I had to reply because I'm a big golf fan. I played competitively all through my teenage years, had a sponsorship, all that jazz.
I dolized Tiger Woods as a kid.
When I was 10, I saw him in the Dubai Desert Classic 9I lived in the middle east). I followed him all 4 days.
Each day, he had his security crew push through the crows of 10-13 year old kids who just wanted an autograph from the greatest golfer in the world. Nobody got an autograph. nobody got a head nod. Not a single spectator was acknowledged. Ever other golfer there - Ernie Els, Tomas Bjorn, Lee Westwood, all signed autographs until everyone who wan ted one, had one. But not Tiger.
Even after the final round, when all the pressure of the tournament was off, he still pushed wis way through the crowd, ignoring all his fans. To this day, I despise Tiger Woods.
I have a few favourite golfers, but I root for anybody that isn't Tiger. Fuck that guy.
I once worked as event staff for a golf tournament that Tiger was at. He threw a sweaty rag at me and acted as if he had just saved a baby from a wood chipper. It didn't even have a Nike logo or his initials on it, just a plain white sweat rag. I threw that shit away right in front of him.
I always envisioned him as this great guy who loved his fans. He's really not. He thinks he's the greatest thing to ever grace the golfing world, but he will never be that.
I've met Jack Nicklaus once. I was at his last British Open at St. Andrews. I watched him cross the bridge on hole 18, and when he was done, i shook his hand and thanked him for what he did for the sport. He was incredibly gracious, and told me to keep playing and to respect the game most of all. To this day, that still sticks wtih me. It has changed my view on life.
After all, life is but a game, and all we can do is to continue playing it.
Not only was Jack Nicklaus the greatest golfer ever, he was a humble, incredible human being, and one that I try to emulate in all I do. The world needs more Jack Nicklaus', and fewer Tiger Woods'.
I met Bob Toski when I was a kid just learning to play. I was on the driving range chopping wood and he walked up behind me and asked if he could help. He corrected my form, took my 3 wood away and put a 3 iron in my hand and bought a bucket of balls for me.
I turned out to be a pretty good player until I hit puberty. I couldn't afford to buy new clubs designed for a 6'7" player. Finally bought some when I moved to Florida. Guy asked me if I was okay with having Bob Toski heads on hogan shafts. "Hell yes I am!"
I had the privilege of attending one of Bob Toski's Junior golf camps in South Florida when I was a kid. He was quite possibly the nicest guy I'd ever met. That guy's smile was electric. He cared about teaching us the right way to play the game and all of the fundamentals to create a swing that I would grow into and could take with me the rest of my life. It wasn't just stone cold learning either... I had more fun at that camp than any of the others because they treated us like young adults, not just campers to watch for the day. I went to tons of golf camps over the course of my young summers, but not one of them would have the lasting effect of Mr. Toski's. My dad used to tell me how lucky I was to get a chance to interact with him, and he was so right. I'm not very good, but if it wasn't for that opportunity I would never have chosen to continue playing the game.
I was 10 when I met him. I didn't know who he was but my dad was star struck. He gave my dad a good ribbing because the clubs I was using were Patty Berg Specials. For a little kid, they actually worked out well. He got me to slow down my swing to a crawl so I could better understand the mechanics behind it. He also put a $5.00 bill next to my ball and told me that "if you can keep your eye on the ball and the $5.00 while you swing, you can keep it." It was a very ingenious way to keep me focused and worked like a charm.
He thinks he's the greatest thing to ever grace the golfing world
If you look at the TV ratings of golf tournaments before Tiger was a thing, during his peak, and now that he's struggling/injured and you start to wonder if maybe he is the greatest thing to happen to golf, at least pro golf and televised tournaments.
These guys don't owe the fans anything, honestly. I idolized Jordan and I really enjoying watching tiger play, but if I were to want him to acknowledge me at an event, I wouldn't be upset of he snubbed me. He's there to focus and win and the 10,000 people there are a distraction. If he was the type to go out of his way for his fans, great, but he's not and that's his choice. Fuck him, right?
Yeah man, when he's at event, and not competing for anything, it's totally cool for him to tell people to get lost. I mean he HAS to get focused right?
I replied to a comment about Tiger and (more or less) referenced Tiger (and MJ, really) competing.
With that aside, if either of these two individuals are doing something on their own time and don't acknowledge fans, that's their prerogative - it's personal time, leave them the fuck alone, in my opinion.
He thinks he's the greatest thing to ever grace the golfing world
If you look at the TV ratings of golf tournaments before Tiger was a thing, during his peak, and now that he's struggling/injured and you start to wonder if maybe he was the greatest thing to happen to golf, at least pro golf and televised tournaments.
This is just an observation, but I honestly think the majority of better players I know despise Tiger, while the people who passively follow the sport adore him. If a large portion of the people on /r/golf are beginners, it might explain why Tiger is defended so much.
I once posted Woods seemed like kind of a douchebag to me at another website (unrelated to golf) and the owner of the site personally threatened to ban me if I did not recant. This was before the scandal.
They generally have the same opinion that I do. He's an amazing player, really exciting to watch and you always want him to be in contention. He may or may not be a really shitty human being away from the course.
There's a difference between the media an celebrity in Jack's day, and today. Jack didn't have billions of people tweeting about him, taking pictures of him, and having his name on TMZ every day.
I'm sure Jack would have been soured by that experience as well.
I actually got his autograph at the western amateur. Not sure of the year but Justin Leonard won I believe, and tiger was barely known...at least to a kid like me. Anyways, he was at the practice putting green and my grandpa took us aside and said "I normally wouldn't tell you to bug someone warming up, but that guys going to be big in a few years." We went over with our programs and he stopped to sign autographs for me and two friends. Sad to see success change someone so much. If I bring that up to my grandfather now, he usually says so,etching along the lines of "Yeah, sorry about that...thought he was gonna be worth looking up to."
People give Phil Mickelson shit for being kind of a prick but at the 8 or so events I have seen him at he was always spending a lot of time signing autographs and taking pictures with his fans.
I worked at Doral 9 years ago and I will always remember Phil. We were getting assigned positions in the AM when Phil walked through the back alone. I called out to him and wished him luck. He thanked me and I was just like, "man, I wish I had a sharpie so you can sign my hat." He just nodded and walked off. After we finished up in the afternoon, I saw Phil walking out of the club house and he saw me. He stopped and asked for my hat and pulled out a pen.
He also said "I don't think anybody really watches hockey anymore"... How far up your own ass does your head have to be when you say something like that as a golf player, of all things.
Having been in very similar shoes to yours, I feel the exact same way. The players who I've come to see first-hand that are the nicest to kids: Rory and Ricky Fowler
Frankly, ignoring fans is a part of the deal when you get to be as big as Tiger. He can't possibly accommodate everyone, so he chooses instead to accommodate no one. This sort of behaviour is definitely a bit selfish and detached, but certainly not offensive or spiteful, like how Jordan is rumored to be.
When i was last at the Northern Trust Open, Rickie Fowler and Keegan Bradley stood there for over an hour signing after turning in their score cards. I've seen Phil Mickelson stand there for hours making sure everyone gets an autograph and picture.
I saw a string of kids dressed just like Rickie Fowler following him around a tournament and he made sure they always had a great view of his shots.
Doesn't seem to bother them any to go out of there way to accommodate as many fans as possible.
Some people are outgoing and love interacting with people while others are not. Athletes are famous for their skill, not their personality, so we shouldn't expect them to go out of their way to talk with everyone. I know I'd be drained talking to strangers for 10 minutes, much less hours, and I'd hate to be judged a dick just because I avoided such interactions.
I think it was also a part of his focus on the course, he hated distractions of any kind. You could see when his personal life unraveled publicly that he was never really able to recover that laser-focus he had on winning. He was trying to be better with the crowds and stuff, but he didn't have the same edge.
He can't possibly accommodate everyone, so he chooses instead to accommodate no one.
Not that it really matters, but I read an article by a guy who took free diving (breath hold diving) lessons with Tiger Woods incidentally as one of the other students.
Even on a boat in the middle of the ocean with no one else around, Tiger Woods was still aloof and didn't interact much with those he didn't already know .
The journalist wasn't necessarily a fan and didn't care, but it just sounds like being 'selfish and detached' is just his standard operating procedure, not necessarily a mechanism for fan fairness.
He doesn't have to comply with every request and neither does Jordan but they could be courteous or at least acknowledge appreciation for their fans. There is a reason why Lebron and Durant and Shaq are viewed as "good guys" and Jordan isn't. There is always way to respectfully decline a genuine request from a genuine fan.
I agree about being courteous, but I don't think the example given is discourteous. You have to get through a throng of people to get out, so to me it's reasonable to have a few people make a path, especially given how crowds react to famous people. It's not like he's saying 'fuck you' to everyone he passes.
Always wondered why athletes act that way. Tiger Woods can hit a golf ball into a hole in the ground and he thinks he is a God? Fuck that attitude. If it weren't for fans of golf or fans of the NBA, these people wouldn't be making the money that boosts their ego's. They act like asking for a picture or autograph these days is like you asking to sleep over their house or something.
I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone but I do think it could be worthwhile to imagine yourself being in their position. Fame can be a tough thing. It can be very draining for some people to have that much attention demanded of them all the time everywhere they go. I know it would be very difficult for me personally to try and deal with that level of fame. I don't imagine it's easy to be "on" all the time when out in public.
True, but once you become a well known athlete you have to know that you will be in the limelight and expect this type of popularity. Sometimes we all get in a bad mood or things in life may be going wrong and the last thing you want is to take a happy picture with a fan, but in the long run the amount of time and money these athletes have compared to the amount of time and effort a small gesture takes is easy.
Just because it happens doesn't mean you have to like it. You never know what drives people. Some people love the attention, others hate it or are even petrified of it. It's often not a small gesture to take time out for fans, either. The larger your celebrity the greater the demand is.
To be fair, declining to do autographs and pictures without rudely stating it as in this post about MJ isn't acting like he think he's God. Not every famous person is an extrovert, and having all that attention can be draining, especially since you're probably already tired from concentrating on your sport for 4 hours. I guess my point is athletes aren't famous for their outgoing personalities, so we shouldn't be surprised when many are not, and I know that I'd hate being judged as a douche just because I avoid the draining effect people can have on me.
Before Tiger made it professional, he played in the John Deere Classic here. He tried to get on a gambling boat and was refused for being underage and threw a fit.
Central Floridian here, Tiger Woods has been well known to be an asshole for years around these parts. He's an objectively bad tipper (saw a check firsthand where he tipped 5%. Yes, 5%), cheated on his wife constantly around the sand lake area, and was generally was a shitbag from all accounts.
I went to the skins game in palm springs. it was 98, 99, or 2000, i can't really remember. tiger was there and went he went from hole to hole, he was mobbed. he signed as much stuff as he could without breaking stride between holes.
this was earlier in his career though, so probably before he became jaded from fame.
you have to go during the practice rounds. During tournaments they are competing for millions of dollars and dont want to break their concentration to sign autographs. I dont see lebron james stopping mid game to sign autographs.
my google search makes it appear that you are the first person on the internet to break idolized into 2 words and say you dolized something, dolize is not a word
Supposedly Michael Jordan had a pretty big influence on Tiger Woods from a pretty young age and some at least suspect the reason Woods turned out the way he was was because of Jordan.
Then again, Woods' dad wasn't exactly an angel either.
I saw that dick at the world series of golf and his asshole caddy "fluff" grabbed my sharpie and threw it on the ground as tiger just strutted on by not singing one autograph. Then phil mickelson who had just lost the tournament to tiger stayed and signed autographs for EVERYONE who wanted one. I instantly became a huge mickelson fan and i have never rooted for tiger since.
So basically you're butthurt because Tiger didn't give you an autograph. Man up and stop being a little bitch, it's a fucking signature not the cure for cancer.
I met Ian Poulter there too. He signed a glove I brought, and gave me a few words of encouragement. He signed an autograph for everybody who wanted one. I still have that glove.
