Sports Sense

Let me start by saying that I am thrilled that Tiger Woods is healthy and was not seriously hurt in that accident outside of his home the other night. I selfishly want to see him continue to lay waste to his peers, because I am a huge Tiger Woods fan.

But that said, there are still some things I’ve heard and read about this accident that seem to defy common sense, and because of that, the old reporter in me is overriding the fan.

Making it worse is the fact that we have heard nothing from Tiger. This story is begging for a response from the world’s greatest golfer.

As I write this, it has been more than 48 hours since the accident happened and there are still significant unanswered questions about what now appears to be a bizarre domestic incident. But Tiger Woods has said nothing to anyone, not even the police to adequately clear this up.

For me the smoking gun is the report that the air bags in Tiger’s Escalade didn’t deploy, which unless there was a major malfunction, means the vehicle was not traveling very fast at all when it hit the fire hydrant and a tree. And you have to wonder how do you hit a fire hydrant in the first place – unless you are greatly distracted or enraged?

Further you question how Tiger actually got his busted mouth and was knocked unconscious from what is being called a minor accident.

The other suspect detail is that Tiger was trapped in the SUV and his wife Elin, in the house, heard the noise from the accident and upon seeing Tiger trapped had to use golf clubs to break out the car’s rear window to get Tiger out.

The timing for this could not be worse. It happens just as the tabloids are screaming that Tiger is having an affair. And the generally reliable TMZ is reporting that Tiger and his wife Elin, were arguing about that alleged affair just before the accident.

It is certainly possible that an angry wife dealing with rumors of an affair could do a lot of damage with a golf club. I’m not saying that’s what happened but most of us would understand if it did.

Obviously, I am speculating. But what else am I left to do? I’m human and celebrities, even the ones I like, are fair game to wonder about. We all do that.

I want to be wrong about all of my doubts, but what we know about this accident is coming from everyone but Tiger Woods and his wife.
And that is never good.

With millions of dollars in endorsements on the line, a reputation to protect, and a legacy to leave, Tiger Woods has a lot to lose by mishandling this incident.

Indeed silence is not always golden.

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I just got a startling reminder about how much our sports heroes can mean to us.

For a few painful minutes on Friday I didn’t know whether the world’s greatest golfer would live or die. I know I was not alone in my worry and concern.

Based on the amount of Twitter traffic alone, thousands, perhaps millions of people around the world wanted to know the same thing. Was Tiger going to be alright?

The first grim news reports simply indicated that Tiger Woods had been in an auto accident and was in serious condition at an Orlando area hospital.

For awhile there was no other information.

It’s been my experience that when the news reports are sketchy about the health of a public figure, it is generally not good news. I was even more certain that the accident portended nothing good for Tiger when I learned that it happened 12 hours earlier.

I wondered why we were just now finding out. I concluded again that It couldn’t be good.

So for about 30 minutes I thought the worst. I would never again see Tiger Woods play golf. I would be robbed of the chance to witness him break golf’s most important records – he was oh so close to owning all of them. And now I thought, it was all over.

Tiger changed everything about golf. But more importantly he changed the viewing habits of his legions of fans. That devotion helped Tiger earn record-setting millions for himself and his fellow golf pros.

But as I sadly pondered a Tiger-less future, almost out of nowhere came the best news of all: Tiger Woods had been treated and released from the hospital. He was in good condition according to reports with only minor facial lacerations stemming from the accident which occurred just outside his home.

While police say they will conduct an investigation into how the accident happened, one of the first things we learned early on is that apparently no alcohol was involved. For me this was at least one good sign.

But do I wonder how Tiger could crash his SUV into a fire hydrant, then hit a tree in the middle of the night only yards from his home? Of course I do. Reports from TMZ late Friday suggest that Tiger may have had an argument with his wife just before the accident.

But right now I’m just happy that he’s alive and well and able to swing a golf club again.

Grieving over the possible loss of one of the greatest ever sports legends put in clear focus just how much Tiger Woods’ success means to me. Tiger’s victories are my victories too! I am a fanatic after all – fan for short.

Tiger Woods is on the verge of making golf history, and I, like so many of his fans, am on this ride with him. I want to look back on this time – Tiger’s prime – with admiration and appreciation when I am an old man.

Obviously, Tiger’s close call demonstrated widespread and genuine concern about his health and well being, but the accident also put on display just how much he means to his fans as well.

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DavidBurnett Golf, Tiger, Tiger Woods Golf, Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods accident