It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way . . .
Charles Dickens wrote those words in 1849 and they may sum up how Tiger is feeling right now.He is on top of the golf world, but his personal life is at an all time low. He is married to a beautiful Norwegian model/nanny, Elin Nordegren, but loses his dad to prostrate cancer.As great as Tiger is on the golf course, he is not immune to the normal trials of life and this will be the subject of debate over the rest of this year.Every time he loses, golf analysts will discuss his mental state during the mourning process.If he wins, then they will discuss how focused and competitively fierce he is even in this time of bereavement.
In the world of sports, fans can get wrapped up in the tragedy of their heroes because we have all suffered the loss of a loved one. When Dale Earnhardt died, the entire population of the southeast mourned his death. Women shopping in Wal Mart wore black for the entire month. It was a very sad event and yet Dale Jr. races on because he has a passion for NASCAR. His dad instilled that passion at an early age and Little “E” continues to honor his father every time he gets behind the wheel of his Chevrolet. Tiger Woods is no different. As the old saying goes, "Life goes on."
Some people have tried to paint an ugly portrait of a man who forced his son into golf. This is not the picture of Earl Woods that Tiger has shared with so many nor is it the description that is given in the book Start Something written by Earl Woods and the foreword by Tiger. Tiger and his dad enjoyed a very special relationship that only a father and son can understand.
While Earl was not a professional golfer, he loved the game of golf and it impressed Tiger so much that at the tender age of two, he could swing a club better than most amateurs today. Earl was an athlete, a green beret, and above all else, a father. He loved his son and his son still loves him. Tiger will continue to play and honor his father both on and off the course.
Speculation abounds about how Tiger will perform now that his father has passed away. Rest assured, Tiger will continue to dominate. Without the distraction of an ailing father, Tiger can now focus on winning and that should frighten the rest of the field. Tiger is probably the fiercest competitor on the golf course alive today. His mind will not wander back to how his dad is feeling in CA, but he can completely focus on his game. In fact, he may just bury himself in the one thing he loves almost as much as his dad and that is golf. There will be a time to mourn and a time to heal, but in the end he will return to golf with the passion that Earl Woods instilled years ago. Every time he steps onto a tee box, he will remember his dad and the lessons he learned.
For the rest of the PGA tour there can only be one message, “Be afraid, very afraid!”
SoCalSportsFan
**Condolences alone will not help, but as fans of the game and as human beings, our prayers are with Tiger and his family during this time.May we honor your father in death by giving you the privacy you deserve to mourn, but we selfishly wish your quick return to the tour.**
A nice take on the issue...a good response to the "other stuff"...that doesn't deserve mentioning.
I think Tiger will continue to play...and obviously, continue to be the best golfer on the planet...maybe in history. Tiger's next tournament win is bound to be an emotional one for him...
Look at what Michael Jordan did after the death of his father. There was a time of confusion for him...leaving the game for a while. But he would come back with a vengeance, and return to glory.
No, I don't mean Michael's appearance in "Space Jam". I was referring to his return to the NBA...in case you were wondering.
The passing of Tiger's father is very saddening. He helped bring the world's greatest golfer to where he is now through his dedication to his son, helping establish the legacy of Tiger being the best ever.
Perhaps it is better for Tiger to be able to put his father to rest than to have to see him suffer, only Tiger knows for sure. One thing is certain however, Tiger will continue to dominate the competition and will be recogonized hands down as the best ever to play the game by the time he is ready to hang em up.
ShooterB and G, he is definitely going to end up in the top three for me. It will not be an easy task as he gets older to win 8 more majors, but he is capable. Regardless, he is the best golfer of this era and a human being. I lost my father a few years back, and I know how it feels. No one wants to hear people criticizing your deceased parent, and Earl was nothing but kind to Tiger, demanding, maybe, but in love.
I agree with your MJ assessment as well. Good point.
The magnification of Woods' father's death will only hit him in months to come, when he hears favorite songs his father liked or looks to call his father after a win and there is no one to reach out to physically.
It's all a part of life that we all must go through and I'm sure he will continue on his good golfing ways.
