MovieChat Forums > Tiger Woods Discussion > Are we supposed to love this guy?

Are we supposed to love this guy?

posted 5 years ago by snepts (11123)
16 replies | jump to latest

On AM sports talk radio last night some host was saying if we don't support Woods we are putting too much emphasis on his personal life. The way I see it, he's earned everything he's gotten, but that doesn't mean I need to like him. Maybe I like Nicklaus better. Jack never had an addiction, a car wreck and a screwy marriage. I don't like Tiger Woods and I was hoping Molinari or anyone else would win yesterday. But Woods did it and good for him. Doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

[–] strntz (11162) 5 years ago

Tiger is the best golfer of his generation, and one of the best of all time.

But he was never "likeable" like Arnie. Even Jack could be snippy.

But people redeem themselves. I always hated (sports "hated") Greg Norman, and rooted for his big collapse in the Masters when he had a big lead going into the last day. Well, he folded with the biggest choke I'd ever seen and I enjoyed every minute of it.

I made sure to stick around to watch the interviews to watch him squirm in pain... You know what? Norman sat there and patiently answered every question, including the asinine "how does it feel to lose the Masters with a big lead" types. I never saw any athlete take a beating like a man like he did in that interview tent. I became a fan of Greg Norman after that.

I never liked Tiger. His goal in life was to beat Jack's major records. If he couldn't, his career would be a failure. Well, that's an unreasonable goal IMO, at least to the point that anything less is a failure. But I saw him in an interview about a year ago and I picked up some real humbleness in the man, and an inner peace as if he accepted finally that his health issues likely cost him a chance to break Jack's record. I started to like him. A bit.

I actually was glad he won the 2019 Masters, although Jack being in my generation keeps me hoping Jack keeps the record.

But people do change. Tiger isn't nearly as insufferable as he once was.

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

One of the things I didn't like about Tiger's meteoric rise is he got tremendous outpourings of love ... for being a golfer. An Uber Golfer. Everyone seemed to feel he deserved every single drive, putt, endorsement, photo op. It was a phenomenon, and I don't like fads. After The Big Crash, I could pat myself on the back for never liking him in the first place. And I imagined his upper body work was why his back ended up hurting, trying to get gunned up when golf isn't really about that.
I don't care if he has been humbled. He always had that act down. But anything he earns, that's good for him. Certainly a significant athlete for this generation.

[–] TheAdlerian (2092) 5 years ago

I don't care about any celeb's personal life.

However, Tiger was ultra weird and perverted, so why does he get a pass and many other celebs get destroyed even for just making comments?

It's odd.

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

Thanks for responding. I don't know about perverted, but okay. That he cheated on a gorgeous wife and mother of his children, that was a bad decision, but he's kind of above how the rest of us operate ... apparently.

[–] TheAdlerian (2092) 5 years ago

He didn't just cheat, like with someone he also loved, but rather he was hiring countless hookers to do all kinds of odd stuff while he watched.

You know something is perverted if you wouldn't talk about it in public, explain it to a kid, etc.

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

I don't know if what you say is true.

[–] TheAdlerian (2092) 5 years ago

Those were the stories from the time.

He would hire hookers to have sex with each other. He would not participate but sit, in a business suit, and watch them.

There were many stories about that. Like he was spending huge amounts of money on porn like sexual situations.

[–] snepts (11123) 5 years ago

Do you find this interesting? I'd rather not know. His Swedish wife was very pretty, and I don't know how they handle the custody of the children, but I don't DISLIKE Woods, I just don't like him. I hope his ex and children are happy as much as the rest of us.

[–] TheAdlerian (2092) 5 years ago

I don't care about him.

I don't care much about celebrities but I find them mildly interesting. I also don't love sports and so I tend to dislike sports figures because their importance seems overblown to me.

From what I have learned about Woods, if seemed that his father used him like a trained monkey, much like the Jackson Family experienced with their father. They have parents who train them to be money making machines. That leaves the kid with a bizarre, restricted, and miserable childhood.

That's why Michael Jackson went crazy and it spilled out in many weird ways. I view Woods in the same light and believe all kinds of pent up weirdness came out.

What does interest me are celebs that can break all kinds of laws, do perverted stuff, and then resume normal activities after a period of media problems. Meanwhile, there's celebs that say one wrong thing and they're destroyed and disappear. The psychology behind all of that is interesting.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

I don't see how it's possible to love a golfer. I just don't.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Then watch any tournament or media coverage Woods is involved in and you'll learn very quickly how easy it is. Easily one of the most adored athletes in history.

[–] Burk48917 (11106) 4 years ago

We really don't know as much about Jack's personal life, because media involvement and access to celebrities personal lives was a fraction of what it is today.

[–] BillySlater (4126) 4 years ago

Very good point.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

If you think Jack's personal life could have been anywhere near as depraved as Tiger's was, you're kidding yourself.

[–] Burk48917 (11106) 4 years ago

You really have no idea, again, because the media wasn't nearly as invasive as it is today.

[–] strntz (11162) 4 years ago

You're right, Jack's personal life likely wasn't anything like Wood's. BUT, as Burk (above) said, the press was a different animal back then. It used to protect celebrities and politicians. For all we know, Jack may have cheated on his wife. Gut reaction is no, but it wouldn't shock me, certainly.

It seems Gary Hart was the first politician/celebrity the press really turned on. If Gary wasn't doinking that staffer, he would have been president of the U.S.