Running Tiger Woods thread

Additional errata: The authors state that “Bill Cosby was willing to compose an episode of the Cosby Show around Tiger just to get him to appear on the top sitcom on television.”

The Cosby Show had ended in 1992. Cosby’s sitcom in 1996 was Cosby, a fringe top 20-25 finisher in the annual Nielsens.

 

Now I'm into the section of the book about his serial infidelity. I didn't pay much attention to the story at the time it broke - it just wasn't something I was interesting in tracking in real time. But in this format, surveying the landscape in context years after the fact, it provides fascinating insight into his character. Also, apparently the National Enquirer had him nearly nailed a couple years before the shit hit the fan, but agreed to kill the story in exchange for a Tiger cover story in "Men's Fitness."

 

That actually came out later... i am thinking a little after the Elen-iron incident.

Edit: 2009

How Tiger Protected His Image

 

Yeah, the threads of the Tiger infidelity story was something I completely lost track of. After the first couple, you just figure, "Guy's a heel, I get the point."

Perkins waitress Mindy Lawton's mom tried to sell her out to the Enquirer. Unbelievable.

And unbelievable that he didn't think he would eventually get caught. I guess this is how a lot of pro athletes live, so maybe he didn't understand the transcendence of his celebrity. As the book notes, 1/4 or Enquirer subscribers are Wal-Mart shoppers, not exactly golf's prime demographic. But it also points out that the Enquirer has moles on the payroll everywhere.

The book is actually fairly sympathetic to Tiger, even as regards the affairs. The authors think he's a total asshole, but they think he's a total asshole basically because he's a broken person due to how he was raised.

 

Look at Tristan Thompson if you want to see a pro athlete being an idiot in this regard

 

or they just don't care.

Wait a minute, maybe I take that back. Because Tiger's call to the blond--whose-name-I-don't remember sounded awfully urgent.

 

Jamie Grubbs.

Did Tiger Ask Grubbs for "A Huge Favor"? - CBS News

"She just really wanted to get her story out there," Jacobs said. "She wanted to tell the world about it. She does still have feelings for Tiger. She hopes, in fact, that they could still be friends one day. She just wanted to clear the air about this."

LOL. Yes, I'm sure they probably hit the garage sales together on weekends these days.

 

On the golf course, with his nike hat, and golf outfit, Tiger looks like a million bucks.

In his civvies, with his 'dad hair', Tiger looks like your neighbor in anytown USA.

If I god forbid, fart, or leave my dresser drawer open, and my wife clips it walking by, I hear a riot act.

Tiger trampled all over his marriage vows like a neo-nazi marching to town square in Charlottesville. Yet my wife is spellbound if he is on the tv screen. "Look at his teeth. They're magnificent..."

 

Hurt people hurt people.

 

For years I thought this was trite and simplistic, but I've come to believe more and more that it's true.

 

The question for me is, why get married to begin with? But I guess he wanted both. He wanted the wife, kids, picket fence. And he wanted to chase tail.

So far, there hasn't been a whole lot of detail about his relationship with Elin, prior to the scandal. It seems like he was able to keep that out of the press pretty well, unless it comes up later.

Maybe this has been reported before, but how he treated the woman whose home he rented in Augusta year after year is awful. Left it trashed year after year. No apologies. No offer to pay for clean-up.

The Tiger profiled in this book reminds me of a little kid. At least my two take it as a personal affront when asked to clean up their own messes. My guess is that Tiger never had to.

From a golf standpoint, it's easy to forget how much money Nike threw his way before he had ever take a swing as a professional. What if he had crashed and burned? He won the 1997 Masters and then it was a long time before he won another major. What a huge gamble. I mean, it's hard to win major championships. Phil didn't win one until he was well into his 30s.

 

I have asked this question myself many times regarding athletes.