The re-emergence of Tiger Woods, and his longer-than-expected return to dominance, has been almost as well documented as the War on Terrorism itself. Whatever the reason(s) for his on-course woes -- the kind of struggles, as it were, that most golfers never come close to achieving -- one of our better commentators believes the public has moved past the initial shock of a fall that's nearly as phenomenal as Tiger's legendary rise.
Marche's perspective is debatable indeed, but it is notable and equally thought-provoking nevertheless:
"We like to judge people for the pleasure of judging them. We'll hunt out the most squalid details of people's sex lives not because we believe their actions are wrong but just because we like seeing the wreckage of their suddenly human, blemished, relatably imperfect lives. ...
"Tiger will be redeemed; his story has already been written. As he enters Augusta, he is simultaneously and underdog and one of the greatest athletes the world has ever known. And when he returns to dominance -- whether this month in Augusta, at the U.S. Open in June, or the British Open in July -- he will be transfigured into a nearly perfect icon of irresistible sympathy: the supernatural specimen made human by sin who rises again. At which point Gillette and Golf Digest and Gatorade will learn the cost of taking our hypocrisy seriously."
-- from "Tiger Woods Will Be Redeemed" by Stephen Marche; Esquire, April 2011
