Know the feeling of that first truly spring-like day of the year? When the warm sun and soft breeze hit your skin as you walk outside and smell spring in the air. Ahhh. Doesn’t that feel great? Springtime is like a natural energy boost. It is a time of rejuvenation, rebirth and hope. We have a chance to forget the hardship and shake the doldrums of winter and begin anew.
This year, more so than in years past, I feel this sense of renewal transcend into the world of sports. Donovan gets a chance to reinvent himself in Washington. Four NBA teams at or near the bottom of their division last season in this year’s playoffs. And Tiger Woods . . . oh, Tiger, Tiger. . .
What a coincidence that Tiger is making his return (it remains to be seen how triumphant it is) to golf in the Master’s – which, with March Madness and Opening Day, is one of the truest signs of spring in the sporting world. Tiger certainly has more than bad feelings to shake following his fall . . . and winter. How should the sports world receive him? Should we forgive and forget, or is he tarnished like so many fallen sports heroes before him?
We Americans are obsessed with our athletes. Both on amateur (think NCAA tourney) and professional levels, we put our sports stars on pedestals. We admire them; we rise and fall with their success and failure. Heck, we buy their shoes, wear their clothes and drink their sports drinks. (Don’t deny it – you and I both know you don’t buy Nike T-shirts because of their moisture wicking, aerodynamic fabric engineering)
But how do we treat them when we discover the Brett Favres we thought were down-to-earth, just-like-me heroes are really selfish egomaniacs? Do we stop admiring, watching or obsessing about them? Can we just turn off our love for and fascination about these stars?
I used to cast these flawed sports figures on the deadbeats pile; they were forever ruined in my mind and their story ended in tragedy. After living a few years outside my youthfully-idealistic little bubble world, however, I realize that no one is perfect; we humans make life-altering mistakes. Should we live the rest of our lives in shame, or can we repent, receive forgiveness, change our ways and begin a new chapter?
Do sports figures deserve our (their fans) forgiveness?
Some people may still cheer for a tarnished athlete based on his performance between the lines, not how he conducts himself personally. That’s fair.
But some athletes – like Tiger – screw up so badly in their personal lives that it’s hard for even the truest fans to stay on his side. A figure so beloved and followed because of his seemingly perfect persona and tremendous ability has been revealed as anything but perfect.
As Tiger embarks on his new beginning as Master’s play opens tomorrow, consider whether you’re willing to give him – and other starts that have strayed – another shot. We may never know if they really changes for the better, but in the spirit of springtime, shouldn’t we give them the chance?
Or perhaps we just wait for that soft spring breeze to blow in the next star who, maybe, just maybe, will avoid the inescapable web of transgression into which seemingly all our athletes are becoming entangled.
We can only hope.
This year, more so than in years past, I feel this sense of renewal transcend into the world of sports. Donovan gets a chance to reinvent himself in Washington. Four NBA teams at or near the bottom of their division last season in this year’s playoffs. And Tiger Woods . . . oh, Tiger, Tiger. . .
What a coincidence that Tiger is making his return (it remains to be seen how triumphant it is) to golf in the Master’s – which, with March Madness and Opening Day, is one of the truest signs of spring in the sporting world. Tiger certainly has more than bad feelings to shake following his fall . . . and winter. How should the sports world receive him? Should we forgive and forget, or is he tarnished like so many fallen sports heroes before him?
We Americans are obsessed with our athletes. Both on amateur (think NCAA tourney) and professional levels, we put our sports stars on pedestals. We admire them; we rise and fall with their success and failure. Heck, we buy their shoes, wear their clothes and drink their sports drinks. (Don’t deny it – you and I both know you don’t buy Nike T-shirts because of their moisture wicking, aerodynamic fabric engineering)
But how do we treat them when we discover the Brett Favres we thought were down-to-earth, just-like-me heroes are really selfish egomaniacs? Do we stop admiring, watching or obsessing about them? Can we just turn off our love for and fascination about these stars?
I used to cast these flawed sports figures on the deadbeats pile; they were forever ruined in my mind and their story ended in tragedy. After living a few years outside my youthfully-idealistic little bubble world, however, I realize that no one is perfect; we humans make life-altering mistakes. Should we live the rest of our lives in shame, or can we repent, receive forgiveness, change our ways and begin a new chapter?
Do sports figures deserve our (their fans) forgiveness?
Some people may still cheer for a tarnished athlete based on his performance between the lines, not how he conducts himself personally. That’s fair.
But some athletes – like Tiger – screw up so badly in their personal lives that it’s hard for even the truest fans to stay on his side. A figure so beloved and followed because of his seemingly perfect persona and tremendous ability has been revealed as anything but perfect.
As Tiger embarks on his new beginning as Master’s play opens tomorrow, consider whether you’re willing to give him – and other starts that have strayed – another shot. We may never know if they really changes for the better, but in the spirit of springtime, shouldn’t we give them the chance?
Or perhaps we just wait for that soft spring breeze to blow in the next star who, maybe, just maybe, will avoid the inescapable web of transgression into which seemingly all our athletes are becoming entangled.
We can only hope.
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