Tiger Woods Tragic Hero

In history, many heroes experienced a tragic downfall; a perfect modern day example of a tragic hero is Tiger Woods. How can somebody so perfect, make such a terrible mistake? Before it all happened, Tiger Woods was a role model, a man with many fans that looked up to him. Woods was recognized for his talents at a very young age. “He was eight when he won the 1984 Junior World Golf Championships, having to enter the 9-10 boys’ event as it was the youngest group available”(Biography Channel). At the age of 20, Tiger was already a professional golfer and one of the youngest in the world. Woods is a professional golfer whose achievements rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Tiger Woods was at one point every golfer’s role model, but unfortunately his mistakes lead him to be one of today’s most recognized tragic heroes. At first, Tiger Woods had it all. “ On October 5, 2004, Woods married Elin Nordegren and had two kids together”(Biography Channel). Woods had a perfect life and was the face of PGA. His perfect image fell apart on November 25, 2009 when the rumors began and he lost everything he ever worked for.

A tabloid published a story that he had an affair with a New York night club manager(Biography Channel). Dozens of women claimed to have had affairs with Woods until he finally admitted to infidelity. After his apology, he announced that he would be taking a break from professional golf. After the scandal, he lost several major sponsorship deals starting with Tag Heuer, followed by his Gatorade, AT&T, along with his multi-million dollar Nike contract. It only took one mistake to ruin his whole life. Although Woods apologized, people who were once fans will never see Woods the same. His image will forever be tarnished. Woods’ fatal flaws, which were arrogance, lust and misconception of fame, led to his downfall. After going through a lot of therapy, Woods admitted that he thought he could get away with whatever he wanted since he was rich and famous. Woods felt that he had worked hard throughout his life and deserved to enjoy life and its temptations. Not long after he announced his return to golf, his divorce was final.

It took Woods two whole years to get his game back. Within those two years, Woods did not place higher than 5Th place in any of his tournaments, which was something he had not experienced in years. Aristotle once said, “A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his downfall.” This quote cannot be applied to Tiger Woods’ situation. Woods brought his downfall upon himself. Tiger suffered as a result of the decisions he made. Many of the people who admired him, will never look at him the same way. Regardless of him being arguably, one of the best golfers, he messed up royally. One decision completely ruined his life, everything he ever worked for was gone, especially his reputation. “Woods not only choreographed the decade perfectly by touching the stars in 2000 and then closing with a dramatic fall from grace, he sprinkled it with moments of heartbreaking and staggering genius”(Reason 1).