It seems as though more and more athletes these days are falling off of the 'respectable' ladder. Most notably, there is Tiger Woods, but there are a variety of other athletes (Plaxico Burress, Ben Roethlisberger, Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson etc. etc.) who are no longer moral citizens in the eyes of the public. Whether it be with sex, drugs, alcohol, or firearms, these athletes have made very poor lifestyle choices. The one thing that I can't understand is when someone says "I can't pull for Tiger Woods anymore since he cheated on his wife" or "Tiger Woods is not one of the greatest golfers of all time anymore."
I call this The Tiger Woods Effect. Rigdon definition: the belief that an athlete's personal image should mar or strengthen that same athlete's sports image. I don't care that Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. He's STILL the best golfer in the world. He's STILL the savior for golf ratings. Ben Roethlisberger is STILL one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Allen Iverson is STILL one of the best point guards of all time. Sure, the things that they have done are despicable, but what people need to realize these days is that there needs to be a separation between being a ROLE MODEL and a SPORTS MODEL.
I think the valuable aspect of sports is that, unlike other 'face-time' professions like politics, acting, and broadcasting, when a player hits the field, one can forget all of his/her personal problems and truly marvel at the greatness of a player. So, when Tiger Woods tees off again, do not think of the actions he has committed off the field. Think that you have the opportunity to watch one of the greatest golfers of all time play the game.
PS. Watching Old School right now in case you wanted to know.
Disagree T-rig, the moment Tiger started dominating the game of golf he became a role model not just a sports model and he made it that way. A person worth looking up to has true sportsmanship and character on and off the field. This is why they media loves Tebow and love(d) Tiger. In a world of slutty hollywood stars and egotistical athletes these players were someone parents could point to and say "look at Tiger, he's got unbelievable talent and money but he's still classy, respectable, and grounded" Well not anymore. As much as you may disagree sports and more specifically ESPN is nothing but an ENTERTAINMENT business. We go to football, baseball, basketball games for ENTERTAINMENT which puts it in the same category as movies and concerts. Its the writers job at ESPN to take stories and turn them into ratings. Everything they do is all about making MONEY. Im sure you've seen the sportscenter commercial where DWade is editing film trying to get as much face time as possible. Sorry to break it to you but thats how this business works. It is all about facetime and things like having 14 affairs gives anchors something to talk about besides where Lebron is going to go for the 103948th time. As long as there are commentators like Verne Lundquist life on and off the field will ALWAYS be mixed. Love you ;)
ReplyDeleteRespect, and I agree. I think we're heading in two different directions though. I'm stating in my own biased opinion that people-not entertainment-should enjoy Tiger and other athletes for what they do on the field. I know that media does a great job pounding it in our heads, but I think anyone can still enjoy Tiger's greatness. He lost his role model status for sure, but he can still be a sports model (which I believe is someone who is truly respectable by how great they are within the game).
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