Tiger Woods...

[Cali Coug]

Worst. Apology. Ever.

That was awful. What a putz.

[MikeWaters]

I heard audio of the end, when he started talking about Buddhism.

Colin Cowherd is positive about the apology. And now Rick Reilly thinks it was excellent and sincere.

[MikeWaters]

One of the notable moments of the apology was the reference to Buddhism, and how he plans to refocus on it.

Of course, this comes from his mother who is Asian.

Most people think of Tiger as a black golfer. They don't think of him as Asian. So it's a stark reminder that, hey, this guy is Asian too. How many celebrities in America grew up as Buddhists and talk about it to the American public? Esp. how many black celebrities?

So if you are going to go for an Obama-esque speech, you leave the Buddhist stuff out. You don't remind people that you are different from them.

Look at Obama, he attended a wingnut Christian church for years, just so he could claim black Christian cred. That is clearly not in Tiger's playbook. He's not asking Jesse Jackson for Christian spiritual guidance.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

One of the notable moments of the apology was the reference to Buddhism, and how he plans to refocus on it.

Of course, this comes from his mother who is Asian.

Most people think of Tiger as a black golfer. They don't think of him as Asian. So it's a stark reminder that, hey, this guy is Asian too. How many celebrities in America grew up as Buddhists and talk about it to the American public? Esp. how many black celebrities?

So if you are going to go for an Obama-esque speech, you leave the Buddhist stuff out. You don't remind people that you are different from them.

Look at Obama, he attended a wingnut Christian church for years, just so he could claim black Christian cred. That is clearly not in Tiger's playbook. He's not asking Jesse Jackson for Christian spiritual guidance.

Not sure how you bring Obama into this, but setting that aside, the problem wasn't the content. I actually couldn't care less. He doesn't owe me an apology and I already view this entire process as ridiculous. The apology is for Tiger Woods himself (to improve his image), his sponsors and nobody else. His family has already heard from him, and nothing he said is going to change how they think about this. His fans? If they need an apology, they are way too invested in this.

As far as his sponsors go, the apology is only effective to the extent it improves Tiger's image. If his image is good, the sponsors will rapidly come back. If it isn't, his sponsors will stay away.

So did this improve his image? It was cold, calculated, boring and inauthentic. His long, solemn stares at the camera just before saying "I am sorry" were as contrived as they could be. His sad sniffle as he finished his apology was also clearly contrived as if written on a cue card. His awkward pacing, designed to make us feel like he was struggling to say the words and was carefully thinking about what he had to say, was totally contrived. It felt like a professional media organization was managing every movement and word... because they were.

Because it looked inauthentic, I suspect it will not improve his image nearly as much as he hoped it would. Perhaps his image will come back over time (Americans have a short memory for this kind of thing), but his apology didn't accelerate the improvement, IMO. So it seems to me to have been a failure. His sponsors now have to make their own calculations. They will undoubtedly wait to hear what the public thinks about the apology (how it polls, how the media covers it, etc.), and if they disagree with my perception, they will come back rapidly. We shall see.

[MikeWaters]

This the first step of trying to rehabilitate his image. There will be many more steps. It's too early to say whether it is a failure or not. He didn't need to hit a home run today, he just needed to get the ball rolling.

Tiger cares about his image and the money and power that are associated with it.

So does Obama. But I don't hear you ripping on Obama like you are Tiger.

Oh yeah, it's because everything Obama says is authentic and sincere.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

This the first step of trying to rehabilitate his image. There will be many more steps. It's too early to say whether it is a failure or not. He didn't need to hit a home run today, he just needed to get the ball rolling.

Tiger cares about his image and the money and power that are associated with it.

So does Obama. But I don't hear you ripping on Obama like you are Tiger.

Oh yeah, it's because everything Obama says is authentic and sincere.

Did I rip Tiger? I said his apology was awful and isn't likely to accomplish what he wanted out of it. That's an attack on the apology, not on him.

I still have no idea what this has to do with Obama. Maybe they both look the same to you? Racist.

[MikeWaters]

Is Tiger a professional speaker?

He hasn't had the opportunity to hone his talents in front of a teleprompter like Obama.

I guarantee no professional speechwriter would have included the stuff about Buddhism.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Is Tiger a professional speaker?

He hasn't had the opportunity to hone his talents in front of a teleprompter like Obama.

I guarantee no professional speechwriter would have included the stuff about Buddhism.

Really? I 100% guarantee you his entire speech was written by a media relations team.

[MikeWaters]

"Hey Tiger, you religious at all?"

"I dabbled in Scientology."

"No, that's not going to work."

"Well, I did attend a Methodist church for a time."

"No, too risky. Hmmm, what about your Mom, is she a Buddhist or something? Hindu?"

"She put incense in front of the Buddha when we visited Thailand once."

"Yeah! Buddhism, let's go with that! A little Richard Gere feel to it, public will love this! They have just been waiting to hear 'Tiger the lapsed Buddhist now hums and chants'!"

"Ok, sounds good."

[MikeWaters]

Simmons. Ouch.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...simmons/100219