The Return of Tiger Woods

Honestly, I could care less. Seriously, I was not enthralled by the media hype when all of his marital infidelities came to light. Indeed, I found them rather telling of American cultural mores. If anything, the media blitz, the countless talk shows, the magazine covers, are all indications of the sad and sorry state of our public discourse. But lest I sound too elitist, I would like to point out Sandy Levinson's excellent commentary on Tiger Woods's return to professional golf. Sandy raises many interesting points, but what I found particularly nice was him taking Billy Payne, the chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, to task for criticizing Woods for disappointing "all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grandkids," presumably for his breaks with monogamy. Sandy correctly points out the hypocrisy of Mr. Payne, by comparing what Woods did to all the women he's been with, to what the many members of the Augusta National Golf Club, many of whom are corporate executives, CEO's, and investment bankers, have been doing to this country. Just so no one misses the "subtle" point, both were fucking us, though one could make the very plausible argument that the members of the esteemed golf club have done a far better job at it, with more dire consequences for the people in this country. Anyway, read Sandy.

As for my two cents, I always thought there was something delicious about the whole affair (pun not intended). It's always sobering to learn that one's heroes (though Woods was never my hero) are just as fallible as the ones who admire them.