Why Golf Needs Tiger

Never has the sport of Golf seen a player as talented as Tiger Woods. Yes, Jack and Arnie were the best to ever play during their generations, but Tiger did something that many people thought was not possible. He made the game of golf exciting and a can’t miss event! Whether it was a fist pump or an obscenity he was yelling after a miss hit, Tiger was changing the face of golf one hole at a time.

Just because of his culture Tiger brought an entire new generation of people into the game of golf that never thought about playing before Tiger. This generation of young adults and their kids had someone they felt they could relate to. Whether that relation was valid or not, didn’t matter because it was the perception of being able to relate to him and perception is something that is almost impossible to change.

As good as Jack, Arnie, Bobby Jones, Fred Couples and Greg Norman were they very rarely reached the less than affluent population of the World and Tiger did. Tiger reached segments of the world that Golf would have never reached with Jack, and Arnie, and that's not a knock on Jack or Arnie but a tribute to what Tiger has done over the years.

Tiger probably reached his apex during the US Open in 2008 when he beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff on the 91st hole to win his 14th major championship. It was vintage Tiger Woods playing on a knee that after the match would require surgery and keep him out for several months. He had the entire world talking about golf the next day. It was on every channel on TV and made the front page of almost every newspaper and internet site the next day. The World According to Tiger was here and here to stay.

Then the worst fall in sports history happened and we all know the rest. The void was evident and Golf suffered greatly. Attendance at Golf matches decreased instantly. The TV ratings died and golf purses decreased because sponsors were giving less and less money. The media was looking for the next big thing and were looking high and low to see who could be the next Tiger Woods. Many tried but no one could match up to what Tiger was in 2008.

The only close comparison to this type of void left from a superstar leaving his sport is when Michael Jordan retired and went to play baseball. The year and a half he was gone was bad for business. Sports networks had more highlights of Michael striking out multiple times a game than they did of the NBA during the playoffs. Michael eventually came back and he won 3 more titles.

The conclusion to Tiger's legacy hasn't been written yet and it will be fun to see how it ends. Will it be a less than exciting, Sopranos or Seinfeld ending? Or will it be a more of an exciting emotional ride like the ones M.A.S.H or Cheers took us on when they went off the air. Whatever the conclusion there will be one thing for certain...some will be rooting for him to succeed and some will be rooting for him to fail, but everyone will be watching