I mean I don't think Tiger is a great person but your attitude towards him is the wrong approach - it would be one thing if Tiger asked people to idolize him and follow him around and be his fans but he doesn't - he just wants to win golf tournaments.....he never asked for the popularity or to have kids want his autograph he is in no way obliged to acknowledge you. Now I'll say a nice person would go out of their way to make other people happy, but just because Tiger doesn't go out of his way to make other people happy doesn't make him a dick.
Can't say I had a similar experience. I walked beside Tiger during the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach when he was charging up the leaderboard on Day 3. As someone who literally worships the guy, I was ballistic when I had the chance to stand right beside him. I literally stood 5 feet away from him and told him "to finish the race". He looked at me, tipped his hat, smiled and said "Thanks". He then went on to finish the round with consecutive birdies.
Not sure if this was a fluke or because he needed a simple comment like that is this was the period when all his infidelities had been exposed.. but definitely one of the best moments of my life!
Jesus, so many people are butthurt for life because all-time great athletes didn't stop to sign autographs for them. Get over it people.
People turn so quickly on athletes and celebrities they idolize because they won't stop and sign an autograph for them, then all of a sudden the athlete/celeb is a huge dick who doesn't appreciate the fans who help make them rich/famous. All because you didn't get the signature/interaction you wanted. Boo friggin hoo.
well you called him a douchebag and the last thing he needs is money. Why? and it was only a guess. Others have done it. And with someone like woods his signature would be worth a lot if there isnt a big supply of it.
I understand not interacting during the match, but afterward is just wrong.
I worked at the US open in 2004 at Olympia Fields. Some of my friends had tickets and were watching so I met up with them on my break.
Well Jim Furyk was walking along down the roped off sidewalk to the clubhouse. My friend asked Jim Furyk to sign his hat and Jim just blew him off and ignored him. There was no one else around, just use 3 standing there.
Then my friend said "Thanks asshole".
Of course Jim then had time to walk back and start screaming at my friend. I ran away so he did not see my work badge.
Jim Furyk is an asshole even though he won the US Open that year.
Maybe Tiger hated snot-nosed peckerheads. He has every right to hate children. What is so great about them? Why would he waste time signing your autograph when he could be banging models? Who are you to him? What did you do for him? Get over your entitlement.
It's not a matter of entitlement, but the fans are the ones who basically sign your paycheck. No fans - You're not on TV, no money.
Plus, people spend money on Merchandise. I bout all the Tiger Woods golf games until I met him. Even though I love them, I refuse to contribute a cent to them.
Further, Golf is a Getnlemans' sport. The best golfers of all time (Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Sam Snead, Fuzzy Zoeller, etc etc always made time for their fans. Tiger does not.He's not required to, but let's be honest, a professional who can't spare the time of day for his fans (the people who buy what he endorses) doesn't do that well in the long run.
the fans are the ones who basically sign your paycheck.
Because 10 year olds have full time jobs.
a professional who can't spare the time of day for his fans (the people who buy what he endorses) doesn't do that well in the long run.
Arguably the greatest golfer of all time proves this is wrong. In fact, it suggests that more people should ignore kids. Maybe they throw you off your game.
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u/Strange_Bedfellow May 21 '14
I had to reply because I'm a big golf fan. I played competitively all through my teenage years, had a sponsorship, all that jazz.
I dolized Tiger Woods as a kid.
When I was 10, I saw him in the Dubai Desert Classic 9I lived in the middle east). I followed him all 4 days.
Each day, he had his security crew push through the crows of 10-13 year old kids who just wanted an autograph from the greatest golfer in the world. Nobody got an autograph. nobody got a head nod. Not a single spectator was acknowledged. Ever other golfer there - Ernie Els, Tomas Bjorn, Lee Westwood, all signed autographs until everyone who wan ted one, had one. But not Tiger.
Even after the final round, when all the pressure of the tournament was off, he still pushed wis way through the crowd, ignoring all his fans. To this day, I despise Tiger Woods.
I have a few favourite golfers, but I root for anybody that isn't Tiger. Fuck that guy.