Tiger Woods - What's the Issue?

I was listening to a talk show host rant and rant about how he and some of his friends had hoped that Tiger Woods would lose the Masters. The idea is that because Tiger is such a miserable human being, he should lose in whatever he does, and that will be justice.

I have to say, my thoughts are a little different. I don't really care if Tiger wins the Masters. He plays golf; it's what he does to make his living, and apparently, he's not so bad at it.

As an aside, I must also point out that I live in a house of golfers (not me) and I have never been a Tiger Woods fan. There has always been, in my eyes, a smarminess and a smugness to Tiger that has been unattractive at best, off-putting at worst -- I just thought he was kind of a dick.

And I have never once in my life called anyone a dick until this moment. It's just that I prefer to write with the utmost precision, and "dick" is the best word in any language to describe Tiger Woods. Think about it.

So, Tiger has his problems now and everyone knows that he is, in fact, a dick. And still, I don't really care whether or not he wins the Masters.

The thing that I will say: I will never buy a piece of merchandise with Tiger Woods' name on it. Not a pair of shoes, a golf ball, or a Slurpee. I have kids, and Tiger Woods is simply not the guy I want them to emulate. He can win the Masters as much as he wants, or can. In his lifetime, however, I don't see him reaching the heights of his earlier career in golf, and why would I pay to honor the name of some has-been sex addict who also happens to be a liar and a philanderer and who had so little regard for his own children? Why would I pay anything into the coffers of a guy who would treat his kids so badly?

Nike can continue its sponsorship of Tiger. That's fine. Stupid people may buy some Tiger socks -- but never again, I'll bet, for what they once paid.

And that's a big shame for Nike, which, as a corporation with shareholders, should be ashamed of itself. How foolish of Nike to put all of its golf eggs in Tiger's very unreliable basket.