I've never been a golf fan. I don't play the sport at all and I don't follow the PGA. Having admitted that, I've been a big Tiger Woods fan since he was an amateur.
I just revisited every entry on this blog that includes the keyword "Tiger Woods". There were 25. That's a lot of entries to be written by a guy who doesn't golf and doesn't give a rat's ass about golf. Heck, in the pre-YouTube era, I was sharing that shot Tiger made on the 16th hole of The Masters in 2005 as a WMV file. That's right, Tiger got me to share a WMV file.
In 2006, I wondered if Tiger Woods might be the greatest athlete of all-time. Not the greatest golfer, but the greatest athlete in any sport. Yes, I spoke of Tiger Woods and Wayne Gretzky with the same honoured tone.
A couple of summers ago, I actually threw all of my Tiger Woods thoughts into an entry I entitled "My Thoughts on Tiger Woods".
I love the idea that someone we watched, someone during our lifetime is the best there ever was. I rooted for Michael Jordan and I rooted for Wayne Gretzky. Athletes like Tiger come around once in a lifetime and it seems foolish and unnatural to root against them unless they're complete jerks, Barry Bonds style. Hell, for a while I even rooted for him.
And hell, I'm still rooting for Tiger Woods. And no, I never bought that car crash story where Elin drags him from the vehicle. Not for a second. And I'm aware of his chronic infidelity and love of the ladies. The man's a dog, but he's the best damn golfer in the history of the world and the only guy who could get me to write 25 entries about a sport I don't care about. Ask me how many entries I've written about rugby or cricket or polo?
Tiger's fall from grace is unprecedented. A month ago, he was a god. Today, his sponsors are dropping like flies and his career is officially on-hold. This is crazy.
Tiger, ya dirty dog, work on that marriage, fix it for your wife and kids, but for heaven's sake, keep golfing. There are records to break, there's history to make, legions of fans to please and me, a Tiger Woods fan who doesn't give a shit about golf.
