Today in class we discussed Tiger Woods and his most recent
win. The discussion focused on if this was the beginning of a comeback and if
people have forgotten about his scandal. This then led to a discussion about
whether women look more into the personal life of an athlete or if they are
interested in the athlete and the game they play. This got me to think more
about the subject and I wanted to find more insight from the class.
When the Tiger Woods scandal broke, I was saddened to see
someone I considered a hero tell the whole world the truth about his life. I
became a Tiger Woods fan when I was eight years old and did a book report on
him. Everything about the way he grew up to how he found success was inspiring
to me and I began to watch golf more regularly. He grew up from a young
bachelor to a married family man and built this impeccable public image. In a
matter of 24 hours that image was crushed and he not only lost a family and
many sponsors, but also many fans. He also lost a lot of respect from the media
and fans. Over the past three years he has worked to make himself a better man
and a better golfer. I would say that the talk about Tiger’s private life
stopped when his divorce was finalized and everything between he and Elin had
been settled. The media also seemed to care less about his private life when it
was discovered that Elin had moved on and began a new life for herself. With
Tiger’s recent win everyone seemed to forget about the past and wanted to focus
on the present and future.
As a woman, I am happy to see Tiger is back to winning and I
hope that his career continues on the positive path. While it is hard to forget
about his past, I can focus on his game and I am still a Tiger fan. For me an
athlete’s personal life is different from the game. I am also a Josh Hamilton
fan and even though he had a recent relapse with his sobriety I will still root
for him this coming MLB season. My question is do you think women look more
into an athlete’s personal life rather than his career? I was kind of offended
when some suggested that a woman is not as focused on the game as a man is
because I believe that to be a myth. I am focused on an athlete’s game and
believe that anybody can make a comeback.
I am also fascinated with the commonly accepted (in our class at least) 'fact' that women care more about an athlete's personal life than they care about the athlete's athletic career.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a pretty pigeonholed thought that I would expect to be shot down in a Sports and Gender class. Doesn't this seem like the kind of rhetoric that was spewed when men during the 60's and well before were arguing that it wasn't a woman's place to be competing against one another? Back then it was implied that a woman was 'supposed' to care more about the personal life aspect in a person's world and they shouldn't worry themselves or stress themselves out worrying about anybody's athletic competition.
That thought process has now evolved 50 years later into men automatically assuming that just because somebody is a woman that they care more about the personal life more than the athletic accomplishments. Of course women can participate in athletic competitions now with the funding from universities, but at the end of the day it is still assumed that women will care more about about the personal life of someone as opposed to caring about their athletic endeavor.
I think women who do not enjoy sports look more into an athlete's personal life rather than their career. Those people use it as an excuse not to watch the game or event. From my experience those who do not like the sport are far more likely to talk down upon an athlete in any situation. I agree with Alli. I am focused on the game. I feel like if you appreciate the sport or game, personal mishaps do not influence my opinion on the athlete in the sport. Yes it is always disappointing to here something negative about and athlete but it happens.
ReplyDelete-Courtney Cox
I don't think people connections to an athlete’s personal life over athletic accomplishments has to do with if you’re a male or female. It may be more if you are a fan of the game or if you are more of an emotionally attached person. I enjoy stories of players and learning more about an athlete off the field. I would say that in many cases hearing about an appealing story of an athlete will sometimes get me to watch or care about something I wouldn't care about or care less about without it. Personal lives of athletes also play a role in me being more of a fan of an athlete or not, but don't get me wrong when its game time those stories only go so far. I would say a reason why so many people are fans of Tim Tebow is because of all the news generated from his personal life, beliefs, and what he stands for. That is true of Tebow whether male or female.
ReplyDelete-Tony Fritsch
Comment by Mark Chipperfield
ReplyDeleteI agree with the majority of the comments on this blog that how much someone cares about an athlete’s personal life has nothing to do with gender. I also don’t really view a sports fan caring about an athlete’s personal life as necessarily being a negative thing either. As long as they don’t go out of their way to try and find something out about the athlete or publish untrue things about them then they are fine. I feel like everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if somebody feels like someone like Tiger Wood’s shouldn’t be forgiven for what he did then they should be allowed to feel that way.
I might be one of the only ones, but when I have a favorite athlete, it isn't just about their on-field accomplishments. I usually like players that seem like good people off the field. For example, one of my all-time favorite athletes is Ray Allen. I like Allen mainly because he is my hometown hero and because I met him when I was young. It also helps that he is one of the best shooters in NBA history, but I would still be a fan of his because of my experience with him, regardless of his accomplishments on the court. The way an athlete carry's themselves off-field is certainly important to me, but at the same time, I also think it is important to not dwell on the past too much. For instance, I wouldn't consider myself a fan of Michael Vick, and I think what he did was wrong. But he did his time and paid his dues in my opinion. There are plenty of people that still hold the dog-fighting against him today, and they have every right to still be upset, but I personally don't worry about it and have let it go.
ReplyDeleteEveryone who has commented as made great points on why or why not women look at sport games differently than men. Tiger Woods is such a different example then just your everyday professional athlete who makes mistakes involving their personal life. I don't think there will be another story quite like Tiger's one that he experienced in sports ever again. In my opinion, I think women do look at the game differently but as Courtney said above it's only the women fans who don't enjoy watching sports but merely for the entertainment and celebrity enjoyment out of it. In Tiger's case it's all about how people from the outside were effected by his scandel. For some they could forgive him to an extent and continue to cheer for him during tournaments and there's some which won't even speak his name. I'm rooting for Tiger both as a person he's trying to be and the golfer. He's what makes tournaments like the Masters fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has posted great comments related to Alli's main entry. I have always been most interested in the sporting results of an elite (or celebrity) athlete. However, there was also a personal element that made certain athletes seem more special than others. I remember seeing the first tennis match on television when a woman player (Carole Graebner) came back to win after she was down 2-5 in the last set. It was that resilience that made her one of my favorites, but she was also from the Cleveland area so I could relate to that. Another favorite player I had while growing up was Nancy Richey, and she was ranked No. 1 in Women's singles at the same time that her brother Cliff Richey was ranked No. 1 in Men's singles. That was really cool for me because my brother and I were close, and I envisioned us one day being like the Richey's:-) I think when we have these preconceived ideas about who people are, it is disappointing when we find out they are not exactly as we had hoped - but doesn't the same thing happen with our parents - when we find out they are not as perfect as we once thought?
ReplyDeleteI think that this post has brought up some really great points. If a woman is more interested in the actual sport and the outcome of the sport than the athlete, they are not as likely to judge an athlete on their personal life. Yes, I think what Tiger did was wrong, but that doesn't take away how great he is at the game of golf. Just as Alli stated, I think an athlete's personal life is different from their game. Athlete's and celebrities are always in the spotlight, so they are bound to make a mistake somewhere down the line. I don't think athletes mistakes are always necessarily forgotten after they happen, but if a person is a true sports fan, usually they can look past the mistake and still see them as the great athlete that they once were known to be.
ReplyDeleteHeather Cox