Michael Swickard
“But I want to say one thing to the American people, I want you to listen to me, I am going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky…” former U.S. President Bill Clinton at a Jan. 26, 1998 news conference
Eldrick Tont has a birthday and Christmas coming up, but this is not a very happy time in his life. As everyone who has any access to news knows, he made some “bad choices” in his personal life that recently came to light in the press, and the feeding frenzy is on for everything true or not that can be said about him.
Despite his personal troubles, there is something we all can learn from him. Each of us can envision the gold he holds — and it is not possessions, it is his name. A century from now people may speak of him as they now speak of Red Grange or Jesse Owens or Ben Hogan.
Most people only know him by his nickname, Tiger. However, he may be far more recognizable in the world than Joseph Ratzinger, who in April 2005 became Pope Benedict XVI.
Many first saw Tiger on the Mike Douglas Show in October 1978 as a child prodigy in golf. He was three years old and had an attention-getting golf swing. Tiger has been an attention getter from that time on, and currently has a lock on the person with the most words written about for 2009. He knocked President Obama off that podium in just one month of stories.
He has not bought his clothes off of a rack as an adult; his clothes are made for him. He does not have to take his shoes off at the airport; he has his own aircraft and a yacht to boot. He has more money than he can spend, unless he buys a country.
There is the trophy wife and two kids, one boy and one girl. In short, it would seem he has everything that we normally think is connected to happiness. He wanted more, and that is what got him into the news. This billionaire said to himself, “I deserve this, and more.”
Our name is all we have
He got more, and with that more came a lot of things he did not want. He kept wanting much more. His motto was, “Too much is never enough.” One thing he now has plenty of is problems in his life.
He appears to own so much, but what does he really own? In actually, he does not really own any of the material things; he is just holding the keys to them until his death. Everything he thinks he owns becomes someone else’s upon his death.
He does own one thing, and that one possession is his name. There is only one Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods, and no one can take that away from him. He is just like George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Jimmy Stewart and Bob Hope. They all held property until death when it became some else’s possessions. But even now they own their name.
What affect will this month have on Tiger’s name? He can ask William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton. If we were a polygamist society, Bill Clinton might as well have married that woman, Lewinsky, since her name and his are entwined forever and ever, amen.
I am rarely compared to Tiger Woods other than in golf — as in, “Well, he is no Tiger Woods.” The lesson we can learn is we must take care of our name; it is all we really have. In my mind I am far richer than Tiger and Bill Clinton in that if I am remembered at all it will be only for myself. The loss of a good name is like virginity, once lost never regained regardless of the reason lost.
The price of fame
Some people see Tiger with envious eyes. They wish for just a few seconds of fame to hear the applause and see themselves celebrated. They see his moments of triumph and never see him in pain from a boil on his butt. He never loses his charm, as long as he is in the public eye of his creation. But that time is over.
The moments of fame can be a bitter pill. For some people fame is thrust upon them, such as Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who had less than a second of fame that will last a lifetime. In October 2003 he was jerked from obscurity by a foul ball play in front of him in the stand that may have kept his team from winning the game. He has had death threats and over the years has been haunted relentlessly.
We are not always aware of the price of fame. Michael Jackson will never be remembered just as an entertainer, nor will O.J. Simpson. Some people would jump at the chance to change places with Tiger, but I would not. He has had his last nice moment in the public. Yes, he may win more glory in golf, but from now on everything will be written with an asterisks: He cheated on his wife so he probably cheats at golf.
It would be nice to teach this lesson to young people, but they would probably not listen any more than Tiger and Bill, who should have known better but did not think clearly or listen to good advice.
Swickard is a weekly columnist for this site. You can reach him at michael@swickard.com.
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