Tiger Woods: The Return To Glory

Every man must fall. Yes, to fall he must! But redemption is a choice.

This year is proving to be a good year for one of my favorite athletes. Not so much for his win but for his incredible journey of triumph, fall from grace, and eventual victory against all expectations.

Tiger Woods as a person truly embodies elite athleticism, his talent was recognized at an early age by his father, trained, and grew gradually by spending time with the golfing greats until it was his time to claim his own greatness. He claimed it and amassed all the major trophies in his sport eventually becoming a recognizable face in the golfing world and the sports fraternity at large. To a novice, you had to know Tiger woods he was easily recognizable in his signature red Nike jersey. This man was a brand. Reader, notice that in his most recent iconic victory he was in this same signature look.

Tiger Woods celebrating his 5th Masters win on Sunday 14/04/19.Image courtesy of Tiger Woods Centre

Behind this famed athlete was a normal man, with his fears, anxieties, and ambitions. Yet he was forced to accept a demigod status, from his fans and the world alike. I think for any celebrity to be relevant you have to possess that star quality that inspires awe and mystery among people. A celebrity by their talents must accept the demigod status, because who would want to follow a simple person just like themselves?

Well our dear Tiger Woods, fell into this narrative. He was a winner, he brought in money from many endorsements. He was good at Golf and he was famous for what he did. Tiger Woods was that person everyone adored. Little did we know he had his own weaknesses in his personal life and he was plagued with injuries just like a mortal person. Just like you and me. He worried, he was stressed, he was addicted and he desired many forbidden things just like us. It seems he was just like a normal man. I am sure his loyal fans would not want to believe this. Tiger Woods was what everyone wanted to be associated with, he was a winner with the perfect image and talent to bring in victories.

Remember as all men are the same, his fall would eventually come. Yes, because he was a normal man. His fall eventually came in a mighty one that shook the whole world. Disappointed fans asking why he allowed himself to be a normal human being. Feeling sorry for themselves that Tiger Woods revealed his normal self, we all wanted to cling to the winner and not to the occasional weak person nursing injuries in his body and mounting scandals in his personal life. It was not fair to his loyal fans. His weakness was not acceptable. As an elite athlete granted demigod status having a scandal and consistent injuries were not part of the deal. Here was a man who by pure talent was supposed to win trophies and be a super brand. We do not want to watch him limping off the golf pitch, No. That was not the Tiger Woods we want to see.

The Eye of the tiger.Image Courtesy of Tiger Woods Centre

The pale shadow of the once elite athlete, retreating into his own world ashamed of his normal self, his only chance was to keep doing what made him known in the world, which was to play golf. Finally, this was his time to redeem himself. Tiger Woods kept going on, his demigod status stripped from him. But all he had was an opportunity to rise again and play the beautiful sport well.

Tiger Woods lost lucrative endorsements and key supporters. Everyone called for him to quit because the thought of a normal human being playing this sport was not enticing anymore.

His winning ways all faded into history, Tiger Woods was no longer the maverick and inspiring golfer with his powerful swings. He was just a golfer. A classic tale is that our society always tramples on the fallen heroes, redemption is not part of the narrative of the past heroes. He was supposed to follow the script by fading into history. Well, it is part of the contemporary saga, a good story to tell future generations. There was once a mighty golfer, he played and won and he failed. He never came back to his winning ways. The End

Tiger Woods defied this script, in his low point he picked himself up, as few men in history did, he rewrote his destiny and made sure his story will be changed. To prove his doubters wrong. He could not abandon a sport that made him Tiger Woods, he could not fail to take up the challenge to define himself again.

His chance at redemption came in the very place where the world knew him and loved him. The golf pitch, at the right time and place. Augusta National was the very place he would return to glory. This was his chance to take back what he lost. I remember watching this moment, as he told his caddie, “We did it, we did it!

This a very special time to prove that despite our failures, Father Time, will promptly present an opportunity to come back to our winning ways. Only if we desire to stand up, and seek redemption. This strength only lies inward when we have to pick ourselves up and rise.

After Ten years, Tiger Woods won a major trophy again. His return to glory came.