Sports and entertainment are funny businesses. They don't behave like real life businesses and the people involved aren't treated like real life people.
Take, for instance, the Tiger Woods affair. Or affairs. Our area just finished hosting the AT&T tournament at Aronomink just outside Philadelphia. The local papers were full of coverage on the event, since big time golf doesn't come to our area often. Those of us who follow the game have gotten used to headlines like "Tiger 12 shots off the pace" or "Tiger third going into final round" where there is little or no mention of who is leading the tournament. Tiger got the ink.
Since his ignominious fall from grace, not much has changed. The first two days, when he was in danger of missing the cut, the paper lead with that story. Who is leading the tournament? See paragraph three.
It seems that no amount of personal shame or degradation could keep his name out of the headlines or his followers from trailing him on the course. Today, the recap of his exploits took up a quarter of page 2 under the caption "Woods leaves fans with one highlight."
In real life, Tiger would be shunned by the general public and shamed into a life of seclusion. In the world of pro sports, he is glorified as he always was, and is maybe a bigger figure in his personal failures than he was before.
After all, he was a successful professional golfer, his name was a brand and he had a beautiful wife and children.
Maybe we like celebrities more when they come down to a level closer to where the rest of us reside?
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