That's from sportswriter Michael Wilbon. Ah, but wasn't Tiger Woods perceived as a special god-like man? And isn't that key to the most lucrative aspect of his career, endorsements?
Forbes estimated earlier this year that Woods was the first athlete to surpass $1 billion in career earnings, more than 80 percent of that coming from endorsements with companies such as Nike, Gillette, Gatorade and AT&T...Time Magazine's Bill Saporito says:
[C]ompanies that may have wanted to align themselves with Woods might rethink that -- particularly companies whose target audience is women or children. Part of Woods' appeal has been his pristine image, off the course as well as on, and events of the last week have tainted that, making him an easy target....
I don't think he's going to lose very many endorsements. Sure, he has been revealed as a fraud, but Michael Jordan, another big sports fraud and the very role model for Tiger, is still selling.... [B]y some respects, he'll only become a bigger attraction. Tiger's on the cover of People. He's now moving up in the Jon and Kate–Brad and Angelina celebrity solar system. You know what happens next: an appearance on Oprah with his wife Elin, national contrition. And even bigger ratings at his next tournament. Unless, of course, Mrs. Woods throws the bum out.Ah, yes. The Church of Oprah. But is Elin willing to be used that way? Who knows? I'm seeing that there is a prenuptial agreement, with frantic renegotiations going on. Elin is, it seems, needed in the shoring up of Woods's image, and there is a ton of money to be thrown around to overcome whatever preferences the woman might have. But talk about things that make women feel bad about a guy. Manipulating a wife with vast sums of money after abusing her with affairs....
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86 comments:
Abusing her? She smacked in the face!
"Him". She smacked him in the face.
Why does the media keep yaking about Tiger Woods?
Makes me wonder if every once in awhile, Tiger slips a Callaway club in his bag.
Erin likes money.
Ann said...
"Comedian Chris Rock undoubtedly put it best when he said, 'A man is only as faithful as his options.'"
Then how do you explain someone like Jimmy Stewart, who remained faithful to his wife over many decades? A generational thing?
Maybe, or maybe that nasty thing called character, which the Left keeps telling us either doesn't count or shouldn't stop us from enjoying life (i.e., doing something which we will come to regret), like the guy from Time Annquotes.
Ignoring the fact that Chris Rock has been known to stick his foot in it on occasion (usually the occasion of appearing with Bill Maher), not everyone lives in his particular gutter. Barack Obama, as an example, who has all kinds of options.
Ann, however, hits the important point: El Tigre has all those endorsements because he is seen as Nice Guy, Family Man, Role Model. Take those away and he's not so bankable (Air Jordan is nowhere as visible as he once was). That's why Elin is revisiting the prenup. He suddenly needs her and she is going to make an object lesson out of this.
Woman scorned and all that.
Tiger's Sword of Damocles has finally fallen, or at least been seriously jarred in its housing. Yes, Tiger, getting a divorce (no matter whether you cheat or not) will cost you $300 million! Who says marriage isn't important anymore??
"Abusing her? She smacked him in the face!"
Yes, he had the option of getting her sent to prison. He passed on that. Think about why.
Shouldn't marital promises be flexible or resilient, like the way our Constitution is now considered "living", a malleable thing, with rights to be added and pockets to be picked?
Why should marriage be held to some quaint notion of 'faithfulness'?
Why should men or women honor promises, when our own government can, merely with an election, delete centuries of property rights?
After all, what is honor or fidelity, "mine" or "yours", or "I promise"?
Words.
What are those words?
Air.
Grow up.
It's the 21st century.
Contracts, vows, personal bonds, and legal charters are just apps to chose or reject as needed.
All the rest is just entertainment.
Pogo...That was scary commenting. We need examples to follow, and you are suggesting that the good people are all gone and replaced with raptor people without traditional restraints on their conduct. Crack Emcee says the same thing. But Tiger may be popular because he seems to have some self control left, and only needs a lesson in wisdom for using it at all times. IMO Tiger's passionate approach to winning contrasts him from Obama's deadness within. There is still hope for a new and improved Tiger.
By implication, buying Elin off to retain her fidelity makes virtually no sense. Tiger violated their contract; she's in control, not him.
The sports writers don't have a brain between them. A low opinion of women, they do have, especially women who marry sport-ho's.
As for the street-side wisdom of Chris Rock, it's one gig away from welfare.
Ann Althouse said... Yes, he had the option of getting her sent to prison. He passed on that.
Say what?! There's a woman who shot her husband in the back while he slept and served no significant jail time.
Elin Woods wouldn't even have to take a two shot penalty for teeing up on Tiger's face. 'He had it coming' is still a valid defense (...after abusing her with affairs....), at least in the court of public opinion.
Trying to salvage what he can of his clean-cut image is his only option.
@traditionalguy: "Pogo...you are suggesting that the good people are all gone and replaced with raptor people without traditional restraints on their conduct."
I do not advise despair.
Rather, my comment attempted to employ satire to show the consequences of a nation that abandons the wise counsel of tradition.
But I clearly failed.
There's one salient fact here:
Elin has the Tiger by the little tigres. His career, his future in the PGA. Trust me, the PGA is on its freaking knees begging Elin to be reasonable and save Tiger's ass from his own shortsightedness. So are the sponsors. No Tiger, no turnout, no ratings.
You think people want to watch Mickelson all day?
They don't want the greatest talent since Nicklaus put on shortpants to turn into John Daly.
Elin holds all the cards. ALL of them.
It's Good to be Queen.
Yes, he had the option of getting her sent to prison. He passed on that. Think about why.
Could be that he didn't want the mother of his small children in jail, or that he felt this was a justified venting of anger.
Of course, it is still speculation that she did in fact attack him. She could of just smashed his car with the golf club as he was driving off.
Diogenes finds an honest man:
"Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik says he 'probably needs to apologise' to Tiger Woods's wife Elin Nordegren Woods for having introduced them." - Sydney Morning Herald
Here's another card supermodel Elin holds: the choose your new husband from a vast multitude of nice, successful, faithful, single men.
Tiger best be weeping and begging as he crawls on broken glass to get her back.
Freeman:
New term; superwife
They are saying a divorce will cost him $300 million. Ouch.
There is a big difference between athletes and politicians. The athletic profession doesn't depend on the audience to trust the athlete on any issue other than he is putting out his best effort. We support a politician in no small part because we trust his values and judgement to do the right thing. We support an athlete because he is fun to watch and we know he is giving his best. So, adultery doesn't really affect our perception of the athlete.
Look at it this way, John Lennon was a lousy husband to his first wife. He was a lot worse of a husband than Tiger. Does anyone seriously think that they should stop listening to Beatles records because of that? No. So why stop watching Tiger play golf just because he is a lousy husband? His work is what it is. The only way I would stop watching him is if he was revealed to be an athletic fraud in some way; like taking money from gamblers to dump tournements.
I just can't take anyone named "Tiger" seriously. I don't care how much money he has.
he has been revealed as a fraud
WTF? He's probably an adulterer, but suddenly that means he cheats at golf? That's nuts.
John: excellent post.
I just don't pay enough attention to modern culture. I spent the whole day yesterday in the cardiologist' office listening to this rot on HLN.
My guess is that Woods just didn't want his wife charged. Didn't this happen in Florida? Some here may not know this but in Florida if you tell the police your spouse hit you authorities are required by law to prosecute, even if you later decide you shouldn't have, you forgive them, you lied or whatever.
It has the effect of raising the stakes on calling the police when you have a really nasty argument with your spouse when someone is going to end up in prison for a year or more. Maybe he just took a deep breath, realized he started it, and decided it wasn't right for her to go to jail over his fooling around.
I'd like to think there are still guys like that around (besides me I mean).
Honestly? My take is that Tiger Woods is a better man than I thought. Yes yes, he has apparently cheated on his wife. He also seems to have realized he screwed up and made a deliberate decision to not have her imprisoned.
Imagine this. Tiger Woods chases his wife down and bashes in her car windows with a 9-iron.
This story is losing energy fast.
