TIGER WOODS
It’s been said that history repeats itself.
From the biblical days of David and Goliath, the mighty have been proven fallible. And fall they will.
Never would I criticize anyone for a lapse in moral judgment. I’ll leave that issue to be dissected by the participants, a marriage counselor, or their clergyman. What I will do is point out a fascinating trend showing up with some very rich and powerful people.
Pete Rose was a baseball immortal. The all time hits leader, his first ballot induction into Cooperstown was a mere formality. But Pete made a gamble he thought he could win…betting on baseball and denying it until the truth was so evident even his massive ego couldn’t refute it any longer. Now he is left on the outside looking in…banished from the game he played with an intensity rarely seen in sport because he thought he was above the rules.
William Jefferson Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States. I make no statement here about his politics, or his dalliances with Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, or any of the rumored others. That is his business, and Hillary’s. What was not his business was putting his hand on the bible in sworn testimony as the chief law enforcement officer of the greatest country in the history of the world and lying….be it about sex, the weather, or a Quarter Pounder with cheese. He became the first President since Andrew Johnson to be tried for impeachment, and shamefully ended his term of office in a shroud of disgrace and innuendo.
Michael Vick was a star quarterback in the NFL with a hundred million dollar contract and the city of Atlanta eating out of his hand. A penchant for fighting dogs and a streak of immeasurable cruelty landed him in federal prison and forfeiting his contract. He has since been given another chance professionally, but with far less prestige and money.
Senator John Edwards betrayed a cancer stricken wife and fathered a child by his videographer, and is now accused of using campaign funds to cover it up….Plaxico Burress brought a loaded handgun into a nightclub in the city of New York, shot himself in the leg, and negated a contract that would have paid him over forty million dollars……Bernard B. Kerik was nominated by George W. Bush as Director of the Department of Homeland Security after being lauded for his assistance to Mayor Giuliani in the aftermath of 911, and was just sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud and lying to government officials….OJ Simpson is back in prison where he belongs on a kidnapping charge after his farce filled trial in the murder of his wife Nicole Brown…..Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa put the juice back into the national pastime, and more than likely into their veins as well.
My personal preference is that Tiger Woods comes back and plays golf soon because I enjoy watching his incredible talent and will to compete. He still has a chance to best Jack Nicklaus in majors, but a rise to the popularity of a Mohammad Ali and establishing a historical credential that may have never been rivaled again in sport has faded like a badly sliced drive. To me, it really just doesn’t matter that much anymore.
Another example the mighty have fallen again…..who’s next?
It’s been said that history repeats itself.
From the biblical days of David and Goliath, the mighty have been proven fallible. And fall they will.
Never would I criticize anyone for a lapse in moral judgment. I’ll leave that issue to be dissected by the participants, a marriage counselor, or their clergyman. What I will do is point out a fascinating trend showing up with some very rich and powerful people.
Pete Rose was a baseball immortal. The all time hits leader, his first ballot induction into Cooperstown was a mere formality. But Pete made a gamble he thought he could win…betting on baseball and denying it until the truth was so evident even his massive ego couldn’t refute it any longer. Now he is left on the outside looking in…banished from the game he played with an intensity rarely seen in sport because he thought he was above the rules.
William Jefferson Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States. I make no statement here about his politics, or his dalliances with Monica Lewinsky, Paula Jones, or any of the rumored others. That is his business, and Hillary’s. What was not his business was putting his hand on the bible in sworn testimony as the chief law enforcement officer of the greatest country in the history of the world and lying….be it about sex, the weather, or a Quarter Pounder with cheese. He became the first President since Andrew Johnson to be tried for impeachment, and shamefully ended his term of office in a shroud of disgrace and innuendo.
Michael Vick was a star quarterback in the NFL with a hundred million dollar contract and the city of Atlanta eating out of his hand. A penchant for fighting dogs and a streak of immeasurable cruelty landed him in federal prison and forfeiting his contract. He has since been given another chance professionally, but with far less prestige and money.
Senator John Edwards betrayed a cancer stricken wife and fathered a child by his videographer, and is now accused of using campaign funds to cover it up….Plaxico Burress brought a loaded handgun into a nightclub in the city of New York, shot himself in the leg, and negated a contract that would have paid him over forty million dollars……Bernard B. Kerik was nominated by George W. Bush as Director of the Department of Homeland Security after being lauded for his assistance to Mayor Giuliani in the aftermath of 911, and was just sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud and lying to government officials….OJ Simpson is back in prison where he belongs on a kidnapping charge after his farce filled trial in the murder of his wife Nicole Brown…..Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa put the juice back into the national pastime, and more than likely into their veins as well.
My personal preference is that Tiger Woods comes back and plays golf soon because I enjoy watching his incredible talent and will to compete. He still has a chance to best Jack Nicklaus in majors, but a rise to the popularity of a Mohammad Ali and establishing a historical credential that may have never been rivaled again in sport has faded like a badly sliced drive. To me, it really just doesn’t matter that much anymore.
Another example the mighty have fallen again…..who’s next?
Ken,
ReplyDeleteSome great thoughts - I am going to order a copy of your book.
Chuck