved and believed in his father, whom he still quotes to this day. Monday, Tiger said he finally figured out what Earl meant when he used to tell him, “Before you can help others, you have to help yourself.” It’s Tiger’s new mantra, as he picks back up on his mission: saving the world. “When I went through that period when my father was sick and my father passed away, it put things in perspective real quick,” he said Monday. “And when my kids were born, again it put things in perspective. And what I’ve done put things in perspective. “It’s not about winning championships. It’s about how you live your life. ... “Going forward I need to be a better man than I was before. I’m trying each and every day to get my life better and stronger and if I win championships along the way, so be it. “But along the way, I want to help more people that haven’t quite learned to help themselves, just like I was.” I don’t think he meant he wants to help sex addicts, but it’s clear his messianic instinct persists, as does his controlling instinct and hunger for money. Superstar athletes now compete for endorsements as keenly as for championships. Michael Jordan, the first athlete to become transcendent commercially, not to mention being the first black athlete to do so, made that the new measuring stick.
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By drbhelthi, April 13, 2010 at 12:27 am Link to this comment
Some cogent ideas purplewolf.
Congratulations to the ladies who demonstrate a
staunch backbone, whether Caucasian, partial
Caucasian, partial Negroid or partial whatever.
And special congratulation to “Miss Alma” !! I
suspect she might prove to be a better president than
Colin. While his record speaks for itself, he does
not possess the motherly wisdom of “Miss Alma.” What
man does possess motherly wisdom? Very few even the
consistent honesty that underlies motherly wisdom?
And among politician types - even fewer- if any ?
Purplewolf, what about a word of encouragement for
Report thisthe ladies who debauch their natural hair color with
H2O2, thus themselves, which suggests a less than
adequate “self concept”? Hair color, especially
“motly” when well-groomed, is beeuuutiful ! And RARE!
As is dark hair, punctuated with strands of natural
silver!! While some ladies pay hard-earned money to
cover it up? Think again, ladies, and show it off!!
Dont cover it up !
By purplewolf, April 12, 2010 at 11:29 pm Link to this comment
Isn’t it time to go on and leave all the Tiger Woods hoopla fade away already? His 15 minutes of fame were over long ago.
Report thisAnd who cares that he cheated on his wife. That should be between him and her and not the rest of the world to air their “dirty laundry to the public,just like the pathetic politicians who drag their wives up to a podium and humiliate them in public by outing themselves as the cheating husbands and fathers they are. Why don’t these women refuse to be sullied by their unfaithful spouses. At least Mrs. Woods and Gov. Sanford’s wives stood their ground.
By Railbird, April 11, 2010 at 8:04 pm Link to this comment
LocalHero Asked:
“So, that’s the measure of a man and a life? If you’re a “multimillionaire many times over?”
Now wonder they hanged ya.”
Thomas Dooley answered:
Huh? What?
“That’s what you got from my short post? That’s why I don’t like to post on the Internet.” <snip>
Perhaps Mr. Dooley missed the joke?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoBLGE2cCdU
Report thisBy Thomas Dooley, April 11, 2010 at 7:10 pm Link to this comment
LocalHero Asked:
“So, that’s the measure of a man and a life? If you’re a “multimillionaire many times over?”
Now wonder they hanged ya.”
Huh? What?
That’s what you got from my short post? That’s why I don’t like to post on the Internet. There is always some nutcase who will reply with some irrelevant drivel that he dreamed up from nothing and want me to answer him. The reply is always in the form of a question about opinions I don’t hold and thoughts I never had.
Let me ask you a question: Why is it always the dumb as a post types who believe they can they can read peoples minds from afar and then demand answers for some dumb crap they think they know? Why doesn’t ever occur to them that they don’t have that talent? And why are they always insulting turds?
Report thisBy Franz Biberkopf, April 11, 2010 at 4:31 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Could somebody please summarize for me what this writer is trying to say. I skimmed here and I skimmed there but I can’t get a handle on anything? Is he just wasting bandwidth - I would say yes but please help! Is anything that he writes about important? No known before? Any artistic merits in his writing - I would say no but please help!
Report thisBy Noticed, April 11, 2010 at 10:29 am Link to this comment
The difference between Woods and McGwire is that Woods (only) wronged women; McGwire wronged other men and his sport. Same thing with Bryant. The men who have wronged women seem to have no trouble winning back their fans and continuing in their careers, even those convicted of violence against women. Cheating other men, however, is unforgivable. Just ask Barry Bonds.