Why? Because Tiger Woods is not that attractive. He's a nerdy California kind of guy who has mastered a sport where senior citizens with pot bellies can compete.
If he was an actor or athlete who radiated a raw athleticism and had an engaging personality, the story would be around a long time.
Yes, he had the option of getting her sent to prison. He passed on that. Think about why.
Err, because he really is a nice guy?
I'm sick of hearing just about Tiger Woods' affairs. How about the lethal weapon wielding spouse? That a little nutty? I think so.
We have no idea what this woman was like to live with. That doesn't excuse the infidelity, but let's not make her a saint.
And any woman who would stay with a man for a bribe like that is...well, what is that? Hmm? Expensively packaged, but it's a whore.
I don't feel anything for this couple. They're freaks.
Athletes are paid for their physical coordination. Movie stars are paid for their good looks. When such people fool around, they are not breaking their contract with the public. To the contrary, you could almost say that they are extending the brand....With politicians, the situation is different. We pay them for their skills are imitating social coordination and exemplary character. When they do something crude or self indulgent, it's as shocking as discovering that your parents are members of a swingers club. There's something about it, that feels more dislocating....Also, it must be said, that the infidelities of good looking people are inherently more interesting and forgivable than those of the bald and the plump. Life is very unfair......On the subject of celebrity sex scandals, I think intellectuals have the ickiest, creepiest, most totally loathsome affairs: Sartre & deBeauvois, Hellman & Hammett, Salinger & Maynard, Haedigger & Arendt, Woolf & Sackville-West. There is an endless list of articulate people using their verbal gifts to manipulate and disembowel each other. Some affairs confirm the participants' humanity but those of the above writers just demonstrate their nastiness.
Frankly, I dont think any of this is anyone's business but the Wood's family. Shit happens to nice, and perhaps not so nice people.
William, your list of disgusting affairs jibed with my research until I got to "Woolf & Sackville-West." There's nothing I've read that indicates it should be on a par with Hammett and Hellman (when he got a Chinese hooker to get S.J. Perleman in trouble to steal his wife), or Sartre / Beauvior (talk about enabling with a cheating spouse while portraying yourself as an independent woman!).
As for Woods, he provides a great topic for people to discuss spousal abuse, loyalty, adultery and other great issues. We're communal animals and the story is compelling enough that everyone has an opinion.
Besides, it's the first time Tiger has done anything interesting for the rest of us who don't care about the PGA, which is only Putt-Putt on steroids.
"Comedian Chris Rock undoubtedly put it best when he said, 'A man is only as faithful as his options.'"
Is that really putting it best?
It's a funny quip, but certainly not true. And why only men?
I don't understand. Megacelebrities are surrounded by lots and lots of leeches who want a piece of their fame and money. So if you have one trusting relationship with someone who genuinely loves you, why trash it by cheating with pretty little leeches?
Elin deserves a renegotiated pre-nup. She has to listen to what Tiger said to his bimbos in all those saved messages on the bimbos cellphones--like "marriage is not what it is cracked up to be". Nice. Classy he is not. And Tiger chose women who were all too eager to expose his dalliances. He betrayed his wife in a million ways.
Am I the only one who laughed at the inappropriateness of the phrase "it can rub out a guy in the office" with respect to sexual temptation?
(I realize that parts of my mind was cultivated in the gutter, but that's a pull quote if ever there was one!)
He's been revealed as a fraud?
You mean, he can't really golf that well?
I don't understand what his sex life has to do with the admiration people have for his golfing skills, given that, golfing side, he's the most boring celebrity in the world (which is not a bad thing to my mind).
Here's hoping he recovers his prior tedium.
"Then how do you explain someone like Jimmy Stewart, who remained faithful to his wife over many decades? A generational thing? Maybe, or maybe that nasty thing called character..."
We live at pretty much an all-time historical low for prostitution. Here in Chicago, I could point you to a dozen former red-light districts, virtually none of which have any surviving sex industry today. (They're pretty much all by the train stations; and were a big part of why Chicago was a popular destination for conventions back in the day.)
Really, sex was not invented in 1964.
I'm naive enough to believe that if a husband loves his wife fidelity is not a problem.
