Tiger whipped by the tail

Chinese New Year's Day and Valentines Day this year happened on the same day. We find ourselves almost two week into the year of the Tiger, and sure enough the world's Tiger popped out from his sex rehab stint and onto his little television stage to apologize for his infidelities just five days into his year. Judging by all the pundit action, this sighting of yet another really rich guy getting caught with his balls landing in all those wrong fairways and apologizing for it made for epic news worthiness.

Having a one-sport-skill corporate-shill apologize for not being the person we have been sold to for years is not news. It is not news finding out about a high profile celebrity having his wood waxed by someone other than himself or his marital companion. I don't care about the domestic lies of other people. They can deal with their own hazards by themselves. But when you sell yourself to millions and then turn into a fraud, well, that's showbiz for you. 

For me, the news about Tiger's "press conference" is how small he turned out to be. Here is a guy we learned a few months back was all about chasing the skirts, and reveling in everything Tiger while putting out one very controlled press release after another for all these years about his foundation, and his other worldly goodness, while selling turds shined up to look like diamond studs. But when it came to really stepping up after a dose of adversity hit his world, and being a man about it, he whiffed the ball. Tiger Woods hid for three months from the same public he sold his snake oil persona to for these past two decades, because he is a frightened version of James M. Barrie's Peter Pan with a freakish talent that enabled him to sail over and above real life while never having to deal with all those messy and unpleasant parts reserved for the common people.  

Tiger Woods is one more 14 year old hormonal mind trapped in a man's body, just like so many overpaid and pampered athletes corporate America pays big dollars to sell what they want sold. The modern athlete today is a sellout pure and simple, just an advertising whore in a world where sports is another game of simple niche marketing to a broad male dominated audience.

Now every time Tiger Woods appears on my media dial I will always think of John Daly. Daly, like Woods, squandered a lot of public good will with his inability to grow up. Daly, however, owns his misfortunes and retains some respect by many for being brutally honest and open  in a world where image is valued much more than truth.

Tiger had an opportunity to become a human being with his first public appearance, but chose to sell a marketing plan dressed up as a public apology instead. Do we care at this point if one more celebrity says I'm sorry? What is sorry is that we live in an age where only celebrity garners major eyeball traction. Tiger Woods still has Nike and EA to hawk and John Daly now performs in his own reality television show.

Well, that's showbiz for you.