Report thisBy doublestandards/glasshouses, April 11, 2010 at 7:45 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Anybody notice that nobody cares about Tiger Woods here. He’s had his 15 minutes of infamy. He’s grown as a result of the experience. (About 30 pounds) He’s taken full responsibility. Stick a fork in him. Back to news that matters: war, warming, pestilence, and economic disaster.
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, April 11, 2010 at 6:35 am Link to this comment
Anybody notice he’s in third place halfway through the Masters, just 2 strokes behind?
Report thisBy heavyrunner, April 10, 2010 at 5:38 am Link to this comment
Did this article do anything but waste my time? I don’t think it said anything.
Report thisBy drbhelthi, April 10, 2010 at 3:53 am Link to this comment
One huge BRAVO for samosamo !
Marvelous link. One accurate clarification.
“Pastor” Leslie Williams also provides some clarification in his videos.
Report thisBy samosamo, April 10, 2010 at 3:05 am Link to this comment
By Gramps409, April 9 at 1:44 pm
By Thomas Dooley, April 9 at 12:42 pm
Both of you are wiser than you may even think because when I
am notified about someone commenting to this article and I link
to it and there are 2 pages of pure empty american tabloid
dribble and if you check my comment to this fluff and crap you
will see I mentioned a documentary by robert kane pappas
called ‘Orwell Rolls in His Grave’ that can be viewed for the most
part on google where some very astute people discussing the
subversion of the msm to where only 4 or 5 ultra conservative
owners control what the main mass of people get to see on the
dumbstream media of america and touch on the ‘never ending
story’ of just about anything that has NO substance to it, very
much worth the hour to view.
Has people such as charles lewis from cbs 60 minutes, now
senator bernie sanders, vincent bugliosi of CA prosecuter fame,
jeff cohen, robert mcchesney and others all discussing the plight
and take over of the msm turned into the dumbstream media.
Here is a link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?
Report thisdocid=1925114769515892401#
By LocalHero, April 9, 2010 at 10:53 pm Link to this comment
@ Tom Dooley
So, that’s the measure of a man and a life? If you’re a “multimillionaire many times over?”
Now wonder they hanged ya.
Report thisBy Gramps409, April 9, 2010 at 9:44 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Normally, I am cautious not to repeat previous comments but in this case I make an exception, as ardee noted:
“So, has this site become a supermarket tabloid outlet?”
Besides, as one of my old golfing buddies used to say, “adultery has a lot in common with masturbation and golf, sickening to watch, fun to do.”
Report thisBy t groan, April 9, 2010 at 9:41 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
greatest athlete of all time? Since when are golfers considered athletes???
Report thisBy reynolds, April 9, 2010 at 8:47 am Link to this comment
for the answer to the question i was afraid someone
Report thismight ask(could he degrade himself further?)check out
the infamous nike ad. this story has more whores than a
mining town.
By Thomas Dooley, April 9, 2010 at 8:42 am Link to this comment
I’ve had the good fortune of not following this story so I have only a sketchy idea of what this guy is supposed to be guilty of.
Also, I couldn’t quite get through this article so I can’t really say what it is he lost because of whatever it is he did.
As far as I know the guy is a multimillionaire many times over and still is. Doesn’t sound like a bad deal from where I sit.
Report thisBy samosamo, April 9, 2010 at 7:52 am Link to this comment
Perfect example of Robert Kane Pappas’ realization of the ‘never
Report thisending story’ from his documentary ‘Orwell Rolls in His Grave’
about empty high profile people that directs attention away
from the real game/show.
By drbhelthi, April 9, 2010 at 5:04 am Link to this comment
” - -when he was the unquestioned, untainted, most famous, most
admired, richest, greatest athlete of all time.” Excuse me ?
Knocking a golf ball is athletic ?
I have been around for over fifty years in the USA and elsewhere
after reaching legal age, and have known personally a couple of
famous “sport types.” Thus, when I read such an article as this one,
I wonder if Truthdig sometimes requires payment from writers
whose “creative verbage” it prints - instead of paying them.
My experience with Tiger Wood types and blonde women extends
well beyond golf courses. I classify the published situation of Mr.
T. Woods case as an example of proactive, propagandistic, racial
activity. Or, “the public” wanting a minority person to become rich
and famous, and doing all it can to be of assistance. Dumb. O.K. It
happened. The results can be clearly viewed. Afterwards.
Was there once a similarly famous minority fellow athlete,
named O.J.Simpson, who also craved blondes?
And whom some say could get away with murder?
Because he was so admired by “suck-uppers”?
