Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tiger, Tiger burning bright

Between 5 and 8 p.m. yesterday I watched four TV newcasts: two local, one national and one "ethnic" -- in a language spoken by a large ethnic group. The lead story on all four was -- you guessed it -- the return of the Tiger and his "news" conference.

Why would this be the top news story of the day? It's not as if it was a slow day. The U.S. consulate in Peshawar was bombed. There was a mine accident in West Virginia. Over 100 coal miners were rescued from a flooded mine in China. A 7-year-old was gang-raped in Trenton NJ.

A sex abuser was pardoned in Canada. And of course there was gang violence and gun crime as usual. But hey, Tiger Woods is returning to the golf tour. Now that's news -- even in an ethnic community with little interest in golf!

Sadder still, Mr. Woods is big news not because he did something good, but as a result of frequent and serious moral lapses...or "bad choices" as we say these days. I'm not condemning him. If I was as "gifted" (as the term was used in Blazing Saddles) as the Tiger, I'd probably be putting it about too. But it seems to me that would be a personal affair between me and Mrs. Walt, and probably a divorce court judge. Why is it such a big and public deal?

The answer seems to be that we are obsessed with celebrity and celebrities. We celebrate their peccadilloes. In the case of Mr. Woods, we are delighted to see that his feet are indeed made of clay, even though other appendages seem to be of sterner stuff.

He has joined the ranks of David Beckham and Britney Spears -- past his prime in his chosen field by still at the top of the League of Great Train Wrecks. He is now, truly, famous for being famous.

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