The Trouble With Tiger

Well, it seems that the news about Tiger's marriage is dark, indeed. Looks more and more like his wife is about to file for divorce (if she hasn't already). Granted, from this POV, it looked inevitable, given the level of infidelity and questionable characters he was tied to during his many dalliances. As this celebrity soap opera unfolds, I am reminded of those days when it was announced he was going to marry -- many prognosticators, both professional and amateur, were surprised by the news and were wondering if he was going too fast, too soon. Now, if he was happy with it all at the time, then I was in full support of the decision, but I still had to question why he felt it was so important to do it so soon. I remember reading about Jack Nicklaus' family and how they were "challenged" by his career while he was rising to the top, and that was in the 50's and 60's, not nearly the small fishbowl that the world is now. I always wondered if Tiger took the time to look at how other champions fared in their early years, so as to maybe learn from their mistakes. Doesn't seem like he did -- or maybe he felt he was above it all and could ride through it better than they did. As Tiger rose to prominence, his world was getting larger and he was exposed to many, many distractions, both on and off the course. The off-course distractions are nothing new, really -- every professional sports era has had their own Jezebels or other vices that would take down many potential stars. Case in Point (albeit fictional) is one of my favorite movies, "The Natural": rising star, kid out of nowhere, huge upside, brought down by a mystery woman because the straight-arrow kid took an uncharacteristic step outside the lines and suffered the consequences. If I was lucky enough to have a beer with Tiger, off camera, off the record, I would ask him: "why get married so soon? Everyone knew you had all the potential to break -- no, shatter -- the existing records and forever be remembered as the Greatest Of All Time, and you could have easily done that in the prime of your life, giving you plenty of quality years (and quality money) to live out the rest of your life...what's the rush"? Tiger fell victim to one of the classic blunders of all time -- besides "never get in a land war in Asia" -- he thought he was invincible and could do it all. We see how he just loved to get his freak on, and there are many women in the world who have many talents and are "programmed" to excel at it; it's just too bad his inner circle was not strong enough to help him and guide him through it. I don't know if Tiger will ever survive this meltdown. Sports History is littered with many stars that hit their peak and then fell just as fast because they made a huge mistake in their personal lives, and it took a huge sacrifice to make it all the way back, but they lost their youth, they lost their energy, they lost their innocence, and worst of all, they lost their fan's allegiance. Good Luck, Tiger, in your comeback, but I'll be honest: As a Phil Mickelson fan from Day One (and that means the ASU days), I don't wish you too much luck. More importantly, as a fellow Dad, I hope you make it right for your kids from now till the end. You will find the true meaning of "blood is thicker than water", and your focus should be all on your kids. You can't do much with your wife anymore, you've already burned that bridge and you'll find that if you spend so much time and energy repairing that bridge, you'll be taking energy away from the time with your kids and your career. But what do I know...