Sportsmanship in Black: Tiger Woods

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Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods was born December 30, 1975 in Cypress, California.  Wait a minute, Sol.  How can you write a piece on Tiger Woods?  First, he's not done playing yet.  Second, have you forgotten about the events of the last year?  I know Woods isn't done, but the history he's made so far is remarkable in and of itself.  Second, I know about what happened in his personal life, but that's not at issue here.  Woods has almost single-handedly changed the way golf is played, watched, and covered.  Kids of all races want to play golf because of Tiger Woods in the same way kids wanted to play basketball because of Michael Jordan or box because of Muhammad Ali. 

Woods' impact may be even greater because golf was a game played mostly by the rich and retirees.  Tiger and I were both 21 in 1997.  I was a junior at Rockhurst University and he was shattering records at the Masters.  Never before have I been so motivated by someone my own age.  His shining symbol of accomplishment came in the form of a green jacket.  Mine came in the form of a degree a year later.  I'm not saying Tiger Woods motivated me to graduate from college.  There were a thousand other factors that contributed to that.  He did show me there's nothing wrong with being first.  Woods was the first African-American to win the Masters.  I was the first in my family to graduate from college.  I'm happy to say "was" because my niece, Camille became the second.  She attended my college graduation as a high school senior. I'd like to think Uncle Sol gave her a little nudge.

Just in case my story wasn't enough, remember what Earl Woods wanted for his young son - the same thing we want for our kids - success.  Take a moment and peel back the money, trophies cars, and houses and see the little boy who would become...(Email subscribers click here).  Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol