Thread: What in the hell is Tiger thinking?

Actually, this is another point to keep in mind. If we collectively as a society didn't worship sports figures, companies would be less inclined to sponsor them since it wouldn't really affect sales anyway. And if that happened, they'd become less rich. And if that were the case, we'd likely have fewer such scandals since they'd have less money to get themselves in trouble with. They'd generally be less famous too, since we'd be busy playing sports ourselves instead of just watching the famous play sports.

But of course that would kill the tabloid industry, not to mention all the fun of tearing a public figure apart in public. It's much better for us to worship sports figures so that big companies will sponsor them ad give them lavish lifestyles so as to give us an excuse to stick our noses in their affairs (and I mean it in the general, not necessarily sexual, sense here), with these lavish lifestyles increasing the chances of such indiscretions, yet more fodder for the media and shallow public to feed on. When if we'd ignored them in the first place, they'd never have gotten so rich and developed such lavish lifestyles to begin with, and likely not have gotten into all this trouble with their money. It's easy to point the finger, harder to look at the mirror and admit that we ourselves contribute to the lifestyles of the rich and famous by our worship of their fame.

Originally Posted by Indigo_Girl

“This thread is entirely contradictory to Michael_Q's thread on celebrity privacy. Just thought I'd note that?”

"Note this:" Then of course with all that hot air you'll have no problem producing an example.

I see you're new here, (unless you're one of the people I boycott because they're so full of it, and I must say you start out sounding exactly like that), otherwise, give me an example and I'll gladly address it.

Originally Posted by Machjo

Who cares about their public image, good or bad? In the end, it's between them and their families.

Tell that to his sponsors.

What about Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan. There are plenty of other issues more important than the rich and famous. If we didn't pay so much attention to them in the first place, guess what, they would never have become so rich either.

Do you realize how many people spend a lot of time in this thread complaining about this thread?? What a pant load. If you want to discuss something else, what drew you here. Go find something else.

Originally Posted by Machjo

Actually, this is another point to keep in mind. If we collectively as a society didn't worship sports figures, companies would be less inclined to sponsor them since it wouldn't really affect sales anyway. And if that happened, they'd become less rich. And if that were the case, we'd likely have fewer such scandals since they'd have less money to get themselves in trouble with. They'd generally be less famous too, since we'd be busy playing sports ourselves instead of just watching the famous play sports.

But of course that would kill the tabloid industry, not to mention all the fun of tearing a public figure apart in public. It's much better for us to worship sports figures so that big companies will sponsor them ad give them lavish lifestyles so as to give us an excuse to stick our noses in their affairs (and I mean it in the general, not necessarily sexual, sense here), with these lavish lifestyles increasing the chances of such indiscretions, yet more fodder for the media and shallow public to feed on. When if we'd ignored them in the first place, they'd never have gotten so rich and developed such lavish lifestyles to begin with, and likely not have gotten into all this trouble with their money. It's easy to point the finger, harder to look at the mirror and admit that we ourselves contribute to the lifestyles of the rich and famous by our worship of their fame.

We're not contributing jack by talking about it here.

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

We're not contributing jack by talking about it here.

You're right. What I'm saying though is that if we didn't buy a pair of shoes because a famous person's picture was on the box, companies would no longer waste their money sponsoring them, and so they'd e less rich, and so we wouldn't have their wealth as an excuse to drag their private lives into the public spotlight. Our commercialization of sports has created this wealth, so there is none to blame but ourselves for the mass wealth collected by these sports figures.

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

Tell that to his sponsors.

I'm not his sponsor, so not my issue.

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

Do you realize how many people spend a lot of time in this thread complaining about this thread?? What a pant load. If you want to discuss something else, what drew you here. Go find something else.

One related issue that would be worth covering which is the one I'm mostly addressing here, is how athlete-worship affects those athletes and society in general, economically, socially, culturally and otherwise.

As for the affairs of a specific athlete, that's none of my business. As for how athlete worship affects society as a whole, that is my business since it affects my life too, directly or otherwise. For example, it likely pushes the cost of certain sports products up because of all the overhead costs incurred by companies to sponsor these athletes.

Originally Posted by Machjo

You're right. What I'm saying though is that if we didn't buy a pair of shoes because a famous person's picture was on the box, companies would no longer waste their money sponsoring them, and so they'd e less rich, and so we wouldn't have their wealth as an excuse to drag their private lives into the public spotlight. Our commercialization of sports has created this wealth, so there is none to blame but ourselves for the mass wealth collected by these sports figures.

So what does that have to do with us here discussing the pros and cons of the mistakes he made and the way he handles this nightmare? It happened, people are talking about it, that's a fact. We can learn something from how he goes forward. We have nothing, not a thing to lose by talking about it. What the hell is the big reluctance?

Originally Posted by Machjo

One related issue that would be worth covering which is the one I'm mostly addressing here, is how athlete-worship affects those athletes and society in general, economically, socially, culturally and otherwise.

As for the affairs of a specific athlete, that's none of my business. As for how athlete worship affects society as a whole, that is my business since it affects my life too, directly or otherwise. For example, it likely pushes the cost of certain sports products up because of all the overhead costs incurred by companies to sponsor these athletes.

I basically agree with that. I remember wondering why General Swartzkopff was getting paid $400K for being responsible for half a million lives and winning the Gulf War and Michael Jorden was making 30 million for throwing a piece of rubber through a hoop. That's always seemed insane to me. Our values in this country are all screwed up, that's a given. The real heros are ignored and the slugs like howard stern and others are treated like royalty. But that's a different issue. But even there, Tiger's appeal for me was that he WAS one of those people truly worthy of admiration beyond his golf. That's why this is significant to me.

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

"Note this:" Then of course with all that hot air you'll have no problem producing an example.

An example has been given.

You're just too afraid to address it...

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

So what does that have to do with us here discussing the pros and cons of the mistakes he made and the way he handles this nightmare? It happened, people are talking about it, that's a fact. We can learn something from how he goes forward. We have nothing, not a thing to lose by talking about it. What the hell is the big reluctance?

Fair enough, maybe I was overreacting to the apparent worship of sportsmen. I'm not saying you're guilty of that, but I guess I tend to jump too fast at that conclusion when I see the names of sports figures branded about in a discussion. As for the general question of what we can learn of persons who have successfully surmounted the fallout from adultery, that is certainly a valid topic of discussion, but that would apply to anyone in that position and not just Tiger Woods specifically. The issues he'll face will be similar to those other adulterers will face except for the fame part of it.

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

I basically agree with that. I remember wondering why General Swartzkopff was getting paid $400K for being responsible for half a million lives and winning the Gulf War and Michael Jorden was making 30 million for throwing a piece of rubber through a hoop. That's always seemed insane to me. Our values in this country are all screwed up, that's a given. The real heros are ignored and the slugs like howard stern and others are treated like royalty. But that's a different issue. But even there, Tiger's appeal for me was that he WAS one of those people truly worthy of admiration beyond his golf. That's why this is significant to me.

I can see your point here. However, I don't think we can really blame the sports figures themselves for this wealth. The fault lies with us, the consumers who choose to spend extra money for brand names that flaunt these sports figures. If we did not do this, they wouldn't be so rich in the first place. Or just think of the guy who complains that hockey players earn too much money and then pays to see a hockey match. Hmmm... where does he think that money comes from? The same applies to Michael Jordan.

Originally Posted by Michael_Q

I basically agree with that. I remember wondering why General Swartzkopff was getting paid $400K for being responsible for half a million lives...

Huh???

He didn't get paid anywhere near $400K.

I don't suspect that you'll allow facts get in your way, but this is just another example of how you're just simply, yet absolutely, wrong.

The rank of U.S. Army general is the most senior in that branch of the armed services. It is designated as O-10 on the military pay scale, which means a salary of about $14,000 to $17,000 per month, depending on the number of years of service.

Source

Once again, no need to thank me for setting you straight...