Bucks County Herald – December 31, 2009

Tiger Woods, Eastburn, Arthur Ashe

Dear Friends,

Good morning. After reading Christopher Buckley’s highlights (I should say lowlights) of the 21^st Century’s first decade, I was struck by what he omitted. Christopher Buckley is the son of the famous conservative, William Buckley. Christopher Buckley wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times (Dec. 12) where he singled out 14 news stories for 2000 through 2009.

Here’s Buckley’s list: the Florida recount; 9/11; weapons of mass destruction; Saddam Hussein’s hanging, available on cell phone and You Tube; Dick Cheney shooting his lawyer; Hurricane Katrina; John Kerr, war hero, being depicted as a Swift-boating wimp; Lady Gaga (a singer and dancer); A.I.G. bonuses; Bernard Madoff; the election of Barack Obama; Glenn Beck; the "controversy" over Barack Obama’s birth certificate; Sarah Palin, best-selling author. Every one of the 14 is a negative story except one.

What’s missing from this list? The Tiger Woods debacle.

For me, what hurts the most is that Tiger Woods fooled me. I was so impressed that this fabulous, rich athlete was also a terrific role model for kids and adults. But it turned out that Tiger Woods was no different than my dog.

With his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, Frank Rich, a columnist at the New York Times, believes that Tiger Woods should be the person of the year. Here’s what Rich wrote (Dec. 20). "If there’s been a consistent narrative to this year and every other in this decade, it’s that most of us have been so easily bamboozled," he began. "The men who played us for suckers, whether at Citigroup or Fannie Mae, at the White House or Ted Haggard’s mega church, are the real movers and shakers of this century’s history so far. That’s why the obvious person of the year is Tiger Woods."

Frank Rich says that the Tiger saga had appeared on page one of the New York Post 20 consecutive days. "For The Post, Tiger’s calamity has become as big a story as 9/11," Rich wrote, "and the paper may well have it right."

Even Gary Trudeau’s comic strip, "Doonesbury," weighed in on Tiger. Last week Doonesbury implied that the Tiger Woods story had a vampire connection. "Well, think about it," Doonesbury quipped. "Over 93 percent of Tiger’s mistresses are nocturnal hospitality workers! Common sense says yes [that the women are vampires]."

Now Tiger’s life is in shambles. His drop-dead gorgeous wife is about to divorce him and take half of his fortune with her. His sponsors have gone into hiding. This year, $92 million of Tiger’s $99.7 million came from sponsorships. Forbes magazine says that Tiger is the first athlete to enjoy earnings in excess of one $ billion. Here’s a quote from Tim Finchem, the Commissioner for the Professional Golf Association. "With the exception of President Barack Obama, Tiger’s face is the most recognizable in the world."

I’ve said for years that all men are dogs.

Give us a chance to misbehave and we misbehave. Is there any difference between Tiger Woods and our wonderful dog "Eastburn?" We named our dog after Bill and Connie Eastburn who gave us the puppy 40 years ago. (The Eastburns responded by naming the jackass on their Buckingham farm, "Meredith").

"Eastburn" had a terrible reputation around Quakertown. He was always siring puppies with any bitch in heat. But the difference between "Eastburn" and Tiger Woods is that "Eastburn" always knew that the object of his affection had impressive papers. Judging by what I’ve read about Tiger’s 14 (at last count) mistresses, none of them has a pedigree.

Tiger is just a plain old hound dog…incredibly gifted to be sure; and rich beyond belief…but still, just a dog.

Originally, I was going to write a column about Tiger Woods and our dog, "Eastburn." But then my mind wandered to a genuine hero of yesterday. This man was a remarkable African American athlete with a similar physical build and competitive attitude. But this young man from 40 years ago was different. Who knows what triumphs would have been in his future if AIDS hadn’t killed him at age 49? During open-heart surgery, he received a transfusion with tainted blood.

I’m referring to Arthur Ashe, the tennis star of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Here’s my comparison of Ashe and Woods. Tiger is 34, 6’1" and weighs 185 pounds. He spent two years at Stanford University. He’s the highest paid athlete in the world, making $110 million in 2008. Tiger’s won 14 major golf championships and 71 PGA Tour events. The Tiger Woods Foundation has made a difference to 10 million young people. He’s used his vast fortune for good deeds.

And now…Arthur Ashe.

He was 49 when AIDS killed him. Ashe also stood 6’1" but at 160 pounds, was 25 pounds lighter than Tiger Woods. He graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1966 with a degree in business. That was the year that Ashe captained UCLA’s tennis team and led it to an NCAA national championship.

Ashe won 33 single titles and 18 doubles titles. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Only the French Open eluded him. He was a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Ashe’s career earnings were $2.5 million. He established the Arthur Ashe Foundation to fight and find a cure for AIDS.

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic," Ashe once wrote. "It is not the urge to surpass all at whatever cost but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost."

Ashe was also a civil rights leader and fought apartheid in South Africa.

As I reflect upon the end of this dismal decade, I think about the contrast between Tiger Woods, a tragic disappointment and Arthur Ashe’s life. I am struck by this quote from Arthur Ashe.

"If one’s reputation is a possession, then of all my possessions, my reputation means most to me."

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith