Grant English
Grant English is the associate pastor of student ministries at Pinecrest Community Church in Parker, Colorado. He’s a 16-year student ministry veteran with experiences in Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, and Colorado. If he’s not skiing or blogging, he’s saving the universe on his Xbox.
What The Tiger Drama Show Us About Ourselves
- By Grant English
- Published 12/6/2009
By now you probably know more than what you wanted to know about a 2.30 am car crash concerning the world’s greatest golfer and his ensuing apologies — for both the crash and his ‘transgressions.’
I’ve actually turned off the sports radio this week because I’m just sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of hearing Jesper say Tiger is a bum and he’s lost all respect for him. I’m sick of hearing middle aged guys call in and demand to know the details of Tiger’s transgression. I’m sick of the coverage mainly because I think it shows how ridiculously out of touch our culture is.
First, why does this surprise us? Tiger is a fantastic golfer…that doesn’t equate fantastic human. But we continue to make this mistake over and over again.
Second, does Tiger ‘owe’ us the lurid details because he’s a public figure? I’ve heard other people call Tiger out on this but what do you think is the harder audience for Tiger right now – a room full of reporters or the dinner table across from his wife and family? The easy conversation is with the public. We’ll hear the stories and move on to the next celebrity failure next week. The family on the other hand is a completely different story.
The only chance he has to redeem and heal his family is doing exactly what he’s doing right now. Apologize in general, shut up and start doing the hard work of rebuilding a new marriage with his wife. (And I hope that is what he’s doing.) No amount of public apology can fix that. And honestly, there really shouldn’t be a public apology until the private stuff is taken care of.
So yes, I’m disappointed in Tiger. Yes, I’ll still play his video game. Yes, I’ll still cheer for him when or if he decides to play golf again. But my real hope is that this disaster has left him a changed man, a better man. And that hopefully he’ll perform as a champion in this crisis as well.
I’ve actually turned off the sports radio this week because I’m just sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of hearing Jesper say Tiger is a bum and he’s lost all respect for him. I’m sick of hearing middle aged guys call in and demand to know the details of Tiger’s transgression. I’m sick of the coverage mainly because I think it shows how ridiculously out of touch our culture is.
First, why does this surprise us? Tiger is a fantastic golfer…that doesn’t equate fantastic human. But we continue to make this mistake over and over again.
Second, does Tiger ‘owe’ us the lurid details because he’s a public figure? I’ve heard other people call Tiger out on this but what do you think is the harder audience for Tiger right now – a room full of reporters or the dinner table across from his wife and family? The easy conversation is with the public. We’ll hear the stories and move on to the next celebrity failure next week. The family on the other hand is a completely different story.
The only chance he has to redeem and heal his family is doing exactly what he’s doing right now. Apologize in general, shut up and start doing the hard work of rebuilding a new marriage with his wife. (And I hope that is what he’s doing.) No amount of public apology can fix that. And honestly, there really shouldn’t be a public apology until the private stuff is taken care of.
So yes, I’m disappointed in Tiger. Yes, I’ll still play his video game. Yes, I’ll still cheer for him when or if he decides to play golf again. But my real hope is that this disaster has left him a changed man, a better man. And that hopefully he’ll perform as a champion in this crisis as well.
