Tiger News?

I am always a little surprised at the media frenzy when a celebrity is caught in a moral transgression. I don't find it especially fascinating, but the majority of the American public must--otherwise it wouldn't CONSUME the news media for days on end. It's easy to blame the media circus, but they are, after all, presenting stories that get "ratings". If people weren't tuning in, they would soon go on to real news.

The latest news fad is Tiger Woods. It was a relief to let Michael Jackson go for a while, I'll admit, but this story has the potential to drag on forever.

I've never been a fan of Tiger Woods. I'm not even a fan of the game of golf. I have played a few times, and I will admit that Woods is good at a difficult game. But golf is a GAME, not a sport. As Columbus, GA comedian Tim Wilson correctly puts it "Anything an 85 year old man can whip me at is a game. If you can't get your nose broke in it, then it ain't a sport." Woods was recently named "Athlete of the Decade." I don't think so. If he can hit a 98 m.p.h. fastball or get back up after he has been leveled by a 350 pound man, then maybe I'll change my mind.

Here's a news flash: being good at something does not make someone a good person. This is true in sports, entertainment, business, politics, religion, and almost any other endeavor mankind pursues. We are all human, and therefore all subject to commit all kinds of evil against ourselves and each other.

Perhaps Tiger Woods can withstand the current media frenzy and one day resume his exalted status. In the meantime I think I'll turn off the T.V. and go read a book.