Tiger Woods Rolls Into New Sponsor

"I guess I got my swagger back, truth ... New watch alert, Hublot’s ... Or the big face Rollie I got two of those ..." 

The above quote wasn't said by Tiger Woods (shocker), that would be Jay-Z on one of his latest tracks, "Otis," off Watch the Throne, but maybe it was meant for Tiger?

The golfer announced a deal on Wednesday that he'd be teaming back up with Rolex, a partnership that lasted from 1997-'02 before ending with Tag Heuer dropped more cash his way.

It's the first big endorsement deal Tiger's landed since he hit that tree two years ago in his Escalade, and it means a lot more than you think.

Why? Because maybe this is the first step in the long-awaited swagger return for Tiger. Maybe he needed someone to jump back in his camp and toss some cash his way, and that "somebody" didn't need to be some Japanese rub cream. Tiger needed a big company to tell him they believe in him, so maybe he could start believing in himself again. It sounds dumb, but understand, athletes are fragile creatives, insecure in most ways, and always trying to get the next pat on their back. Sure, Tiger never looked like he needed that, but who knows if that's the case. Why else would he have been chasing tail like a Florida State freshman?

The Rolex deal could turn out to be just a drop in the pond for sponsors returning, but if he went out and did something this week, and became Tiger again, I'm sure he wouldn't soon forget the first company back behind him before the floodgates opened.

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