I do.
For the past three nights, the Tiger Woods story has lead NBC network news. Really? It is odd how circling the corporate wagons around infidelity of a sports hero seems so fluid and natural: the media equivalent of a three hundred yard swing. Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world by an arm's length. Ok: he's a public figure and newsworthy. But the lead story three nights in a row? So far as I am aware, an aggrieved wife and family are the only ones forced to wrestle with a husband's infidelity. But other cultures-- some of whom our economy depends on-- are perfectly fine with polygamy, mistresses, prostitution etc. So what is the Tiger Wood's saga really about? Under the weight of tight budgets, widespread fraud and political instability, under the massive uncertainties from trillions of taxdollars spent on wars, from taxpayers supporting millionaire bankers to global warming-- the absence of resolution is frightening and focuses people's attention: perfect for advertisers selling protection: from Plavix, lung function, bone density, to Lunasea and that little blue pill. Speaking of which, if all his corporate sponsors dry up, Tiger Woods could hit a hole in one selling Viagra. But he would still have his wife to answer to.
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Tiger Woods should have restricted his cheating to rich married women. They have too much to lose. They never save voice mail and text messages.
You would understand this if you read "Empire of Illusion", the end of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges.
He says, "The worse reality becomes, the less a beleaguered population wants to hear about it and the more it distracts itself with squalid pseudo-events of celebrity breakdowns, gossip and trivia. These are the debauched revels of a dying culture."
He is naive, he married too young before he found out who he was, he is a playboy, he has a dumb wife, and my guess is he has a lot of "yes" people around him. Someone should have told him the way he was carrying on was a formula for disaster not just for him, but the whole golfing industry. Clearly no one around him knows anything about managing a crisis.
You don't hit a billionaire husband across the head with a golf club just because he has been screwing around. You get with your lawyers, confront him with a deal, and tiptoe out the door. When the press hears about the divorce everyone has long departed and made the adjustment. And there is no disruption in the money flow.
By the time the other women found out, its too late to get money from him or impact the situation.
But with the kind of women he is working with, he will have a lifetime of drama and lots of Jerry Springer material.
Talk about not taking a page out of the David Letterman playbook...he got himself out of the media coverage within days... and he's the type of guy who used to constantly make fun of people caught up in these types of things.
I think we got real problems to worry about.
BTW, thank you for providing me with a new quote...
:)
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But can he play golf any more?
I agree on the bread-and-circuses element, which is why to me the only relevant angle to non-family members is the business one, which at least has repercussions within the sports biz, marketing, corporate strategies etc.
Of course the hypocrisy and disparity between public face and private action -- particularly as it relates to power, sex, class and privilege -- has been a focus of humanity for as long as civilization has existed.
Now I have to go back to reading my Bible.
my thoughts are: I don't care who he does, I think we need to keep our noses out of it and it would be great if we didn't discuss the sex life of everyone in the paper.
First, I want to know whether a celebrity who gets into a bizarre one-car accident outside his house gets the same treatment as everyone else. This is especially true when the celebrity has been drinking alcohol and taking strong medication and who snores and mutters to himself outside his vehicle.
Second, I want to know if a celebrity representative who vouches for products I am considering to purchase is a cheater and a liar in his personal life. That's because when I purchase his products, our personal lives overlap. I want to know if a celebrity will lie to his family and friends because I need to assess whether he would lie to me about the product he endorses.
Lexus: They all lie.
If you didn't have a problem when Woods was inserting himself daily into our newspapers and tv's to endorse products based on his reputation, you shouldn't have a problem with the scandal coverage now. Count me in as someone who loves it when a rich, two-faced, cheating bast@rd self-destructs.
Well, he finally made golf interesting.
Now whenever I see a cute hostess or cocktail waitress I will be wondering if she is just waiting to give her phone number to a another Tiger Woods type.
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