What History Can Tell Us About Tiger Woods' Future

Our political leaders can’t seem to do it.

Military leaders have never been able to do it.

Business leaders continually make the same mistakes over and over.

Maybe at least we sports fans can do something that the human race as a whole seems to have an unbelievably difficult time doing.

Maybe, just maybe, we can learn something from history.

Tiger Woods.

That single name typed into Google will literally bring back an endless number of news reports about affairs, mistresses, car accidents, 911 calls, overdoses and so-called ‘details’ of his pre-nupt.

Tiger Woods is indeed the biggest story in America right now, which considering the fact that we are in the midst of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression and tens of thousands of troops are on their way off to war, is a quite ridiculous and downright frightening thought.

We can never seem to escape that tendency to get caught in the moment.

A few large companies collapse and the President immediately dishes out billions of dollars so quickly that he forgets to tie any regulations to these massive bailout payments.

A baseball player goes 0-for-15, and every television and radio station in town is talking about how he should be traded immediately.

Right now, it seems as if the Tiger Woods story will never go away.  It is HUGE news and EVERYONE is interested in it.

Some are discussing whether or not Tiger’s sponsors will drop him.

Some are discussing whether or not he will ever be the same player again.

Some are discussing how this embarrassing incident could be “the end” of Tiger Woods.

Some are even questioning whether or not he will ever step foot back onto a golf course again.  

Folks, let’s all just take a deep breath and relax. 

Ok.

Now that you are relaxed, take a step back from this massive, all-encompassing story and think about recent history and the long-term outlook.

If you are having trouble doing so, here are a few examples.

Exhibit A: Bill Clinton

When Bill Clinton was impeached for having an affair in the White House and then lying about it under oath, it was the biggest scandal to hit this country since Watergate.

Just to put this incident into historical perspective – Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson are the only two Presidents in the history of our country to be impeached.  

People were discussing how Clinton was a complete embarrassment to our country.

He should resign immediately.

He is and always will be a complete disgrace.

It was huge news at the time, and his approval rating went through the floor.

Where is he now?

Clinton is extremely well-respected by most of the general public.  At the Presidents Cup he received standing ovations everywhere he went.  What he says these days seems to be valued by the public and hold more weight than what the sitting president says.

In essence, this whole massive, end-of-the-world incident slowly lost steam, and he has come out of it virtually – not completely, but virtually – unscathed.

Exhibit B: Kobe Bryant

When Kobe was on trial for rape, it was the biggest scandal since, well, Bill Clinton’s White House affair.

Thousand gathered outside of the court house in Colorado to verbally display their disapproval with Kobe’s actions.

The media was talking about how he may never be the same player again.

He would be heckled by his own fans.

This might by the one incident that would end his reign of dominance in the NBA.

Where is he now?

Within less than a year, Kobe was right back to where he was before the incident, and today, coming off last season’s championship, he might be more respected than at any other time during his career.

Exhibit C: Alex Rodriguez

Affairs, steroids, internal riffs with Derek Jeter…oh my!

This guy couldn’t get a sponsorship or advertising deal in New York to save his life at the start of the 2009 season.

The Yankees should trade him.

He’s more trouble than he’s worth.

His steroid use and altogether conceded attitude is a disgrace to our national pastime.

It wouldn’t have been at all surprising to see a mob of angry New Yorkers running towards Yankee stadium with their pitchforks drawn in search of A-Rod.

Where is he now?

Upon winning the 2009 World Series, A-Rod is now looked upon as the new King of New York.

Fans at the ticker-tape parade were cheering for A-Rod louder than any other player who came down the Cannon of Heroes.

Right now, he is more or less a sports hero in New York.

You see, these scandals and incidents inevitably go away.  They have been for decades and there is nothing at all to suggest that they won’t continue disappearing with the passage of time.

In a few weeks another juicy gossip story will come out, and most of the public will all but forget the Tiger Woods scandal.  

Two years from now, after Woods has won a number of golf tournaments, this situation will have evolved into one of those “Hey, you remember when Tiger Woods had those affairs a few years back?  Is he still with his wife these days?”

The only possible way that this thing isn’t going away with the passage of time is if Tiger Woods is never the same player again.

If Woods comes back next year and can’t hit the broad side of a barn with his putter and winds up never winning another major championship, then yes, Tiger Woods will forever be associated with this embarrassing incident.  It will indeed mark his ultimate downfall.

But if he continues to win, there is nothing at all to suggest that Tiger Woods’ name won’t appear right alongside of Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez and other public figures who overcame embarrassing scandals.

Maybe at least some form of a ‘womanizer’ stigma will follow him around for the rest of his career.

But to suggest that for some reason this scandal won’t pass like all the others is being naïve and is a clear example of how we can so easily get caught up in the moment.  

You see, what it ultimately boils down to is that we the public are more interested in scandals than anything else. 

Once Woods’ name leaves the headlines and a new scandal surfaces such as “Brad goes behind Angelina’s back and has an affair”, the public while dive head first into this next ‘HUGE’, ‘EARTH-SHATTERING’ scandal and Woods will be old news.

It’s just the way it is and always has been.

And if you don’t think that’s true, you should probably add your name alongside all those politicians and business executives who are to this very day still incapable of learning a darn thing from history.