Tiger Woods Has Got the Whole World in His Hands

He's getting away with something.

Something I couldn't get away with. That's the bottom line on the recent Tiger Woods story. That's what's bugging me. And I'm not even sure what it is (although I have my suspicions).

This episode reminds me (again) of the gulf that exists between sports figures and fans. And I keep finding myself on the outside looking at and in.

I can't even pull off not cleaning the litter box for a day before my wife is screaming at me at the top of her lungs. Never mind providing fodder for the paparazzi.

Are you kidding me?

Yeah, it's petty, I know. But it ticks me off that in our society, there's such a hideous discrepancy between celebrity and the rest of us.

I'm a teacher. And I'm proud of it. Love it. It's what I know how to do. What I'm best at. And I know that my rewards are of the intrinsic sort (that's getting tired too). But it'd be nice to have a "sweet ride" and a "bad crib," without having to slam, jam, thank you...(you know the rest).

But to play a sport and make multiple, multiple times what so many others earn? C'mon. This is what we must value. It's what we reward, isn't it? (Oh, and by the way, I'm tired of the "don't watch/don't buy the product" argument too." I've already bought).

The Tiger Woods story isn't about privacy, public lives versus private lives, or even arguing with your spouse. It's more about the difference between our lives and the lives of those we admire.

And it bothers me.