Thanks Crabman and Josette for the nice words. I know personally what Tiger is going through having lost my dad to cancer a few years back. It is a part of life.
i'm pretty sure if i was in an individual sport, such as tennis or golf, i'd seriously think about just taking an extended break after a family member's death. taking nothing away from tiger or others that have pressed on, that's just something i think i'd have to do for a while. if it were a team sport, you want to contribute to the team, if you think you can.
i'm not a big golf fan, but everyone who loses a loved one deserves some sympathy and be allowed to grieve in their own way.
here's to hoping tiger, and all others who lose someone close to them in the course of their respective sport's "season" can carry on with dignity, grace, and the emotional capacity to withstand the grief of such a low point in life.
Though the situations don't compare, obviously, having lost my mother just a few weeks ago I can appreciate where Tiger is right now. Life goes on, one way or the other, and you have to participate. But, you can decide to what limit you are going to participate. I think those of us who enjoy the game of golf should understand Tiger's need for some "me time" right now, and know that he WILL be back and just as good (or better) than he was before. Good piece, SoCal.
Nice post socal. Condolences and prayers go out to Tiger and his family. I'm not sure I want to think about how Tiger is feeling due to the loss of his father, it can't be imagined. I hope he takes the time to mourn, and return when he wants to. He's earned it. Good work!
though my father passed recently, tiger'll get no condolensces from me. there's something comforting about hundreds of millions of dollars. tiger would not've offered neither a prayer nor a dime to a family that struggled to bury a combat veteran of two foreign wars.
dont pray for the likes of tiger. pray for the parents who bury their children every month. pray for the commanders who have to send letters and tell people that their youngest was killed because he was improperly trained at Fort Relaxin Jackson.
Tiger's father's death is splattered across the papers because Tiger is so famous.
While I am not a believer that a millionaire is above personal pain, I do believe that the parent who has to bury their soldier child is so much more distressed than someone who has Tiger's millions.
Or for any of us who has had to bury a parent, I'm sure my worry of "how am I going to pay for my mother's casket" isn't much of a consideration for someone like Tiger and his father's funeral.
As I said above, we all have to go through it. I'm not bitter towards Tiger because of his millions and his loss. I just think we should treat this like we would a friend. Not put him on a pedestal because he's special at golf.
GAMEOFF: [for those who dont know... i generally post as the bad guy. please dont take it as a personal attack. its only meant to inspire debate. i recently buried my father and expect to bury my mother within the next 2 years. its a difficult thing. there is a madness to my method]
GAMEON: lets be real here: Tiger doesnt read the Obituaries and offer prayers for all the people who die alone and on social security. he doesnt visit the families of people who fight to maintain his right to make millions playing a game slightly less lame than table tennis. i really dont believe most of us realy care - its just fashionable to say these things.
apparently spellcheck is optional... my bad. could someone spot me a spell check - the last thing i need is Socal getting on me about my horrible typing skills
Actually the exagerated and false grief that fans may show for the death of Tiger's father is about the same as the exagerated and false grief for our soldiers......I always wonder why people have to be so mouthy in their adoration of and sympathy for the troops. Who are they trying to impress?
Like these characters like Sean Hannity......Okay Sean, we've heard about the dead soldiers and how great they are 100,000 times from you. We know how you feel........And the classic thing is very few of these big mouth patriots actually served themselves. I love it when Hannity says now he wishes he had served....LMAO...It's like they are kissing the #### of the troops non-stop to compensate for their own cowardice.
To Wes and Demon: Guys enough of the political jargon. This topic is not about Bush, soldiers or debate. It is a piece about Tiger Woods' father passing away nothing more. Why do people such as yourselves have to inject some kind of off the topic #### all the time? Not every topic is made for debate noe should it be. The problem I see with these blog sites is what just happened in this one. Someone can't stay on topic and starts spouting off at the mouth about something outside the topic. Why can't bloggers stay on topic?
Socal I highly recommend you delete their comments altogether no reason to have such filth on such a good topic.
For those who choose to demean the passing o####reat man, yes a great man who served his country as a green beret, then that is your choice. Earl Woods was not just Tiger's father, but he was US Veteran and a good man who deserves our thoughts and prayers as much as our current soldiers do. Why does one thing have to exclude the other? I do pray for our troops as well.
As for Tiger's millions, I am sure he would trade them all in to have his dad back. I personally lost my father and father in law recently, and my wife and I would give all the insurance money and things back to have our parents alive and be able to share our children with them. This does not and should not be about how wealthy Tiger is. He is a person and in his time of loss, I feel sorry for him. He will have a microphone shoved in his face everytime he is out in public asking how he is dealing with the death of his dad. Would you not get tired of that??
Last edited by socalsportsfan on May 5th at 8:22 AM.
Good post and good tribute SoCal. It goes to show that no matter the person or his riches, cancer levels the field. No matter who you are in the world, nice guy or ####, you might find yourself a victim of something that doesn't care. Let's just hope the ####s die of it first so we may die in peace.
Josette I have tried so many times to fix it but i can't. Haz man has posted my blogs for me. Ieven tried to open I new blog and don't know how. anyone can help here anytime!!!! Thanks for the compliment.
Sexstarved. It is so true how the Big C is not picky. I am running in the Revlon Run Walk Next Saturday at USC For Breast Cancer. I could use all the support I can get. I was a Sprinter in College, distance is not my thang. but Iam going to try and beat last years time. 33 minutes to run 3.1 miles.
SoCal - thanks for attempting to write he positive about Tiger and his father. My dad is my best friend, best man in my wedding. In the last 5 years we have buried my mom, both of my in-laws, within 4 months of each other, and our son.
With all of this I am sometimes conflicted when I hear about a famous woman who is terminally ill with breast cancer (which claimed my mom) and the out pouring of condolences and affection and the grieving family members and I ask myself, "Why is this woman any more important than my mom?" "Why does she need to get all of this attention?" But then I am quickly reminded that my mom would never want the attention that the famous people get. My mom would never want us to have to share our feelings of grief with the general public. My mom would be much more concerned that we help each other to help my dad and my siblings to carry on. And then I think that through the illness of this famous person, perhaps attention to the disease brought about by the attention, will help foster continued research so that one day another guy won't have to mourn the loss of his mom to breast cancer. The sad thing about this happening to someone famous is that there are people who will always take their shot, appropriate (as this piece is) or not, as some of the comments we have read and responded to have been.
Perhaps Earl Woods, my mom, in-laws, and son, are in a better place.
SoCal as always good post
It sucks that guys like wes and demon can turn something that should be reserved for thoughts and prayers into a political argument but i guess it should be expected...esp. from wes.
anyway great post and i completely agree with you that I would be willing to bet that Tiger would probably trade the millions if it meant he could have his dad back. Theres more to life than money.
so this is where we are now? censorship? delete comments that offer genuine (harmless) debate on a subject. lets all step-to and do the party line dance. there's an easy way to keep people from disagreeing with you - turn off comments. the very first post i read on this site included a comment from socal berating some slob for deleting comments. so i'd have a hard time believing it if he shucked a chance for a real debate.
either way, my point was that we only prop him up because he was famous. it's similar to the average American kid not being abole to find LA on a map or sing the first strain of the national athem - but can tell you all about his/her latest pop icon life.
is it horribly sad that tiger lost his father? yes, i was desimated when i lost my father. is it a wonderful story? yes - he was a good dad. was this guy Ghandi or MLK or even Ellis Marsalis? no. i'd much rather hear Gcoach's story than his. and i'm not sorry about that.
No one is asking you to be sorry demon, but the powers that be give bloggers the ability to delete comments or not for a reason.
My problem is that you bring in soldiers who are dying and Earl Woods was a veteran. Somehow you are turning the death of Earl into what about the soldiers. They are not mutually exclusive. We can mourn Earl Wood's death and the soldiers.
As for GCoach's mother, as I said in my blog, we all have experienced the pains of losing a loved one which should make us understand what Tiger is going through right now. The difference is that when my dad passed away, or G's mom, we did not have every media outlet shoving a mic in our face to see how we feel. My post deals in part with how Tiger will respond. I do not feel sorry for him that he has millions, I feel sorry that he will have to answer the same senseless questions over and over again. His dad died. Let him mourn in peace. If you want to write about soldiers dying, by all means do so on your own blog and see how much attention it brings. It is a valid topic, but not here on this post about a golfer and his dad.
