Eye of the Tiger

Tiger Woods is finally returning to the original source of his fame.

After months of embarrassing accusations and shocking revelations about his personal life, Woods has announced he will return to golf in the biggest and best way possible: At historic Augusta for The Masters Tournament. He’s certainly not out of the dirty mess that is not being labeled sex addiction, but he’s doing what he does best. He’s doing what he loves. Tiger is just going to play golf.

Many believe that athletes should only be athletes, and should be covered as such by the media that constantly surrounds them. But when Tiger portrayed himself as a public figure of chastity, the good guy of sports, and the successful problem-free family man, there is no question that the media had full right to exploit his blatant failure to live up to those qualities. Let’s face it; Woods was too busy popping up red flags to instead of focusing on the yellow flags that made his public figure what it is today.

And now, all that Tiger wants and needs to do is return to being an athlete; a public figure without expectations, other than to compete at the top level in professional golf. Of course, the media isn’t going to cover him as a problem free athlete at first. In fact, they’re going to do just the opposite. The cameras will zoom up on the sweat dripping from his face, the announcers will discuss the changes in his physical appearance and golf skills and the newspapers will critique his choice to rebound at the biggest tournament in golf.

But when things go wrong for athletes, the best thing for that athlete to do is return to their sport. Instead of being swallowed by the controversy, the attacks and the embarrassment, the only way to silence the critics is to go back to being athlete, and prove everyone wrong along the way.

Hey Tiger, maybe take some advice from Mr. Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben was accused of rape right before the start of the 2009 NFL season, but instead of getting caught up in the case, he went out on the field and performed at a top level; if anything, he was the best part of his team. Instead of talking about his alleged rape case, the media were talking about his great performance, his improvement and his commanding leadership of his team.

Kobe Bryant is perhaps a what-not-to-do portrait of Tiger’s situation. After an accusation similar to that of Roethlisberger, Kobe got caught up in the drama and media coverage. Impatient screamed from his game face, and his focus was clearly not on basketball. Fights between Shaq, Coach Phil Jackson and Bryant were common, and his struggles seemed to drown his ability to go back to being athlete. It took a while for Kobe to go back to just playing ball, but as soon as he did Bryant went back to being the LA hero, the admired hoopster, and arguably the best player in the game.

If Tiger struts onto the course and remains competitive in the tournament, who is going to care what did in the past? That is not to suggest that what he didn’t wasn’t wrong, or shouldn’t be scolded, but what can you say about an athlete when he or she goes out and does their job effectively.

If Tiger proves he can consistently compete again in professional golf again, everything about his personal life will eventually be dissolved from the public’s perception. As long as he stays away from unbecoming actions and controversial issues, and continues to push his career into places golf has never witnessed, everything will be in fine swing for Tiger. After all, he is Tiger Woods. He is one of the best to ever play the game, and that should always come first.