I remember when Lost started on ABC in 2004. I was immediately hooked, as a lot of people were. The island, the story, the characterization, Evangeline Lilly–you could tell it was going to be a special show.
Season two was fantastic; they opened the hatch and introduced the characters from the tail section. Following this was a strong season three, and as an audience we felt we were a part of something important. But before we even knew it, by season four, we were tuning in and watching one of the most horrible pieces of garbage to ever grace a television screen. Time travel? Alternate universes? What were these writers thinking? Did they have any idea what their identity was as a show anymore? What started out as an amazing journey for the viewer turned into a gigantic disappointment that spiraled down to a conclusion which made The Sopranos team think “You know what, we did a pretty good job after all.”
Sitting here days before The Masters, I can’t help but relate Tiger Woods’ career to one of these television shows that inexplicably collapses in front of our very eyes. We all know Tiger has been lost, but has he become Lost?
As a Tiger fan, this would be a tough thing to admit. I was eight years old when he won his first major, The Masters, in 1997, and from then on, that was it. Hee was our guy, accumulating a barrage of Major victories and establishing himself as one of the most dominant athletes of all time. When he won we high fived, when he lost we threw remotes. I didn’t so much grow up watching golf as I did watching Tiger Woods.
So, to believe that his career is over wouldn’t just be the end to a fandom that has lasted the better part of my life, but would severely decrease my interest in professional golf. Am I really going to get excited for Dustin Johnson to blow 25 shot leads Sunday after Sunday, or see Bubba Watson cry after winning the Travelers Championship that nobody’s watching? No, golf needs Tiger. There’s simply no denying the excitement he brings to the game.
This a man who won an 18-hole playoff in the 2008 US Open on a broken leg, the 2006 British Open using just irons, who at 21 was the youngest person ever to win The Masters (and he did it by 12 strokes). I’m not going to say that if it wasn’t for Tiger I wouldn’t be an avid golfer myself, but I couldn’t honestly say that about a significant portion of my generation.
I’m not conceding just yet that Tiger is done, because I don’t think he is. As anyone who’s ever swung a golf club before understands, this is a mental game, and right now, he just doesn’t have it. Tiger needs to shed the submissive attitude he’s assumed since the incident and get back to the person he really is.
People go crazy and write 2,000 word columns now when he curses after a bad shot, or spits on a green, and Tiger comes groveling back to the media with prepared apologies, delivered through visibly fake smiles. How quickly we forget this is the reason why we liked him in the first place. We like the fire. It’s what has separated Tiger from the field for the past 16 years. It’s like if Kevin Garnett helped LeBron James up on the basketball court–it doesn’t look right. I don’t want to root for someone who celebrates with a subdued cap tip after nailing an unbelievable shot. Golf is an emotional game, and the second Tiger started to suppress his emotions on the course in an attempt to mold himself into the image the media has demanded, his game hit the serious decline. He used to thrive on adrenaline, but now he looks like he’s playing chess.
From a golf standpoint, there have been glimpses of the old Tiger. He’s put together strong rounds, but winning a tournament requires four straight days of solid play, and we haven’t seen that from him in three years. The skill is there, but unless he stops thinking about his public image and starts concentrating on golf, we could be seeing yet another devastating collapse in the sitcom of life.
But this is Augusta, the place where it all began for Tiger’s career, and it’d only be fitting for him to have his rebirth here as well. I think back to this tweet when he was asked about his plans for the 2011 season, and he responded with “As Al Davis said ‘Just win baby.'” All right, Tiger. Let’s see it.