Tiger Woods is back. That's the word from the golf world, as Tiger apparently rediscovered his game at his own tournament this past weekend. After a few close finishes, Tiger finally won a tournament; that's really special. I think the more important news to Tiger Woods fans, however, came a few days earlier, as Tiger told the media he was going to start a family soon.
While there are many theories as to why Tiger has gotten back on track, I think the clear reason is the person many blamed for his "slump," his mildly (I'm being generous here) pleasant-looking wife, Elin Nordegren. Many were quick to blame her for Tiger's downfall, as his game took a temporary change for the worse around the time he started getting serious with Elin. Now that "Tiger is back," according to the golf world, she is conveniently ignored as the reason he playing golf like Tiger Woods.
It was no coincidence that the biggest Tiger news to come across the wire shortly before his tournament was his announcement that he wasn't going to wait long to start a family. For those of you who understand how to "start a family," it should come as no surprise that Tiger had a great tournament. While Elin's greatest asset may not be her culinary skills (her cooking once saddled Tiger with a violent case of food poisoning), it seems Elin has found another way to get Woods to rise above his competition.
I'm not exactly sure what is newsworthy about Tiger starting a family soon, which is why I was surprised to see the story everywhere. It's almost like Tiger wanted everyone to know that he wouldn't be spending his nights at the local bowling alley or playing Xbox. Still, the biggest impact this story has is that Tiger said something that wasn't about golf. This has potential to open Tiger up to comment on other issues; maybe this is the start of a new Tiger Woods.
For years, activists and journalists have been trying to coerce Tiger to make comments on issues and controversies out of golf. People have begged him to take a stand on serious topics. His website has insightful comments from Tiger such as "I play golf." The site even has a section of all of Tiger's opinions (some of which I have paraphrased here), like:
Tiger on snow:
"I have never seen a snowflake ... I hate being cold."
Tiger on Michelle Wie:
"She's that chick that golf's right? That is classic."
Tiger on the color white:
"It's somewhat bland."
Tiger on Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger:
"No comment."
As you can see, while Tiger has a lot of important stuff to say, his statement about starting a family could be the start of a Tiger that doesn't limit his comments to just golf. In a few years, I wouldn't be shocked to see a press conference along these lines:
Tiger: I will now take your questions.
Reporter: Tiger, you have won 12-straight tournaments, I mean, you are like the greatest golfer ever. You are tremendous, and a definite role model for young golfers.
Tiger: Let me respond to that ... reporters tell a lot of lies; we need people like you to speak the truth. That being said, that's enough golf for now, let's open it up.
Reporter: Tiger, what do you think of Tyrone Willingham being fired at Notre Dame?
Tiger: Well, 2/5 of me is infuriated. He definitely didn't have enough time to perfect his system. The Irish made a huge mistake in that firing, and I cannot believe there are less than five African-American coaches in college football, that is an insult to my people. Now, 1/8th of me thinks that it's about winning and Tyrone didn't get the job done, so it was time for him to move on. I think the majority of my people feel the same way. Staying in college sports, 1/4 of me applauds the decision at Kent State to ban all Cleveland Indian Chief Wahoo logos from their campus. It's the right thing to do, my people won't take that.
Reporter: Tiger, with the recent fan violence in Detroit, do you ever fear a physical confrontation with a fan?
Tiger: You can never underrate a fan before you get in a fight with one, that is just asking for trouble. Kyle Farnsworth kicked a fan last summer and it landed him on the DL for a few weeks. I don't think I can afford an incident like that. Now, I don't interact with fans too much, I prefer air conditioning.
Reporter: Tiger, do you plan to help Karl Malone in his "hunt for little Mexican girls"?
Tiger: I cannot believe that Malone would make a comment like that to Kobe's wife. Kobe has every right to be mad. He has defended his honor at every juncture in his life and he would never let anything embarrass her in public like that. Now, I can say Karl is a good guy. He reminds me of that Carl guy from "The Simpsons." Carl Carlson was always there for people, just like Karl Malone. He seems like he would be a fun guy to hang with; that Lenny guy is lucky.
Reporter: Tiger, how do you respond to Jim Rome's allegations that you are a robot?
Tiger: (unfazed) The course looks good. My swing feels good. I like my chances.
Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].
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