Identifying with sports figures and celebraties is a sickness not only
in the USA. How many identified with the dunce from Austria,
Adolf Hitler, after he manipulated himself into celebrity status?
How many continue to identify with Bush #1 and Bush #2, in spite
of their USA-destructive activities? How many currently identify
with Mr. B. Hussein Obama, because of his minority status, “poor
folk” upbringing, and his having made it into the bigtime?
Perhaps mostly by hook and crook and 20-yr servitude
to the CIA, which few care to learn about?
Whose native land was recently identified by his wife
to be Kenya?
“Freudian slips” are very rarely dishonest.
Report thisBy thecrow, April 8, 2010 at 6:51 pm Link to this comment
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/02/22/meanwhile/
Report thisBy Hammond Eggs, April 8, 2010 at 4:37 pm Link to this comment
G. Anderson (the first comment) says it all.
“Identifying with celebraties is a sickness in this country.”
How true and how overwhelmingly sad.
Report thisBy rollzone, April 8, 2010 at 2:06 pm Link to this comment
hello. huh? rent what? i used to watch sports for the rivalry between players. that is where i saw sport. this guy sometimes plays better than anyone ever played, so he has no rival, and it seems like he is using some unseen force to control his results. he becomes a player playing against himself- very boring. then he falls for this corporate crap, and comes out dishonest and ridiculous: and who can stand listening to him? can you believe a gazillionaire has to be careful about hurting the psyche of his children whom will always have more money to spend for the rest of their lives than they will ever be able to, and a wife in the same boat (have you seen their yacht?)- but the sponsors demand greasing the public wallets. how many weeks of closed door sessions of public relations programming do we have to listen to? go out and hit a golf ball with a baseball bat for all i care, just play ball and shut up.
Report thisBy sharonsj, April 8, 2010 at 1:20 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
1. I think the maxim should be: “Sports is the opiate of the people.”
2. Tiger Woods is still a schmuck with the taste level of a junkyard dog.
3. Isn’t golf referred to as a “good walk spoiled”?
4. Add me to the list of humans who hate sports.
Report thisBy melpol, April 8, 2010 at 10:56 am Link to this comment
Men do not have to own the: slot, crack, crevice, gash, slit, split, gap, exit, mouth, outlet, entrance, inlet, armhole, peephole, and wormhole. They can rent it like every other commodity.
Report thisBy Night-Gaunt, April 8, 2010 at 8:28 am Link to this comment
I will be happy when he is relegated to the sports only talk areas. I have little interest in sports which is a rarity among males like myself. So he billed himself as something he is not. Good, slam him then move on.
Report thisBy gerard, April 8, 2010 at 8:16 am Link to this comment
To not be able to let a famous person make mistakes and work out his/her own solutions in solitude, free from publicity and commentary, is succumbing to a kind of inverted slavery—trying to force someone to fit into your mould of what another’s life “should” be.
Report thisThis is one of the worst effects of advertising and pubicity and why people like Tiger inevitably suffer from allowing themselves to become enslaved to celebrity and wealth. With too many of us, “ole Massa” is money, yes, suh! Whether it’s shooting a hole in one or writing a piece for the Times about a guy shooting a hole in one, it’s all the same in Dutch. It’s exploitation—and the country is dying because of it.
By mrfreeze, April 8, 2010 at 7:50 am Link to this comment
A Critical correction:
Golf is not a sport, therefore Tiger Woods is not an athlete.
Report thisBy reynolds, April 8, 2010 at 6:32 am Link to this comment
ardee; yes, and you’re not the only one. this essay is
Report thisas relevant as badu’s body. the more you pay, the more
it’s worth.
lou gehrig.
By ardee, April 8, 2010 at 3:27 am Link to this comment
So, has this site become a supermarket tabloid outlet?
Just wondering what the hell the exploits of a spoiled zillionaire, whether Woods or Bryant, have to do with the political realities with which we try so hard to cope?
Report thisBy G.Anderson, April 8, 2010 at 3:18 am Link to this comment
For what it’s worth. There are many people who could care less about what Tiger Woods does, or for that matter any professional sports player or team.
I know sports are big part of some people’s lives and I’m fine with that.
I would rather live my own life, such as it is, than spend my days living through someone else, watching them and identifying with what they do, and in this way experiencing life through them.
The most important thing a person can do in all of this is just let Mr. Woods live his own life and forget about it. Rather live for yourself instead.
Identifying with celebraties is a sickness in this country, and it would be much more productive to examine the reasons for existance, than picking apart the lives of people who you don’t know as an arm chair diversion.
Report this