I believe I speak for many of us when I say I now know more than I ever wanted to about Tiger Woods.
Every day when I sit down to the computer to begin a long day of goofing off, it seems the first thing I see is another “Shocking Revelation” about Tiger Woods’ love life and marital strife.
Shocking? Please. It’s only shocking if you care. And I cannot recall ever wasting a single minute wondering about the state of Tiger Woods’ home life.
Unfortunately, it’s the perfect story for our celebrity-crazed times.
We are awash with celebrities, folks. The current rate seems to be about one celebrity for every 10 households. You see them on TV. They’re in the newspapers and magazines, and not just the trashy ones at the checkout counter. They’re all over computers and Blackberries. And for most of them, their only discernable means of employment, their only talent, is ... being a celebrity.
(Case in point: The Kardashian sisters. What exactly do they DO, other than being Kardashians?)
Anyway, back to ol’ Tiger. Now, I’m not suggesting that we ignore the fact that Tiger pranged the Family Battlewagon during a late night/early morning excursion, or that his wife had to get him out of the wreckage with a seven-iron (not her best club; she duck-hooked it). I’m not even saying we should ignore the revelation that Tiger may have had one or more extra caddies toting his tour bag.
What I AM saying is it’s being blown WAY out of proportion. It knocked all sorts of real news out of the headlines, and that’s just stupid. Or, to use my preferred spelling, S-P-Triple O-P-I-D. Stoopid. Because you have to stoop pretty low for this kind of stuff.
Personally, I don’t care what Tiger does in his spare time. If it’s true, I feel sorry for his wife and kids, and for him, too, for being so messed up. Not that it matters to any of them.
But I also feel sorry for us, because the world we live in has really important stuff going on, and we’re missing it by pandering to those who obsess over Tiger, the Kardashians, Real Housewives of Various Cities, et al.
Of course, somewhere in the discussion someone invariably trots out the old “But he’s a role model for our youth!” argument, which is a bunch of hooey. I don’t buy it. The athlete-as-role-model began to die off when Curt Flood (rightly) challenged the Reserve Clause and baseball free agency was born. Role model devotion takes time to build, and you can’t very well make a role model out of Joe Shlabotnik if he’s playing in your city one year, Cleveland the next, and Denver the year after that. Besides which, given the general lowering of the behavioral standards and the speed with which we find out about celebrity transgressions, anyone who encourages a kid to take an athlete as a role model these days is just asking for trouble.
So where does this leave Tiger in the Pantheon of American Golfers? The top, as usual. American Husbands? That’s none of my business. American Role Models? Behind the real ones — teachers, doctors, soldiers, sailors, public servants, volunteers … it’s a long list. He’s at the back of the pack and not likely to make the cut. Which should not be shocking at all.
In the endless argument over whether the rich pay their "fair share" of taxes, Republicans have the better argument: U.S. tax laws are already steeply progressive - the top 1 percent pay 36 percent of federal income taxes while the bottom 50 percent pay next to nothing. And while not all wealthy people create jobs, it does take those with wealth to create them.
I'm old, white, and male. Three strikes and I'm out - disqualified, according to today's identity police, from having any legitimate opinions or making any pronouncements about race in an increasingly race-obsessed presidential campaign.
Welcome, friends! It's time once again for that fabulous game show: "App or No App!" The show where you decide if the app (short for application because that is way too long of a word) is real or not real. Today we explore the wonderful world of Facebook apps! Join us, won't you?
When it comes to the pantheon of Hoosier sports heroes - Johnny Wooden, Knute Rockne, Bob Knight, Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Rick Mount, Bobby Plump, George Gipp - the newest name will certainly be Peyton Manning.
I realize this is a sentiment usually expressed by people who wear colanders on their heads in order to keep the CIA from reading their thoughts. That, of course, is just ridiculous. The CIA does not read people's brain waves. Queen Elizabeth does.
Mitt Romney summoned all the righteous indignation he could muster after a Newt Gingrich ad called him "anti-immigrant." Romney blasted the ad shortly afterward in an interview: "It's just inappropriate."
The city where I hang my shingle, or would if I did something shingleworthy, is all abuzz with excitement over the SuperDuper Bowl, which is coming to town one of these days soon. I forget which.
Commentary
They have a Tiger by the tail, and I wish they’d just let go
BY MIKE REDMOND
I believe I speak for many of us when I say I now know more than I ever wanted to about Tiger Woods.
Every day when I sit down to the computer to begin a long day of goofing off, it seems the first thing I see is another “Shocking Revelation” about Tiger Woods’ love life and marital strife.
