The Once and Future Tiger

I'll admit it. I was, and continue to be, a Tiger Woods fan. I believe human beings are fallible, and if they honestly request an apology and display remorse for their actions, we as fellow human beings should be able to forgive and move on. Woods shot a 42 on the front 9 at TPC Sawgrass in The Player's Championship this morning before withdrawing with a knee injury. This marks the second time in as many years Woods has removed himself from competition at The Players, and one glance at the messageboards of ESPN.com displays the glaring question facing not just fans of the sport, but all Americans who used to recognize Woods as a sports-world god: Is he done?

Woods hasn't won a tournament in two years. The only major he's been competitive at since his dramatic win at the U.S. Open in a playoff in 2008 has been The Masters both this and last year. Even at Augusta, which was Tiger's course for a decade ('97-'07), Tiger has looked extremely uncomfortable and only managed to remain in contention by putting up a few great holes over 72. There's no consistency anymore. When before you could expect 5-6 holes back-to-back that would put the tournament out of contention for the field, you have a Herculean chip-in followed by a shot that would make Happy Gilmore's Shooter McGavin-inspired meltdown to shame.

Because of the personal problems Woods has been facing, many have suggested that Tiger's current injury woes are evidence of PED use in the past. Those skeptics simply haven't watched the torque that Tiger's body produces. If I tried a tee shot like Tiger's, I'm pretty certain I'd need more than a couple of golf clubs to use as crutches to get off the tee box, as the iconic video from that '08 Open win displays so vividly. What this sentiment, and the backlash against Tiger illustrate, is that America needs symbols from both end of the spectrum. We need champions who can do no wrong, and we need villains whose evil reminds us of our own virtue. As Americans, we refuse to have these two symbols merged into one entity. We resist, we label, and we shape narratives to conform to our own understanding of our reality.

I want to remember Tiger from that '08 Open win. I want to remember the crowd blowing the doors off Augusta National when a long putt sinks. I want to forget what's happened outside the ropes and just enjoy watching the greatest golfer who ever lived. That man, it seems, may be gone. I just hope those memories won't fade as we try to come to terms with the man Tiger Woods was and is. Those images are a lot more fun to remember.