Guest poster Elizabeth Gardner on L'affair Tigre

Here’re some thoughts my friend and terrific writer & blogger & thinker Elizabeth Gardner had on Tiger et al:

My grandmother, mother and oldest son, Luke, have all been Tiger-worshippers for a long time. Luke's first two-wheeler, with training wheels, was a tiny used bike with the word "Tiger" scrolled on its middle bar. Even at the age of two, he believed it meant that Tiger Woods, his hero, had owned the bike before him. It gave him an un-measurable amount of confidence as he navigated all those bumpy, pot-holed roads. I've always admired Tiger from afar – like his approach to golf, a sport that I haven't always appreciated (though do now that Luke is so passionate about it), and approach to life – his philanthropy, his intelligence, his drive. I don't deny Tiger the right to make mistakes; the guy is only human, and a guy at that. 🙂 I actually posted the Taiwanese video (from Huffington Post) on FB as a sort of tongue-in-cheek move, mostly b/c I thought it hilarious that someone would go to such an extent to animate the accident and events leading up to and spiraling from, fleshing it all out in, as you yourself said, an eerily accurate way. Call it a fascination with telling stories, imagining that we know all the little details, and an insistence that we are entitled to share them with the world.

Have you seen the Wanda Sykes' bit on the whole affair? Think it is on my page somewhere, posted by a friend. Pretty funny, unless you are Tiger, of course, and anyone connected to him.

I've read your post and I agree, with most of it. I think that to say that as human beings, we are not by nature monogamous is to over-simplify a bit, given the anthropological evidence of how our eventual shift to monogamy during the Paleolithic was one of the bigger contributing factors to our ability to maximize the good life, outlast the Neanderthals, and eventually become "the man." There are many animal species, too, that are monogamous, of course, the most flamboyant, perhaps, being our dear friend, the Blue-footed Booby. But you are right: men and women are different, and when it comes to the ability to be monogamous, perhaps men are at a disadvantage, given how you/they are wired: that primal drive to reproduce, to scatter your offspring about the world, have sons to carry on the family name, and die knowing that your seed has spread, your blood and Y chromosome will carry on, is one that is devilishly crafted from both genetics, ancient imprinting, environmental trappings, and cultural aspirations. So complicated. And when we insist that Tiger be held to the same standards to which our Puritan forefathers held their wives (not sure I can say that the men were held to the same standards), it seems a little ridiculous. There have been a lot of articles written about why so many politicians cheat on their wives; there must be similar forces at work for professional athletes, actors, etc. I Can only imagine that being in the spotlight, graced with such rock-star-status, or some strange kind of false divinity, might introduce a whole host of temptations and irresistibles that even the most strident, earnest dude could not resist. Plus, there's the fact that married life – particularly when the kids come along – is incredibly challenging.

I am glad that Tiger has finally addressed the accident publicly; I do think that the speculation (including all the videos and such that have been produced) about what really happened and why comes naturally, too, given our culture of rubbernecking, eavesdropping, reality tv, and the pretense of instant social networking/blogging pseudo-celebrity status that has transformed our better sense. Sometimes, it's as if these things are expected – that greatness begets some kind of a fall, that we hoist certain people so high up on pedestals that they cannot not disappoint, take a tumble, become human again.

I do wish the best for the guy–and his "big Viking bitch" of a wife (that's Wanda Sykes-speak)–:)