Thursday, August 19, 2010

"Sunday Red, With Elin Tire Tracks"


That's what I am calling the PGA Championship final round shirt. You can go ahead and use that one folks.

Finally, somebody has come out and just said it: "Tiger's done." Drew Magary, writing for New York Magazine, lays out many compelling reasons.

The most compelling however, is this:

Perhaps Woods would have been able to withstand this horrible year if there were an actual person behind all the ads. But there isn't. Athletes like Woods and LeBron James were raised to cultivate a brand identity, and when you're raised that way, your brand identity becomes your actual identity. There's no separating the two. Woods spent his entire life cultivating his image, and when that image was destroyed, he was destroyed. There was no actual person to fall back on. No separation of church and state.

When Tiger Woods had the image of being an indestructible force of nature, he was precisely that. He needed that reputation. It fed him. And now that it's gone, he has nowhere else to draw strength from. Tiger Woods built his perfection upon the illusion of it. And that's why, as far as major championships are concerned, Tiger Woods's career is now over.


REACT: Bullseye. The existential "who am I" and "why am I here" is core to any performer being excellent. Let's say you see a world class concert pianist perform at Carnegie Hall. You might not think he has much of an ego. You would be wrong. That guy believes he was born to play the piano on a stage like that, and it is what he lives for.

Same for Tiger. Only now, all of the logic and reasoning behind the "who" and "why" of Tiger Woods is tangled like fishing line in deep weeds. Maybe Tiger can un-sort it. Maybe he can find a "real person" to fall back on.

If I had to bet, I'd hedge against it.

13 comments:

  1. Tiger is like the the little man behind the curtain and the end of the Wizard of Oz. He is trying to convince us to pay no mind to that little man but we all know he is there.

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  2. OK Czabe, I love golf and you love golf. But enough Tiger fucking Woods!
    I want to hear (or read) your take on Tony Dungey. Who the hell is he to tell Rex Ryan that he cusses too much? Fuck Tony Dungey!!!!

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  3. Contrast Woods with Nicklaus. Tiger married after his career had taken off, and after he apparently he was known for sleeping around. For all we know, Jack was a virgin when he married Barbara. Jack was not a media creation. He lived a real life when he was winning all his tournaments and majors. What does Tiger (who changed his given name to that!) have to fall back on now that the Potemkin village has come crashing down. While I have actively rooted against him as a golfer, I am rooting for him to find peace in life. And that does not come through winning tournaments and breaking records. Just ask Phil.

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  4. The biggest pile of rubbish ever was the narrative pushed by the "Tiger is God PR Machine" that he was mentally tough. He was "mentally tough" because nobody ever dared criticize, rather everyone lined up to kiss his waitress-banging ass. Now that he's a target he has basically crawled into a fetal position. Done. The specter of performance-enhancing drug use is also still lurking.

    And I also agree with the poster above; who the heck is Tony Dungy? When did he become John Wooden? Dungy under-achieved for years, he should shaddup!

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  5. Dungy did a real good job with Vick. So good that Vick got all tangled up in that mess at his 'open' brithday party celebration. They are both dumbasses.

    Looking forward to your show on SNR.

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  6. is there a black guy you guys like?

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  7. Who cares? It's GOLF for chrissakes!

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  8. I'm so glad Tiger's finished. The excitement created by Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell and their clean-cut ways is so much more appealing. It's a win for the family!

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  9. Srini, that's the difference between us and you. You immediately think, "ooh, what color is that guy?"
    While we just think of Tiger and Tony Dungy as a golfer and a former coach. Plenty of black athletes I like, but I like them because of who they are, not what they look like.
    Who's the racist now?

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  10. Srini....Hank Aaron, David Robinson, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, Oscar Robertson, Charles Barkely, Ronnie Lott, Reggie White, Donovan McNabb, Mike Singletary, Willie Mays, Darrell Green, Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson, Marvin Hagler, Terry Cummings, Joe Carter.....you get the idea.

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  11. Who the hell is Tony Dungy?? He rode Peyton's coattails to a Super Bowl! Average coach and one shitty analyst on Sunday Nite football

    Oh yeah....and screw Tiger too!

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  12. Kind of like Mike Tyson after Buster Douglas. Look what happened once the aura was gone there.

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  13. Till, go back and actually listen to the interview with Dan Patrick. Dungy was asked his opinion. What was he supposed to do, lie? He just said he personally would not hire someone like Rex Ryan. He is entitled to his opinion just like you are entitled to yours.

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