a culture of disrespect

i am not much of a golfer.  but i grew up in a family that watched and played golf and married into a family that did  both as well.  so the obsession with the masters' tournament every april is nothing new to me.   however, this april and this masters offered something more - for the whole world.

earlier this year, after the tiger woods sex scandal broke, everyone was up in arms.  it turns out that the tiger we all imagined probably has little relationship to the real tiger woods - other than his competitiveness.  the story was everywhere - tabloids, reputable news organizations, the web - you name it, they were talking about tiger.  especially sports writers/commentators/shows.  the fervor never seemed to die down, and when he announced he would return to golf at the masters it just got worse.  throw in a very weird nike ad released last week and you've got a media frenzy. 

around saturday it became clear that tiger wasn't really in contention about the same time it became clear that phil mickelson was tearing up the course with the best golf of his life (i'm speculating cause i wasn't watching really.  besides for these purposes it's unimportant.) even my youth group boys hung around watching the tv until they heard phil had pulled it off.  i thought good for phil. he was the best golfer, so he gets the green jacket.  his mom and his wife have been sick, so this was a great moment for him.

cut to today, when i log into facebook  and see more than one person posting a link to a rick reilly article on espn and talking about how wonderful it was.   i made the mistake of looking and THIS is what i find:

It's not often women win the Masters, but they did Sunday.

Actually, Phil Mickelson won, but for millions of women around the country, it must feel like a lipstick-sized victory. Mickelson, in case you forgot, is the guy who stayed true to his wife. He's the guy who's been missing tournaments the last 11 months while he flies her back and forth to a breast cancer specialist in Houston. He's the guy who didn't need reminding that women are not disposable.

Mani-pedis for everybody!

Also winning Sunday: karma, which proved to be alive and well. And guys who never had a temper in the first place. And endings that make you wipe your tears on the couch pillows.

wtf?  i mean, are you kidding me?!?!  because phil mickelson won the masters, women around the country win as well.  and because 'we' win, everyone gets mani-pedis?  what kind of patriarchal, projectionist bs is this?  reading this a few minutes ago was the last straw in the tiger debacle for me.  really.

come on america, i mean i know you're not sure how you feel about tiger - either because of his race(s), his hot swedish wife, his foul-mouth, his blatant and embarrassing womanizing, his explicit text messages, or the like.  

i'm not sure how i feel about him.  i know if that was my husband he would either be dead or divorced by now.  But all that aside, tiger woods doesn't owe any of us anything.  he owes things to his family and friends, but not to you america. and not to rick reilly or any other writer/commentator at espn. 
he's a golfer.  he never claimed to be perfect -  you claimed he was perfect, had the perfect life - the wife, kids, money, yacht.  and even if he had claimed to be perfect, the outcome of a golf tournament does not hinge on his extra-curricular activities.  neither does it hinge on mickelsons.  

phil won the masters tournament because he was the best golfer on sunday (prob saturday too but i digress).  he didn't win because his wife has cancer, or because his family has been struggling, or because he was missing tournament to be with her during treatments.

tiger came in 4th at the masters because he hasn't played golf competitively in 5 MONTHS! the fact that he was 4th says alot about his ability and his concentration.  his finish is not a commentary on his life, his marriage, or his personal problems.  

listen up rick reilly and all you other self-righteous people out there: YOU are not the arbitrator of good and bad, YOU don't get to assign purpose to the universe, or judge between people.  i know that we as a country thrive on having someone to hate, someone to kick while they're down, but COME ON!  a golf tournament - even the vaulted masters - is not tiger (or phil's) judgement.  it's not karma - ITS A GOLF TOURNAMENT!

maybe this so called christian nation could take that advice about removing the log from your own eye before trying to take the spec out of our neighbor's. 

i'm just sayin'.