Shocking? Please. It’s only shocking if you care. And I cannot recall ever wasting a single minute wondering about the state of Tiger Woods’ home life.
Unfortunately, it’s the perfect story for our celebrity-crazed times.
We are awash with celebrities, folks. The current rate seems to be about one celebrity for every 10 households. You see them on TV. They’re in the newspapers and magazines, and not just the trashy ones at the checkout counter. They’re all over computers and Blackberries. And for most of them, their only discernable means of employment, their only talent, is ... being a celebrity.
(Case in point: The Kardashian sisters. What exactly do they DO, other than being Kardashians?)
Anyway, back to ol’ Tiger. Now, I’m not suggesting that we ignore the fact that Tiger pranged the Family Battlewagon during a late night/early morning excursion, or that his wife had to get him out of the wreckage with a seven-iron (not her best club; she duck-hooked it). I’m not even saying we should ignore the revelation that Tiger may have had one or more extra caddies toting his tour bag.
What I AM saying is it’s being blown WAY out of proportion. It knocked all sorts of real news out of the headlines, and that’s just stupid. Or, to use my preferred spelling, S-P-Triple O-P-I-D. Stoopid. Because you have to stoop pretty low for this kind of stuff.
Personally, I don’t care what Tiger does in his spare time. If it’s true, I feel sorry for his wife and kids, and for him, too, for being so messed up. Not that it matters to any of them.
But I also feel sorry for us, because the world we live in has really important stuff going on, and we’re missing it by pandering to those who obsess over Tiger, the Kardashians, Real Housewives of Various Cities, et al.
Of course, somewhere in the discussion someone invariably trots out the old “But he’s a role model for our youth!” argument, which is a bunch of hooey. I don’t buy it. The athlete-as-role-model began to die off when Curt Flood (rightly) challenged the Reserve Clause and baseball free agency was born. Role model devotion takes time to build, and you can’t very well make a role model out of Joe Shlabotnik if he’s playing in your city one year, Cleveland the next, and Denver the year after that. Besides which, given the general lowering of the behavioral standards and the speed with which we find out about celebrity transgressions, anyone who encourages a kid to take an athlete as a role model these days is just asking for trouble.
So where does this leave Tiger in the Pantheon of American Golfers? The top, as usual. American Husbands? That’s none of my business. American Role Models? Behind the real ones — teachers, doctors, soldiers, sailors, public servants, volunteers … it’s a long list. He’s at the back of the pack and not likely to make the cut. Which should not be shocking at all.
© 2009 Mike Redmond. All Rights Reserved.
It's question time!
Question number one: How much would you pay for a great pair of jeans? $50? $100? $200?
February 10, 2012
In the endless argument over whether the rich pay their "fair share" of taxes, Republicans have the better argument: U.S. tax laws are already steeply progressive - the top 1 percent pay 36 percent of federal income taxes while the bottom 50 percent pay next to nothing. And while not all wealthy people create jobs, it does take those with wealth to create them.
February 10, 2012
First they come for the alcohol, then for the tobacco, then for your sugar.
February 10, 2012
I'm old, white, and male. Three strikes and I'm out - disqualified, according to today's identity police, from having any legitimate opinions or making any pronouncements about race in an increasingly race-obsessed presidential campaign.
February 7, 2012
Welcome, friends! It's time once again for that fabulous game show: "App or No App!" The show where you decide if the app (short for application because that is way too long of a word) is real or not real. Today we explore the wonderful world of Facebook apps! Join us, won't you?
February 6, 2012
When it comes to the pantheon of Hoosier sports heroes - Johnny Wooden, Knute Rockne, Bob Knight, Larry Bird, Reggie Miller, Rick Mount, Bobby Plump, George Gipp - the newest name will certainly be Peyton Manning.
February 6, 2012
You have to be careful what you say these days.
I realize this is a sentiment usually expressed by people who wear colanders on their heads in order to keep the CIA from reading their thoughts. That, of course, is just ridiculous. The CIA does not read people's brain waves. Queen Elizabeth does.
February 3, 2012
Mitt Romney summoned all the righteous indignation he could muster after a Newt Gingrich ad called him "anti-immigrant." Romney blasted the ad shortly afterward in an interview: "It's just inappropriate."
February 3, 2012
The city where I hang my shingle, or would if I did something shingleworthy, is all abuzz with excitement over the SuperDuper Bowl, which is coming to town one of these days soon. I forget which.
January 31, 2012
A man once said, "those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it."
January 31, 2012
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Has Indianapolis done a good job of hosting the Super Bowl?
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