Rae, thanks for the comments. Good luck in your run!
Ct, thanks too. It happens and you know who to expect it from. Those types of comments are seen for what they are, individuals who are rarely heard in public or on their own blogs so they vent on the MPB everyday.
Last edited by socalsportsfan on May 5th at 10:06 AM.
Is it somewhat a good thing when someone famous gets a disease that could effect us and our families? Is it fair to believe that a considerable amount of Tigers future wealth could be donated to the cure of cancer? Maybe the only way we are reminded of our own humanity is threw the loss of one famous person or in the case of Thailand and New Orleans the loss of many who may be lost forever individually but remembered forever as one. Is Earl Woods a spokes person for all of those inflicted with prostate cancer now? I think so, at least until Americas short attention span moves on. Charity is just a word. Humanity is an action.
Jack Nicklaus unfortunately lost his father at the same age Tiger Woods has. Whether you're 30 or 3, losing a parent is always difficult. Watching Tiger for all these years I think its safe to say he will persevere through this eventually.
Also have to respect how Earl guided his son to being the well-rounded athlete physically and mentally on the golf course.
Socal, Im going to write something on A sports fans dream which I am about to fullfill tomorrow night. Give me 15 and it shall be posted. Thanks.
Hey Socal, nice job. Everyone knows that elite athletes have different ways of getting themselves psyched up and focused on the task at hand, since the games, matches, competitions, etc. are long and grinding.
If Tiger decides to play, say, the rest of this season in tribute to his dad, if he uses that as a focal point, he could end up having the most successful season ever for a golfer. I wouldn't say that's out of the realm of possibility.
I agree that Tiger is going to continue to dominate even after his father's passing. Honestly, knowing Tiger and how he is, this is only going to make him stronger.
Demon with all due respect just b/c someone deletes your comment does not mean you are censored. You still have a blog and an outlet available to you. FoxSports provides that option for a reason, particular for people who cannot stay on the beginning topic, which if you ask me needs to be exercised alot more than what it currently does by all current bloggers.
The media as a whole uses famous people such as Mr. Woods as a symbol to further achieve there goal, sometimes it is for awareness as in diseases such as cancer or breast cancer, which they should do b/c it is about the only honest thing they report on, on a consistant basis. The problem though will bleed into Tiger's affairs everyday with the constant hounding about his father's death which is I think the unfortunate part of the media machine. Instead of being able to move on Tiger will end up having his father die 1000 times over b/c the media will hound him on it every single day. I don't wish that upon anybody. Be glad your mom or dad is not famous b/c you would be the one answering the questions every single day, having that death brought back up, it keeps the wound fresh and open longer than normal.
It's really sad, but maybe it'll make him stronger. Like Brett Farve did after his father died he came with a huge game. So maybe Tiger will come out with a few good tournaments in the next few weeks.
Detroit, I expect Tiger to mourn for a few weeks. I would not expect him back before the US Open, but I would watch out for him in that tourney. One more major.
Some people have tried to paint an ugly portrait of a man who forced his son into golf. This is not the picture of Earl Woods that Tiger has shared with so many nor is it the description that is given in the book Start Something written by Earl Woods and the foreword by Tiger. Tiger and his dad enjoyed a very special relationship that only a father and son can understand. 
Speculation abounds about how Tiger will perform now that his father has passed away. Rest assured, Tiger will continue to dominate. Without the distraction of an ailing father, Tiger can now focus on winning and that should frighten the rest of the field. Tiger is probably the fiercest competitor on the golf course alive today. His mind will not wander back to how his dad is feeling in CA, but he can completely focus on his game. In fact, he may just bury himself in the one thing he loves almost as much as his dad and that is golf. There will be a time to mourn and a time to heal, but in the end he will return to golf with the passion that Earl Woods instilled years ago. Every time he steps onto a tee box, he will remember his dad and the lessons he learned.
