Taming the Tiger

The first thing that happened to pop up as soon as I googled Tiger Woods was that he is the "new Kate Moss of golfing world". Quite an irony to see the same man being branded and unbranded at the same time! It's just another instance of how the rich and famous add to their `portfolio'.

However, questions of infidelity have arisen out of Woods' behaviour where some are delving deep into the issue of men's loyalty. Generalising a subjective matter only proves how sensationalising unites! Woods' removal from major ad campaigns is just another blip on the radar. Nothing will change. Our society is too consumed with celebrity worship and Tiger has more than his share of sycophants who will condone his bad behaviour and enable him to continue to be a total glamour god/macho-man.

Celebrities like him live by a different set of rules and believe they deserve to do so. They live in an insular world that is guarded from full view. The general population is only allowed to see the manufactured public persona. If we were introduced to the celebrity in real life, we probably wouldn't like him/her much.
Then again, in today's society, it most likely wouldn't matter. Talk about taming the "Tiger", Accenture has also shown displeasure in Woods' actions and, thereby, dropped him. But what interests one and many is whether Woods' departure from golf would fundamentally impact in a negative or positive way. Along with significant negative blowback, there is also considerable opportunity.

We are fascinated, entertained by the circus of it all, it arouses our prurient interest, we're shocked -at Woods' incredibly bad behaviour with regard to women, public's incredibly bad reaction, as well as advertisers' incredibly bad judgement.

But in the end nothing will change. Eventually, Tiger's handlers and his minions will make the world right again. There are just too many people out there who will continue to believe that he's "The best a man can get"! Ipshita Kumar