"I just can't take anyone named "Tiger" seriously. I don't care how much money he has."
How about "Cheetah?"
It will be interesting to see if Tiger loses any of those lucrative endorsements over this. And he should. Remember, Michael Phelps lost Kelloggs and Subway over being caught smoking pot (and those were just the two I heard about). Illegal? Yes, but hardly damaging to anyone/thing other than his health, bank account, bank accounts of his sponsors, and the handful of fans who actually cared what their 24 year old idol did at a party.
"Yes, but hardly damaging to anyone/thing other than his health, bank account, bank accounts of his sponsors, and the handful of fans who actually cared what their 24 year old idol did at a party."
And helps finance some pretty mudererous drug cartels in Mexico, a country on the verge of being taken over by the cartels.
Too bad they waited until now to get the marital counseling. They could have saved themselves a lot of grief by getting it earlier.
"Then how do you explain someone like Jimmy Stewart, who remained faithful to his wife over many decades? A generational thing? Maybe, or maybe that nasty thing called character..."
Jimmy Stewart was 41 when he married and had a, pretty well known for the time, active sex life with such well known women as Norma Shearer and Margaret Sullivan. He and Henry Fonda "jumped the bones" of a lot of starlets when they shared a home.
Maybee asked why is it only men who have options. The coming era of genetics testing is going to answer that one. The early results of testing kids shows that about 25% had been fathered by someone other than the name on the birth certificate. One guy in Texas learned that all his kids had been fathered by his wife's boyfriend at work.
Tiger got wood-
coming and going...
Here is why any of this matters to the rest of us. Because Woods is/has been glamorized by the sports minded, because he is a person of color who has won at Augusta, because he is consistent in his game, because he smiles and is pleasant in triumph and fairly gracious in defeat he has been given scads of endorsements that pay very very well and therefore must be shown to those of us who do not give a shit about golf over and over and fucking over. Now we discover...what? That he thinks with his dick. Does Accenture or whatever they're called want you to associate thinking with your dick with good financial advice?
Lefties want to leave him alone because lefties have no character coupled with a disdain for hypocrisy, ergo a desire to keep sexual license as easily obtainable as possible.
ricpic said...
I'm naive enough to believe that if a husband loves his wife fidelity is not a problem.
You are an idealist. I bet more women than men would agree with the statement that if a husband loves his wife fidelity is not a problem.
Women buy into romantic love lasting forever. Men--not so much.
Woods sells because of his pristine image? I thought it was because he's the best golfer in the world. Face it, Nike's customers aren't buying stuff because Tiger is a nice family guy--it's because he can knock the stuffing out of a golf ball. You think those guys hitting the links on Sundays are going to stop being Tiger fans because he slept around? Who are the customers, befuddled middle-aged women? Nope.
I agree... that's pretty naive. Plenty of husbands love their wives very much and cheat on them anyway.
I think if you said that if husbands LOVED AND DESIRED their wives you'd see less infidelity.
A lot of women marry a known alpha, then let themselves go, and wonder what hit them when he gets something on the side.
Ann wrote "Elin is, it seems, needed in the shoring up of Woods's image, and there is a ton of money to be thrown around to overcome whatever preferences the woman might have."
Let's separate Woods the golfer from Woods the husband. Woods is by far the best there is and maybe ever was "on the links". At home it seems a different story of course as we all know well.
There is a story around that his emergency trip was because she smacked him so hard (with what) that he lost a tooth. But let's look at what Ann wrote:".....ton of money to be thrown around to overcome whatever preferences the woman might have."
Are we assuming her to be a gold digger of sorts or that he can "buy his way out"? on what basis? by the way my word verification just came up "unfaith"
Right about now I'm happy I never paid one bit of attention to Tiger Woods, never thrilled at how divine the Athletic Precursor to Obama seemed. And that wasn't EASY over the last decade or so. I cannot count the times my female relatives, especially the older ones, started going on about how wonderful that nice Tiger Woods was, and how many times I blew them off and was excoriated for my cynicism and lack of childlike wonder.
So right about now, I'm not disappointed or even vaguely interested in his behavior - and I usually am in situations like this. I vicariously feel the woman's pain - but not this time.
It's great.
And I agree that Tiger Woods sold more than his entertainment/athletic ability. He sold his image and character. That was part of the celebrity voodoo.
Underlying Althouse's comment seems to be the assumption that Tiger is basically irredeemable--that he's not truly sorry and his conduct will not change. That may well be true, but for the moment I choose to believe that they both would like to repair their marriage for personal as well as the obvious financial reasons.
Elin has nearly as big a stake in the financial value of Tiger's "image" as Tiger does, maybe more.
As to the "revised" prenup, this is exactly the time for her to improve her position. She holds the high cards and should play them.
So she smacked him. He earned it!
And of course since he needs her good will--or at least the appearance of goodwill--he's not going to get her arrested.
As to Tiger being a fraud, he may be. But he surely is a fool--of the usual male kind.
I have absolutely *no clue* how celebrity endorsements work. What is it that I'm supposed to want because Tiger Woods endorses it? I don't even know.
It's a charade, right?
I can't even begin to figure out how it works.
captcha: turfs
Scott said...
This story is losing energy fast.
Why? Because Tiger Woods is not that attractive. He's a nerdy California kind of guy who has mastered a sport where senior citizens with pot bellies can compete.
If he was an actor or athlete who radiated a raw athleticism and had an engaging personality, the story would be around a long time.
Wow, as Elin Nordegren might have once said, a smorgasboard of ignorance!
Seniors with pot bellies swim, too. Does that magically make Michael Phelps a non-athlete by association?
Prof Althouse herself has a nephew on the PGA tour. Would she say he was an athlete? I venture to guess she would.
Woods is among the most elite of elite. He is physically gifted, has "touch", is mentally tough especially in presure situations, AND is consistent.
This is a guy that went to his Dad's former Special Forces school on an invite for 2 weeks of grueling physical conditioning, tests - and was in the upper quarter of graduates of that program.
As for personality, he is by all accounts of his peer players - a nice guy, introverted, not arrogant, a self-admitted nerd. Who likes his private life walled off as much as possible from his public persona. And globally popular. Like Jordan, known the world over. He is also the most famous athlete of Chinese or Thai (Johnny Damon is also part Thai) extraction.
The story will hang around, but will not damage Woods in the long term because it will be seen as an out-of-character lapse. Fans of Tiger ache to give him a Mulligan on this.
Like his fellow champions Federer, Phelps...owners of some seriously sick sports records...public thinks "nice guy". Phelps caught smoking dope? Showing his ADD at moments? No biggie! Mr Sportsmanship Federer smashes a racket in Miami, cries at the Aussie Open after collapsing in the 5th Set and Rafa Nadal made him his Bitch again, wears a foppish outfit at Wimbledon? Out of character. They justly get passes.
So will Tiger. Golf fans especially - love and forgive their favorite players.
"Comedian Chris Rock undoubtedly put it best when he said, 'A man is only as faithful as his options.'"
I agree with MayBee that this is funny but not accurate.
Aside from being untrue, it's rather insulting to poor and unpopular people. It assumes that only the rich and famous have options. Au contraire. Infidelity knows no economic or social boundaries. Everyone has a multitude of options.
Even really vile people have options. Think of all the people who've heard of in your town who have cheated, and who you'd be shocked that anyone would sleep with ever. Even people in prison have people writing them love notes!
Rock's joke is used as an excuse bat, but it excuses nothing. The truth is that a man is only as faithful as he decides to be. Same for women.
Michael wrote: "Really, sex was not invented in 1964."
Not according to Philip Larkin:
Sexual intercourse began
In nineteen sixty-three
(which was rather late for me) -
Between the end of the Chatterley ban
And the Beatles' first LP.
Michael also wrote: "Lefties want to leave him alone. . . ."
Where's the evidence of this?
Meh. This is one of those issues where men and women don't understand each other very well. We're talking about a constant temptation for most men or all men. If they're very good, they can stand up to it. If they're like most of us, they anyhow don't have nearly as many opportunities as Tiger Woods. In any event, making a big fuss about it is ridiculous.
People who had little or no interest in golf followed Tiger Woods because he was perceived as a complete man, a man to admire and look up to -- a man of traditional Anglo-values; honesty, hard work, fidelity.
To say now that the same fans will follow a serial whore-monger borders on the absurd.
Mike K-
Maybee asked why is it only men who have options.
I wasn't asking why only men have options, I was asking why the quip was only supposed to apply to men.
Women have options.
Freeman said exactly what I would want to say.
You think people want to watch Mickelson all day?
I'd watch Phil all day - that guy's got a beautiful game and winning smile.
Mr Sportsmanship Federer smashes a racket in Miami, cries at the Aussie Open after collapsing in the 5th Set and Rafa Nadal made him his Bitch again, wears a foppish outfit at Wimbledon?
That's French Open & Wimbledon Champion Roger Federer to YOU numbnuts.
Everyone blames Tiger. Yes, he's responsible for his actions, but men who are happy in their relationships don't fool around. Evidently Tiger wasn't very happy.
Tiger could have let his wife go to jail, and he would have been in the driver's seat at the divorce. He would have gotten custody and perhaps even have gotten a better deal on the settlement. Instead, he gave her a BIG break. Talk about manning up....
I hope they can save their marriage, but in order to do so both of them are going to have to own their piece of it, and both of them are going to have to change. They seem like nice people, and as someone else said, stuff happens even to nice people. Here's hoping they work it out.
To be the best in the world in most endeavors requires an enormous ego. Tiger is no different from all the other people (men and women) who feel entitled to indulge themselves in experiences not available to the average person. These may be $25000 per night suites in Dubai, private yachts, having an entire restaurant to yourself (and companion), or collecting pretty mistresses to bang when you are away on business and want some company. In his case, you cannot say the pretty and available women were enticing since he is married to one that has few peers in the looks department. He did it because he can and he feels entitled. It is very rare to have an individual of his type not stray eventually, it is part of their makeup. People like tiger never make good bets for a long term successful marriage.
A lot of men would have no interest chasing a ball around a golf course from cup to cup, and trying to sink the putt. A lot of men would also find it of no interest to try to chase women from cocktail lounge to cocktail lounge and try to sink one aspect of their anatomy into the cup.
Tiger doesn't represent all men, or even all tigers. He's a cheetah.
John Clifford wrote: "but men who are happy in their relationships don't fool around."
That's speculation, not fact.
"That's speculation, not fact." It's neither - it's simply false. I am happy in my relationship and have never strayed. But tempted? Constantly. Every discussion I've ever had on the subject with men tells me that I am part of the vast majority.
Best thing I've seen on the subject: Science fiction, Larry Niven
http://www.larryniven.org/stories/Smut_Talk.shtml
"Most men know that most women want one mate. Most women know that any man can be seduced. We make bargains and promises and contracts. We compromise. To go against human nature is the most human thing a human being can do."
Years ago, I was sitting in a lecture by Dennis Prager, and he made this point about the nature of men very strongly. In the questions afterward, one woman asked, "You're saying these things about yourself. But how can you say them about all men? Maybe most men aren't really like that." So Dennis said, "Well, men? Those who are like I'm describing, raise your hands." All of us did. Every one. Immediately. It was awesome. The women sitting among us looked around, slightly bewildered. It was exactly as if they had suddenly realized that half the people in the audience were Klingons.
My memory may be faulty but wasn't Elin his NANNY? I thought he married the nanny. I could well be mistaken. I'm just thinking that a nanny implies a wife and kids. But maybe she was someone else's nanny.
In which case, as they say, when a mistress replaces a wife the only thing she does is create a job opening.
Okay, not his nanny. The nanny of a friend.
"Abusing her? She smacked him in the face!"
"Yes, he had the option of getting her sent to prison. He passed on that. Think about why."
Because men are stigmatized if they admit to being abused?
Incidentally... on the "a man is only as faithful as his options" matter...
I certainly saw that in the Philippines.
When sex is cheap, available, and holds not even social stigma, some guys do it and some guys don't.
What there isn't anymore is a middle ground where virtue *might* be lack of opportunity or some notion that one should not break the law.
Alex - You misread. I am a Federer, Phelps, AND Woods fan. (And Crazy Phil, Rafa, JM del Potro, Craig Stadler fan)
My point is that even athletes of the highest character and sportsmanship are not perfect.
I don't have an infatuation with records, in general, like who really cares how many consecutive innings a left hander in relief in night games went without yielding up a home run??
But sometimes they are illustrative of just how good and consistent a player is, when no competitor is even close.
Tiger Woods - 1st true sports billionaire. 10 years #1 in prize money, 2 years each at #2 and #4. 142 straight tournaments making the cut. Won 2000 US Open by 15 strokes.
Roger Federer - 22 straight Slam semi-finals (next closest is 10 straight major semi-finals). 237 consecutive weeks at #1 (next is an older player named Connors @160 back in the 70s)
C4 - I know way more stats on Federer then you do.
@Peter and @Mike, evidently one of the comments Tiger made on a voicemail was along the lines of "marriage isn't all it's cracked up to be."
There is a difference between appreciating a woman and sleeping with a woman. Even the most happily-married man will look at an attractive women, just as even the most happily-married woman will look at an attractive man. Cheating is another matter. A happily-married man values his relationship with his wife to the extent that he wouldn't threaten it with an affair, but if he sees less value in it then the chances of an affair go up. Where the curves cross depends on the man. Hint to women: choose a spouse who will tolerate a lot of unhappiness before straying, and then ensure he doesn't reach that threshold!
Was Elliot Spitzer happily married? Or Mark Sandford? Or Bill Clinton? I'd say 'No' on all three accounts. I can't speak to Spitzer or Sandford, but I think that Clinton was the type whose cheating curve crossed the unhappiness curve at a very low threshold.
wv: 'extra' as in extramarital... :-)
"A happily-married man values his relationship with his wife to the extent that he wouldn't threaten it with an affair..." John, you are still not saying it right. A happily-married man, or any decent man, wants to avoid threatening his relationship with his wife. Since he is tempted, he can still do the wrong thing. We all know about doing things we want to do against our better judgment, and this is one of the most powerful drives men have.
It would make as much sense to me to say that "Decent men, who care about their health, would never drink that unnecessary milk shake."
And to repeat, most of us don't have the same level of opportunity as Tiger Woods. Not even close. I don't think I'm qualified to snark. I'd rather thank my stars that trouble hasn't followed me.
John Clifford, I'm not about to take the words of a man, speaking to his mistress, as representative of objective truth.
Men tell their mistresses all sorts of lies. In fact, one might fairly assume that most of what a man tells his mistress about his marriage is false.
A married man, when speaking to his girlfriend, is not out to state the truth. His goal is to keep her quiet and compliant, which generally involves lying through his teeth.
Another thing; Elin Woods has been exposed to the African-American culture, and certainly long enough to realize Tiger was a bad proposition. Notwithstanding the perks.
It should also be noted that African-Americans are distinguished from all other black cultures, especially regarding sexual/marital fidelity. As one example, Haitians consider African-Americans morally diseased, among other character flaws.
To say the least, since her marriage Elin has been living through a cultural shock, rationalizing her way around the stark reality. But now it's punched her square in the face.
Which leaves her only one question: To ghetto, or not to ghetto.
Like I said, this is the best thing to happen to golf in a long time.
Then how do you explain someone like Jimmy Stewart, who remained faithful to his wife over many decades? A generational thing?
Risk/reward calculation much different back then, especially for a wholesome movie start like Stewart. There was no birth control pill. An illegitimate child could have ruined his career or, more likely, put him in the grip of a gossip columnist like Louella Parsons who was not afraid to use the information she gathered as leverage.
Today, the risk of getting caught is much higher due to e-mail, voicemail, digital cameras, surveillance video. But the risk of damage to the career is much lower. Seriously, I can't imagine why anyone would call Woods a "fraud" because of these dalliances? He might lose a portion of his fan base, but not enough to cost him much money or any success on the golf course, which is the only reason we know about him or care about him.
Same with movie actors. Sean Penn is a faithless bastard and a pied piper for a fascist left-wing dictator, and he has as many Oscars as Stewart won, and will probably win again some day.
If Woods can square things with his wife, that's all that matters, and it doesn't matter to anybody but his family.
FYI Tiger is 1/4 African American, 1/4 Thai, 1/4 Chinese, 1/8 Scottish, and 1/8 American Indian. He is as American as we get these days. He is so valuable because the world TV watching public for golf goes up 200% when he is playing. He is Beauty/Control/and a Fiesty attitude all in one package. I for one am still proud of him, although he is learning the danger in using the perfect ten Hostesses at all the Resorts he thinks he has earned. He cannot afford the damage they cause to him.
Website disbands over golfer's 'sins':
LOS ANGELES (AFP) – The transgressions of Tiger Woods have proved too much to take for one of the golf superstar's most fanatical fans who is now disbanding a church set up in praise of the sports icon.
John Ziegler, the pastor of the "First Church of Tiger Woods" -- www.tigerwoodsisgod.com -- has announced in a statement on the blog that the organization is being dissolved because of the golfer's "personal sins."
RE: "FYI":
Tiger Woods sees himself, first and foremost, as an African-American. And as such socializes with African-Americans, particularly gangsta-ballers.
Even the neighbor who called 911. In other words, you can gold-plate the ghetto, but it's still a ghetto.
Why the continued assertion that Elin abused or struck Tiger in any way. What has come out officially contradicts that (i.e. Tiger's injuries were consistent with the events as reported at the scene by him, Elin, the police and eye witnesses.)
Second, though I am not a woman nor a jealous man, it seems to me that the most hurtful part of this for Elin wasn't her husband sleeping with other women, thought that would be hurtful, but that he was carrying on with them like a teenager (and ignoring her.)
Another aspect is that the couple have children. Elin is the primary caregiver of them and even though wealthy, probably gets stressed out and would like some help and companionship. Instead of flying home and helping and being a father (and a MAN), Tiger was partying and acting like a selfish asshole.
New pre-nup details emerge:
If what they're reporting is correct, the Lady Woods needs another lawyer.
Althouse:
Manipulating a wife with vast sums of money after abusing her with affairs....
Why not?
She was quite willing to be manipulated for vast sums of money even before the affairs.
"We've already established that. All we're doing now is negotiating the price."
What is it that I'm supposed to want because Tiger Woods endorses it?
I can't even begin to figure out how it works
It's sublimininible.
People see the celebrity and remember the brand name. Later they see the brand name and remember the celebrity. Most advertisers thus want only positive feelings associated with their celebrity.
Men cheat because women are boring.
Also, the "think about the smacking around thing" is a precious little bit. I don't know what Tiger's capable of behind closed doors. But I do know that women commit more acts of domestic physical violence than men. Men don't report it as much due to fears of ridicule, not being taken seriously, and because the fact that they are generally stronger is assumed to give license to a shrew to wave the rolling pin in the air or whatnot before she bangs her guy on the back of the head with it. But Althouse's response demonstrates nothing other than the same standard stereotypes that any E.R. employee can provide her with some basic remediation about.
Alex said...
C4 - I know way more stats on Federer then you do.
So????
*twirls finger*
Drops his encounter....
2001 Indian Wells a friend and I and my wife went to watch this "really talented" newcomer the friend had heard about, practice. Federer was the Wimbledon Jr champ, had made it to lose in the bronze medal match in Australia. But before he ousted Sampras at Wimbledon, his 1st big attention-getter.
Maybe 20 people were there. I saw phenomenal footwork, speed.
My friend was talking to a guy who I think was Federer's coach about how great Roger moved and asked what language he spoke.
Federer, who had his back to us and who had just netted a ball turned - thinking I had said it, not my pal....Told me "English, here", and thanks for the footwork compliment because he was "getting much better". I wished him luck and said he'd do great.
Didn't think much of the encounter. Fed lost early, maybe 1st or 2nd round at Indian Wells. But before they get big, you have those opportunities to sometimes even converse.
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