Tiger Woods: America Is Ready for Tiger's Return to Dominance

Tiger Woods made golf exciting to people who would have never thought the game was exciting. His dominance was the game's selling point for years. He was an icon the likes of Muhammad Ali or Michael Jordan.

And then the scandal hit, and it all went away. Tiger's fall from grace was swift, vicious and unprecedented. The intense hero became the despicable villain. He was not to be rooted on, supported or liked.

But time heals all wounds, and heading into this year's Masters, one thing has become apparent:

America is ready for Tiger Woods to dominate once more.

Brad Lendon of CNN spent an article talking about the various people that are happy to see Tiger playing well again, and the reasons they have for supporting the controversial superstar.

One section in particular drives home the point in my opinion.

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Thousands of patrons lined the fairways on Augusta National Golf Club's front nine Tuesday morning as Woods played a practice round. They crammed themselves as many as 10 deep around the greens and moved from tee to green like waves going up each side of the fairways.

"I think he's going to bring a lot of people back to the game," said Will Brown, an Augusta resident who was following Woods with his wife and two sons. "He's good for golf."

As he spoke, his son Zeke, 6, tugged at his father's pant leg, begging to go to the practice tee to wait in line for Woods' autograph.

"He's very special," Zeke squeaked about his favorite golf star.

"

Be honest—unless you're a hardcore golf fan, have you really cared about golf since Tiger's game became irrelevant? Unless you follow the sport religiously, do you know who the top-ranked golfer in the world today is?

No, probably not. And it's Luke Donald, for the record.

It's funny to mention Michael Jordan in this article, as in a way the two's career arc could wind up being similar. If Woods recovers and becomes the world's top golfer once more, his hiatus from dominance would very much parallel Jordan's sabbatical from basketball to play baseball.

All Jordan did upon returning was lead the Bulls to three straight NBA championships. Without him, the NBA just didn't feel the same. The most dominant, most compelling and most marketable player in the game's return was a pretty big deal.

Just like a return to form for Woods will be.

It's what America wants. It's what golf needs.

Will the Masters usher in the second age of Tiger's dominance? It's hard to say. But the fact that it now seems a legitimate possibility instantly makes this year's Masters so much more interesting.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets will remain Linsane in tribute.