Tiger Woods Lays Low as Derek Jeter Loves Life:
Commentary by Scott Soshnick
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- In a promotional video hawking The Cliffs at High Carolina, the first American golf course designed by Tiger Woods, The Man himself gets personal on matters that, according to him, should remain private.
“With a wife and two kids, your perspective in life changes,” says Woods, whose personal life has become tabloid fodder. “I want to have my kids experience something like this. I want to be able to bring them up here and feel safe, feel secure, and enjoy running the trails and being a part of nature. Your priorities start changing and evolving once you have a family.”
Listening to Woods prattle on about changing perspectives and priorities illuminates why Derek Jeter, who at age 35 is closer to retirement than rookie, is single. Still.
Baseball is Jeter’s priority. Pinstripes are his perspective. He’s aware of the changes that come with commitment and he isn’t prepared to make them. Not yet, anyway.
The very best athletes are different from their teammates and opponents. More is expected. More is required.
Anyone who has ever worn a wedding ring knows that things do, indeed, change. Add kids and they change even more. That’s true for everyone, including iconic athletes like Woods and his fellow Nike Inc. endorser Roger Federer, who said as much after the birth of his twin girls.
Some thought that getting married and having kids might derail Woods, the golfer. It didn’t.
True Values
Woods, the family man, however, has apologized for transgressions and for letting his family down. Says he hasn’t been true to his values. Woods in a statement on his Web site admitted to being far short of perfect, even if his golf game is pretty darn close.
Before the Woods imbroglio broke, Jeter, who also covets his privacy, found himself on the cover of the New York Post. Someone snapped a picture of the New York Yankees captain and his latest gal pal, the actress Minka Kelly, frolicking in the sun, sand and surf of some exotic locale.
Kelly is the latest in a long line of famous faces with romantic ties to Jeter, who recently led the Yankees to their 27th World Series championship.
Jeter’s girlfriends have included a former Miss Universe, Lara Dutta, Mariah Carey, Jordana Brewster, Adriana Lima, Vanessa Minnillo and the Jessicas -- Alba and Biel. Just to name a few.
And yet, the adjective most often attached to Jeter isn’t womanizer, but winner. Women want to be with Jeter. Men want to be him.
Adored, Respected
Jeter is adored and respected by all, teammates and opponents alike. Never a disparaging word is heard about the baseball star who guards his personal life with a Tiger-like ferocity.
As of now, Woods’s endorsers are sticking by their main man. They’re counting on a familiar refrain in sports: winning as cure-all. But it will be a while before Woods returns to golf and every day, it seems, there’s a new twist to this tale.
His standing with consumers is plummeting.
Woods’s ranking on a list of celebrity endorsers fell to 24th from sixth, according to the David Brown Index, which marketers and advertising agencies use to gauge the ability of personalities to influence consumer behavior. There hasn’t been a prime-time commercial featuring Woods since Nov. 29.
While you haven’t seen Woods pitching products, you’ve probably seen the widely circulated e-mail that purports to show the Woods family Christmas card. There’s Woods, battered and bruised, wife Elin by his side and smiling, with a golf club in her hand.
Punch Line
Woods, the ultimate pitchman, is now Woods, the punch line. Saturday Night Live. Jay Leno. Even late-night TV host David Letterman, who knows something about becoming tabloid fodder, is taking shots at the world’s most recognizable athlete.
Back in February I wrote a column titled “Tiger Woods, Sports Needs You like Never Before,” in which I took issue with Alex Rodriguez’s argument that pressure made him use performance-enhancing drugs.
Laughable, is the word I used, especially when you consider that Woods carries more of a burden each time out than any baseball player. A-Rod has teammates like Jeter who can pick him up, help him out, I noted. Tiger Woods stood alone.
Woods, at his best, had the power to inspire and awe. Some of those casual sports fans who tuned in each Sunday afternoon to see Woods win might never return. They believed in the golfer. They believed in the man. History shows it’s a risky proposition.
Surely we can believe and trust in Jeter, who less than two weeks ago was named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. Then again, Woods is the only person to have won the award twice.
As Woods knows, perspectives change.
(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)
To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 9, 2009 21:00 EST |
