Living as sports newest hero just isn't as
easy as you might believe
By Terry Pluto / Knight-Ridder Newspapers
AKRON, Ohio -You are Tiger Woods.
Right there, that's hard to believe.
But try it. Imagine being Tiger Woods - and, never forget,
you are 21 years old.
You can start by thinking about your bank account.
Actually, you can't.
You've already made so much money - and have so many people
counting it and investing it - there's no way you have any idea
how much you're worth.
So you really don't think about money.
You try to think about golf.
After all, that really is what this should be about - golf.
You are a golfer, period.
Only, you're not.
You're supposed to be a social statement. You try to tell people
that you're not really black ... not Asian ... not Native American
... not any one thing.
You are a little of everything, a one-man Rainbow Coalition.
But a lot of people refuse to buy that. You are supposed to
be the great African-American hope in the white world of golf.
Every word you say is weighed in a social context.
Fuzzy Zoeller says something dumb, now what are you going to
do about it?
You say something dumb to Gentleman's Quarterly, and what are
you going to do about that?
No matter what happens, it seems, someone expects you to do
or say something about it.
Already, some professors and other supposed bright lights are
verbally spanking you for not taking stands on racial and other
critical issues.
What are they talking about? For most of the kids your age,
the important question is this: Should I drink a beer that is
less filling, or tastes great? They worry about final exams and
Saturday night dates.
And you're supposed to speak out on affirmative action? Welfare
reform? Ebonics?
Hey, I'm just a golfer!
If you are Tiger Woods, there have to be times when you just
want to scream that at the top of your lungs.
If you're Tiger Woods, you don't hate your life. You just have
to wonder exactly what you got yourself into - and where it all
will lead.
A few years ago, you were the best amateur golfer in the world,
but you still could walk through the mall and no one would recognize
you.
Now, everywhere you go, there are state troopers and/or other
bodyguards. There are men in suits with cell phones pressed to
their ears. There always seems to be a mob of your people keeping
the big ger mobs away.
Your critics say you should have thought about all this before
you turned your life over to Nike. You should have known what
those commercials would mean.
Remember the commercial where you talked about not being allowed
to play at some country clubs?
Granted, some cynical advertising type wrote those words, but
you said them. You should have known that would set you apart
from the likes of Palmer, Nicklaus, Norman and the rest.
After that commercial, after the $40 million Nike deal, you
should have known that you'd never be the same kid who loved to
play golf - and would play all day without being paid a nickel.
Maybe someone even told you that. Maybe someone gave you The
Price of Celebrity speech.
But how were you really supposed to know what that means?
When all this began, you were 20 years old.
Now, you are right up there with Michael Jordan as one of the
most recognizable faces in the world.
Others have compared you with Jordan, and you are pleased.
Not only is Jordan the greatest basketball player we've ever seen,
but he also has handled his fame with grace and had remarkably
few public snafus.
Just about everyone likes Michael Jordan - just as most people
like Tiger Woods.
That should be good. It should count for something that blacks,
whites, Asians and everyone else can at least agree on the talent
of an athlete.
But some people tell you, "Don't be like Mike."
They tell you to go ahead and offend some people, say what
is really on your mind.
But if you even look the wrong way at a fan, you are called
arrogant.
Sometimes, you know you just can't win.
In fact, some people are beginning to wonder if you will win
again - at least another major tournament.
Yes, you overpowered Augusta, but look at what happened at
the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA. You have played nine
holes in those tournaments at a whopping 22 over, because you
tried to make amazing, unmakeable shots.
Now, people have found your flaw.
You gamble too much, overestimate your own talent.
First, they attack your character, now your game.
If you're Tiger Woods, you have to remember that you are only
21.
You have to remember that you have messed up before and you'll
do it again. But when that happens, the world doesn't fall off
its axis.
Then you have to take your clubs and head out to the course.
Remember how you love this game, and go out and play it that
way.
(Terry Pluto is a sports columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal.
Write to him at: Akron Beacon Journal, 44 East Exchange Street,
Akron, Ohio 44328.)
(c) 1997, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).
Visit Akron Beacon Journal Online at http://www.ohio.com/.
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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