The Tiger Woods thing

Gossip is not the bane of this blog nor is golf (despite the title) but this Tiger Woods thing is too interesting to pass up for a variety of reasons.

No surprise it took 12 hours to get the story out--Woods is not only the world's best golfer but an international corporation based on image. Instapundit pointed to a recent deal with Dubai, for instance. Then there's his standard endorsement package. Part of the image is that he's a trailblazing pioneer in his field of endeavor, much like the current president.

TMZ says they were fighting. Not sure how credible that is but speculation is usually caused by a lack of credible information. Is it common for Woods to zip out at 2:30 AM for anything short of an emergency? He's a dedicated golfer, but c'mon it takes a nut to hit the driving range at that hour. That itself might ruin his image.

So what, then? Most married couples would believe they might have been fighting based on the presented circumstances. Maybe they got into it, he headed for the Escalade, and she followed him out the door with the very thing he loves dearly. Maybe she took a few practice swings on the back window for effect and it startled him enough to slice off the road into the woods for an unplayable lie. After all, they are only human.

But Tiger is also part image. It'll be interesting to see how the media treats this going forward, if they do at all. It's worth noting they never veered away from Daly's peccadilloes, but big John was just a country boy from Arkansas and you know, those razorback rednecks do have a certain image. Daly only has to live down to his image, though. Tiger, and in the same regard the new president, may be dealing with images that are impossible to live up to--for anyone.