Defending Tiger!!

This may not be the most popular article I’ve ever written, but I’ve had enough.

Tiger Woods haters have been waiting a long time for him to screw up so they would have a real reason to hate him, and sure enough he gave them just that at the end of last year. If you don’t like a player or a team then that’s ok; that’s why Rivalry Rage exists -- to give you fans a place to come and talk smack about your teams/players rivals. But not cheering for Tiger because of his recent off course failures is what is really starting to frustrate me.

Don’t get me wrong, Tiger Woods screwed up, he screwed up BIG TIME, and what he did was beyond selfish to his friends and especially his family. In fact, in my opinion, it’s THE most selfish thing you can do to your family. However, I believe he is trying to do the right thing at this point and I believe he understands the damage he has done. While that doesn't make it go away, he has done far more than a lot of people in the same situation in trying to own up and make things right...maybe some don’t like his "attempts" (press conferences, etc.), but he’s trying to make things right and I truly hope he continues to do so.

Tiger Woods is the biggest figure in sports because of what he has done on the golf course, not because of his personal life. Believe and say what you will, but I really do believe Tiger Woods is now at a point in his life where he is focused on changing who he has been, and that he desires to become the man that so many of us thought he was all along.

I also believe Tiger is not only sorry that he got caught, but sorry for the damage he’s caused to the game of golf and especially to his family. We can point the finger and hate on him all we want, and while there's no excuse for the things he has done the last couple of years, come on people...it’s time for us to move on and let him move on as well.

Like the old saying goes, “It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but only a short moment to tear it all away." Tiger's image has no doubt been damaged, possibly forever, but let us not forget that he’s human just like the rest of us.

As you can tell, Tiger Woods was and is still my favorite, and that’s because of his desire and passion to play his best on the golf course. I wish he had done things differently off the course and I was terribly disappointed in him when all this happened, but I also know that WE all make mistakes (some bigger than others for sure), but if everyone in the world stops pulling for players in any sport (professional or not) every time they/WE screwed up, none of us would have anyone left to cheer for, and none of us would have anyone left to cheer for us either, on or off the course.


Stephen Bethea aka "Dr. Smack" – Rivalry Rage, Inc.