Tiger Woods' Fall Means That Golf Loses

The jealous and envious minds that are rejoicing in the current struggles of Tiger Woods aren't doing the game of golf any favors.

In a sports world of fewer and fewer phenomenons, a diminished Woods is no help for the good of the game.

Ever since he turned professional, Woods has been the dominant sports figure in the world, spanning an era from the departure of Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Michael Jordan from the sports scene to the present day.

Today, only Woods, Roger Federer, Sydney Crosby and Usain Bolt can truly be said to occupy the rarefied air of unique sports legend.

Woods was sailing along at the top of his game, until his personal life became public property.

Forced by moralists to become a model of a "family man," Woods' professional career is now suffering.

His game completely fell apart at last week's Bridgestone Invitational, where he may have had the most humiliating rounds of golf of his career.

It is clear that his head is no longer focused on golf.

The little things, the crucial in-between mental and physical steps that he did automatically, are now in abeyance.

He is now Tiger Woods in body, but not in golf spirit, a parody of himself, like Elvis Presley became in the 1970s, when he tried to prance around on stage, overweight in a white jumper suit.

Small minds might be happy to see an "immortal" struggling like the rest of us, but it does nothing for the game of golf.

Tiger used to make shots no other golfers would even try. That is gone, at least for now, and there is no knowing when or if it will come back.

Woods may now be heading to the place where recording artists land after their music stops making the current charts—a nostalgia band.

People may be saying, "Remember when Tiger was really good?"

Is it the human condition of envy and jealousy that is responsible for this?

Crucify Christ after he performs phenomenal miracles.

Draft Elvis into the army and then place him in family movies to tame him.

Punish Woods and others like Prince Charles for not being "family men."

Wouldn't it have been better to raise the level of every other golfer's play to Tiger's level instead of cutting Woods down to size?

Speaking of Jesus, his method was to forgive, heal and raise the down-trodden.

Everybody else it seems, looks for weaknesses in others, and then uses those weaknesses to bring about their downfall.