It all started last week, when Tiger Woods told the media that he wouldn't be playing this week in Greensboro because he had some family issues he had to attend to. Fair, right? When you have to be a dad, it doesn't matter if you're a low income man or the highest paid athlete in the world, you need to be there for the kids and that takes precedent over everything else.
Tiger became the human punching bag he seems to be these days when he decided to do an EA Sports shoot on Tuesday instead of, well, be daddy.
CBS.com's Steve Elling took it to Tiger, saying, "Woods spent Tuesday at EA Sports in suburban Orlando filming computer footage for a new version of his video game, then engaged in a publicity stunt to promote sales by playing a teenager who won a national contest for the right to face Woods on the virtual golf course.
Maybe it’s just me, but what message does that send to Greensboro, the million-dollar FedEx Cup series title sponsors, the TV networks paying rights fees and golf in general – even if he does have custody of the kids?"
Elling makes a great point. What should we think when he says he's leaving for a legit reason only to go be Corporate Tiger 3.0 once again, spending more time on his label than his lag-putting.
Steve wasn't the only one that didn't like what Tiger did. My cohort Jay Busbee wrote, "Given how close Woods is to making the playoffs, skipping the Wyndham was nothing less than a cop-out."
Maybe it's the fan in all of us that hates to see Tiger do some of these moves he's now making famous, but if the guy really wants to get back on his game, he probably should try to play. The Presidents Cup needs him to get his game together because if Tiger's there, ratings skyrocket. Golf needs him because without Woods, interest in the already stretched FedEx Cup dies drastically. And more importantly, Tiger should want to be out there.
But again, it's Tiger life, and if he thinks he needed the time away from the game to get back what he used to have, I guess we have to respect that, even if we don't agree with it. Just add this week into the long list of questionable decisions from the once-number one in the world.
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2 comments:
Jeez nothing knew there then. I think its time he played more because he doesn't play enough. I am sure he will still be working hard out on the range to improve his game but its his fans I feel for. They want to see him out on the course. I am not a fan of Tiger Woods of the course but when he gets a round together on course you can only admire his play.
People complaining about this are ridiculous. What if Tiger had family obligations on Friday, not Tuesday? Obviously can't play if you have them on Friday, but if he's got no obligations Tuesday, why not go to EA Sports and do some work?
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