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Opinion
Tiger's back! The ratings are back! All is right with the world — or not.
Being a smalltime betting man myself, I'd like to go on record here in this fine family journal as predicting that Tiger Woods will never win another major title, and I ask for one minute of your time to explain why …
No. 1: Every top athlete in every sport has one thing in common, and perhaps only one — confidence. Confidence is based not upon athletic ability alone, but upon who you are, or who you think you are, and Tiger Woods has not had sufficient time to restore confidence in who he is. In other words, he's not yet comfortable in his own skin.
On Sunday, when Tiger hovers over a 10-foot putt at Augusta and the crowd finally quiets down, some heckler, or a little voice inside Tiger's own head is going to shout, “Eldrick, you are a double-dealing floor-flusher!” That putt will go wide of the mark, or I'll buy you a beer at Rookies.
I know for my own part, if I were to cheat on my wife, I could never present Mark Twain again without fear of failure — without wondering in my pancreas that perhaps I was not worthy of applause because at bottom I was a snake oil salesman … not to mention the fact that she would gladly poison me.
Granted, Tiger's had some top-notch professional help, psychologists that have pumped him up to an emotional level where he feels ready to return to the top echelon of golf, but those psychologists won't be there with him on the 18th green of the Masters.
Now, if you choose to disagree with me, well, you have plenty of opportunities to do so…
The betting windows are open from London to Reno on Woods at Augusta, giving new definition to the term “proposition bet.”
Will he hit a tree off the first tee?
Will Tiger eagle the 445-yard, par-4 first? (You can get that at 100-1)
Will Tiger lead wire to wire? (Yours for a sweet smelling 14-1)
Will Tiger go over or under with birdies at 4.5 per round?
Will TV ratings go over or under 20.3?
Will he cry?
Will there be a streaker on the 18th green?
In this country we like to give athletes a second chance — just look how many fans John Daly has won back — so I suspect America will eventually give Tiger Woods a second chance. But by the time the votes are in, and he gets the thumbs up, it will be too late for Tiger, and the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, will continue to reign supreme in the annals of major golf victories, with eighteen.
Thirty years younger and I'd be betting on Tiger while thumbing my nose at the naysayers — dismissing them as dried up old prunes. But knowing full well the hurt and distress that infidelity causes, I'm going to be a little slower to wager on Mr. Woods today than I might have in those glory days of old.
The bets are down — may the best man win.
— McAvoy Layne is an Incline Village resident who visits area schools as the ghost of Mark Twain. Learn more at www.ghostoftwain.com.
Being a smalltime betting man myself, I'd like to go on record here in this fine family journal as predicting that Tiger Woods will never win another major title, and I ask for one minute of your time to explain why …
No. 1: Every top athlete in every sport has one thing in common, and perhaps only one — confidence. Confidence is based not upon athletic ability alone, but upon who you are, or who you think you are, and Tiger Woods has not had sufficient time to restore confidence in who he is. In other words, he's not yet comfortable in his own skin.
On Sunday, when Tiger hovers over a 10-foot putt at Augusta and the crowd finally quiets down, some heckler, or a little voice inside Tiger's own head is going to shout, “Eldrick, you are a double-dealing floor-flusher!” That putt will go wide of the mark, or I'll buy you a beer at Rookies.
I know for my own part, if I were to cheat on my wife, I could never present Mark Twain again without fear of failure — without wondering in my pancreas that perhaps I was not worthy of applause because at bottom I was a snake oil salesman … not to mention the fact that she would gladly poison me.
Granted, Tiger's had some top-notch professional help, psychologists that have pumped him up to an emotional level where he feels ready to return to the top echelon of golf, but those psychologists won't be there with him on the 18th green of the Masters.
Now, if you choose to disagree with me, well, you have plenty of opportunities to do so…
The betting windows are open from London to Reno on Woods at Augusta, giving new definition to the term “proposition bet.”
Will he hit a tree off the first tee?
Will Tiger eagle the 445-yard, par-4 first? (You can get that at 100-1)
Will Tiger lead wire to wire? (Yours for a sweet smelling 14-1)
Will Tiger go over or under with birdies at 4.5 per round?
Will TV ratings go over or under 20.3?
Will he cry?
Will there be a streaker on the 18th green?
In this country we like to give athletes a second chance — just look how many fans John Daly has won back — so I suspect America will eventually give Tiger Woods a second chance. But by the time the votes are in, and he gets the thumbs up, it will be too late for Tiger, and the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, will continue to reign supreme in the annals of major golf victories, with eighteen.
Thirty years younger and I'd be betting on Tiger while thumbing my nose at the naysayers — dismissing them as dried up old prunes. But knowing full well the hurt and distress that infidelity causes, I'm going to be a little slower to wager on Mr. Woods today than I might have in those glory days of old.
The bets are down — may the best man win.
— McAvoy Layne is an Incline Village resident who visits area schools as the ghost of Mark Twain. Learn more at www.ghostoftwain.com.
