"But they want to see him come back when he’s dealt with his personal issues and he brings the right comportment to the game."
I managed to miss this great moment in television history, but CBS's PR team was kind enough to transcribe the Commissioner's comments on Tiger:
CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz interviewed PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem during the Network’s broadcast of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship on Sunday, February 21. During the interview, Nantz asked Commissioner Finchem for a reaction to Tiger Woods’ comments on Friday.
Nantz: I have to ask you. You were in the room, we saw you on Friday when Tiger held his gathering. What was your reaction to what you saw, what you heard?
Commissioner Finchem: I thought it was a very solid first step. And a solid step for him in his process in what he has to deal with. My sense is that people want to see him come back and play. But they want to see him come back when he’s dealt with his personal issues and he brings the right comportment to the game. For him to specifically say, I want to rebuild the trust that I’ve had historically with parents, with kids, and I want to bring and enhance respect to the game when I come back, I think those were very powerful things to focus on. And in doing so, he sort of set the bar for himself. He said judge me by my actions and not by my words. And let’s face it, we’ve watched this guy over the years, when he gets focused on achieving something, he typically gets it done. Clearly, that’s where his head is right now. I saw a real strong determination in his face. He’s our number one player. Obviously we want him back. We want him part of the game. But to see him, as he said, it’s not so much what you achieve but how you can overcome. He’s got a lot to overcome now. But I think he has the bit in his mouth to do it. And I certainly wouldn’t bet against him.
Geoff
**The video, for those of you who ran out of Ambien this weekend. Wait, bad example. I meant Sominex.
Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 01:54 PM
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Reader Comments (20)
Talk about 'arrested development'; TW has a lot of growing up to do, problem is, its too late.
look into your crystal ball and tell me if I will win the lottery.
Of course his obstacles are of his own making. That doesn't make them any easier to overcome. He participated in building up this enormous hubris. He was assisted by the media and a huge coterie of hangers-on. Like a lot of powerful, charismatic, rich people, he began to feel the rules didn't apply to him and that he was invulnerable. He must have felt that way to have dodged the Enquirer bullet two years ago, but to have continued along the path of self destruction.
The question is whether he has the inner strength to come back on the personal front, on the competitive front and on the public relations front. It's quite a combo platter, there can be no doubt. It will take all of the psychic energy and focus that a person can bring to bear. He has shown signs of that in the past, but the question is whether he has permanently damaged that indomitable part of his inner self.
For the sake of the pro game, I sure hope not. Golf needs more than that gallery of what, five hundred, that watched the Match Play today. God help the game if he doesn't come back. It will go into a sports coma of sorts for quite awhile.
I'm not saying he doesn't have obstacles to overcome, and I'm not saying I hope he isn't able to do it. I'm saying this recently introduced mantra of "what you overcome" is execrable because it a) lays the groundwork for a victimology narrative, b) sets him up to be applauded simply for adhering to accepted social mores, and c) is simply wrong and ridiculous.
People are judged by the good and bad things they do in life. What they may have overcome to do those things is nothing more than back story. I mean, Thomas Jefferson's father died when he was a teenager. Is that why he's on the nickel? Hitler overcame an abusive father and limited painting skills to rule nearly all of Eastern Europe. Why no kudos?
Anyway, I agree with all of your points, which are separate from this diatribe. I just hope against hope that this absurd new motif -- which has appeared now in Jaime Diaz's article, Tiger's speech, and Finchem's interview -- doesn't become further ensconced in the cataloging of Tiger's climb back to acceptance. Tiger will be judged by two things, and two things only: his golf skills and whether or not he continues to be a douche.
So, please, journalists, if you're reading -- spare us the obfuscating inanity of this Palinesque meme.
And, if you can't help yourselves, then, just go ahead and gag me with a spoon.
--FS
2 in 6 billion.
Unless you count Hagen's Western Opens.
Consider as well that Woods formative years were most likely golf, golf, golf, rather than girls, girls, girls, and.... Remember the sheltered, overly protected kid's wide eyes when exposed to college? They became some of the most perfect heathens I've ever seen. Making up for lost time I surmise.
Whether professional golf actually needs Tiger Woods is very much an open question. Even Nike Golf seems poised to do better with its current "staff" than they did with Tiger and Tiger alone (bless Phil Knight's little heart). Did the housing market "need" what happened to it from 2000-2008? A lot of people made a lot of money, but look where we are now. The business of professional golf rode the Tiger Bubble for all it was worth. Unfortunately, he was unworthy of our admiration, our money, and our attention. Which isn't to say that he wasn't the best golfer qua golfer who ever lived. Oh, well. If Professional Golf can't survive this, it doesn't deserve a second thought. As for the small crowds at Dove Mountain, what would you expect with only four golfers on a course that looks not to be very spectator friendly and is the middle of nowhere if my Google Map is correct (I don't think the Nicklaus course is even on that particular satellite picture)? Let's see how things are in Phoenix.
If I may, your implied line of reasoning is quite poorly conceived, but, at least your ability to wildly --almost bafflingly -- misinterpret is remarkable. I wish you luck with it.
Good day, sir.
I am,
Fo Shiz Merriweather III, M.D.
So only Nicklaus and Tiger have beaten the odds, in the history of golf...I think everyone would consider that incredible!
(go back and watch the 2000 PGA again if you need a refresher on how difficult it is to win a major)