Tiger Woods: How Does the Movie end?

Every so often, you get a notification on your phone that makes you look twice. It can be a piece of positive information, like Arsenal making a new signing, or it can be negative information, like being told that Tiger Woods has been in a car accident.

The weird part about this notification is what happened before. Twenty minutes before the news filtered through, a video had surfaced showing Woods and former NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade playing golf. Woods had been giving Wade a golf lesson, and the video was full of positivity and happiness. Twenty minutes later, the notification came through, and the feeling in the pit of my stomach was sickening.

Tiger Woods announces himself on the worlds stage

It has always been amazing how quickly life can change. One day you are sitting in the living room, in front of the television with your family, watching Tiger Woods win another tournament. Fast forward eleven years later, you are looking at images of a car wreck involving the very same person.

For years Woods seemed untouchable, almost God-like. He would win every tournament under the sun, had all the endorsements in the world, to go along with the prize money he was earning.

Woods had an incredible aura around him. This mesmerising arrogance that made his fans confident but also put the fear of God in his opponents. From the club twirls, to the swearing, the winning smile, to punching the air in celebration. Woods would play some shots that would make you wonder whether he was even real. He was a superhero.

Woods was not without fault. He seemed to at times distance himself from the black community. He would describe himself as “Cablinasian” to Oprah when talking about his background. The funny part is even though he offended a lot of people, his popularity never dwindled. It was once said that when Tiger Woods played, there was a 35% increase in viewership.

Woods was a trailblazer for the sport. In a sport that has always been dominated by privileged white men, a kid with brown skin came and took everybody’s money. Now that I look at it, maybe that was the issue — the way we perceived Tiger Woods.

At times, we tend to put people on a pedestal, not realising that they are human beings just like us. Yes, Woods was a trailblazer and a serial winner, but he is human…