Tiger Woods Does It Again: Why the World Doesn't Need Superman

He landed on the greens like a visitor from another planet, appearing during an era where the game had become boring and tired.  His strength, his size, his skills, even his skin seemed alien and otherworldly. 

No one had ever seen anything like him.  He was more powerful than anyone we had ever seen, and he could drive the ball a mile.  His tee shots would echo across a golf course; his drives soon became the stuff of legend. 

People would line up for hours, even days before a tournament, just for a chance to watch him warm up.  Little kids (heck, adults) wanted to be like him.  He took the game of golf to heights it had never reached, and then he kept right on going.   

He wore red on Sundays, trading in his secret identity in exchange for a chance to show the world that nothing, not even a runaway train, could stop him.  At one point he became bigger than the game.  In fact, there was a time when he was the game.

There were video games, commercials, television specials, endorsements and shoe contracts galore.  He put on green jackets like some heroes put on capes.  Someone might even have made an action figure or two using his likeness.

He was the hero everyone had been waiting for, a savior in slacks and swooshes.  He was Superman.  He was Tiger Woods.   

Like all superheroes, he had his enemies.  He was simultaneously envied and revered.  Some of his peers loved him; they understood what he was doing for the game and for their pocketbooks. 

Others disguised their fear with loathing. They knew they could never touch him, and they saw their careers slowly disappearing into some type of phantom dimension.

He was often misunderstood by a public who thought they knew everything there was to know about him.  At times, he appeared to be in desperate need of a weekend or two in a fortress of solitude.

He had no weaknesses...or so we thought.  Then in the morning hours of Nov. 27, 2009, the world found out that Tiger Woods did have a weakness.  Suddenly, he had his golf bags full of arch enemies taking shots at him.

For more than a year, he weathered the storm.  Weakened by his very own kryptonite, he took his punches, waiting for the time when he would return to full strength. 

A few months ago, he did come back.  Those hoping for his return were excited, feeling like something had been missing from the game.  Others who were let down by their hero believe the game no longer needs him.

We want to cheer for him like we cheer for all of our heroes.  We want to believe in him like we once did, but every time he takes a step forward, he quickly takes two steps back. 

Just when desperate fans are ready to look up to him again, he spits on the game...literally.  This Tiger Woods seems more like Bizarro than Superman.

Despite his mistakes, Tiger Woods did his job: he saved the game and made it better and more popular than it has ever been. 

He broke down barriers and opened doors.  He brought the game of golf out of the country clubs and put it into the hands of everyday people. 

But now, his time is done.  Maybe its time for Tiger to find a new planet to save. 

In the meantime, we'll keep our eyes on the heavens as we wait for the next hero to take his place.  Up, up and away, Tiger.