Does Tiger Woods deserve to be voted Athlete of the Decade? / LJWorld.com

Asked at Wayne and Larry's Sports Bar, 933 Iowa on December 17, 2009

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“Sure, because he is the best, the most well-paid, performs the best.”

— Darren Mitchell, English major, St. Louis

“Definitely, he is a fantastic athlete and is poised to be the best golfer of all time.”

— Adam Toles, psychology major, Minneapolis

“He definitely should have been … he is a great competitor. No one can compete with him in golf.”

— Adam Bitton, business major, Dallas

“Yes, just because you cheat doesn’t mean you’re a bad player. It’s not like they voted him ‘Husband of the Decade.”

— Bethany Masters, journalism major, Andover

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dr_k 3 years, 6 months ago

Bill Clinton got to keep his job. Lew Perkins screwed KU and he still has a job. What difference does it make.

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 6 months ago

autie's already made the best post of the day.

grammaddy 3 years, 6 months ago

You're joking,right?

A20271 3 years, 6 months ago

The women you've bagged, spacehog? That's kind of creepy..

jonas_opines 3 years, 6 months ago

No one else in any sport has been as dominant as him, I'd say. I suppose maybe Kobe, maybe.

Of course they both cheated.

Of course, so would us.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 6 months ago

Jonas, "Of course, so would us."?????

jonas_opines 3 years, 6 months ago

bah, it looked wrong when I posted it but I was talking to somebody. Stuck on it, now.

So would we? cripes

Leslie Swearingen 3 years, 6 months ago

It is disheartening to read how men think of women. Spacehog, I really don't like you very much. I know, I know, you don't care, but I just wanted to let you know. Multi, you are not helping much with your bawdy attitude. I agree with some of the Muslims about this is that a little more modesty might lead to a little more respect between the genders. Yes, of course he should be athlete of the decade.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 6 months ago

jonas, Ok...

"So would we."????????????????????????

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 6 months ago

sure. skanks deserve awards, don't they?

woxy 3 years, 6 months ago

No one else in any sport has been as dominant as him, I'd say. I suppose maybe Kobe, maybe. <<

Micheal Phelps?

JimmyJoeBob 3 years, 6 months ago

Not if he is linked to this doctor who has been distributing HGH. Sounds bad for him now professionally

Sigmund 3 years, 6 months ago

jonas_opines (Anonymous) says… "No one else in any sport has been as dominant as him, I'd say. I suppose maybe Kobe, maybe."

How about Lance Armstrong who after beating cancer did pretty well winning 7 consecutive 2,000+ mile bike races (including 22 stage wins) and in his spare time founded a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides support for people affected by cancer. His book, "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" frankly and graphically details his struggle with cancer and the impact it had on his family and career. The autobiography even today has a rank of #3,565 on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-About-Bike-Journey/dp/0425179613

Here are some highlights of his racing career: 1999: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2000: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2001: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2002: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2003: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2004: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2005: Tour de France Yellow Jersey Overall Winner 2009: Tour de France Third in Overall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career_a...

parrothead8 3 years, 6 months ago

You left out the marathons and triathlons Lance did so he wouldn't get bored. Yeah, I would have voted for Lance. In my opinion, he's an actual "athlete." I'd like to see Tiger ride a bike 2000+ miles over some of the most brutal cycling terrain in Europe.

Leslie Swearingen 3 years, 6 months ago

Lance Armstrong would be a better choice.

snap_pop_no_crackle 3 years, 6 months ago

"I agree with some of the Muslims about this is that a little more modesty might lead to a little more respect between the genders." You'd characterise how women are treated in the Islamic world as respect?

Did_I_say_that 3 years, 6 months ago

“Sure, because he is the best, the most well-paid, performs the best.” The fact that a guy named Darren made this statement could result in another, but different, tabloid flurry.

“Yes, just because you cheat doesn’t mean you’re a bad player..."
Then, what is the definition of a bad player?

Venom 3 years, 6 months ago

cheerio (Anonymous) says…

"Golfers aren't athletes."

Go play a round swing a club at 130+ mph and you will have a different out look on things when you wake up the next morning. The average golfer swings under 100 mph. I'm a heavy hitter and swing 115-120 mph max, it's take a athlete to swing a club 130 mph not some big guy with a stick.

nut_case 3 years, 6 months ago

Sounds like he is quite a 'playa' and you'd have to be pretty athletic to keep up with 10 chicks, so why not?!?!

It's not like the award is the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize where only highly distinguished and honored individuals with a long history of....what, Obama won that?...in office 12 days?....oh... Well, anyway, I guess these 'awards' aren't what they used to be!

HINULB45DAD 3 years, 6 months ago

Spacehog: I keep hearing that is endurance and stamina are exceptional.. I haven't heard anything negative but I have not done any... research.. I don't remember hearing those accolades being thrown around with anyone else in the past... and has anyone else been in double digits?? Surely athlete of the decade... We will see what the effects are on his marriage and income and he might also be considered fool of the decade as well.. He would get my vote!

gogoplata 3 years, 6 months ago

Golf is more of a game than a sport. I don't think nascar is really a sporting event either. Its a car race. Golf falls into the bowling, darts, and billiards class of sports. They all seem more like games to me.

Fighting/Wrestling seems like the ultimate athletic sport. 1 on 1 competition, no balls or equipment really, to find out who is the better fighter or wrestler. I'd rank running competitions right up there with fighting/wrestling.

So I'd give the athlete of the decade to Fedor Emelianenko. The best fighter in the world.

jonas_opines 3 years, 6 months ago

That's a good point about Armstrong, I didn't think of biking.

Cappy 3 years, 6 months ago

For a run-down on his "athletic" performance:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/15/holly-sampson-tiger-woods_n_392220.html

Otherwise, I'm of the school that golf is a good walk spoiled.

Yeah, I'd vote for Lance Armstrong although didn't he cheat on his wife, too?

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 6 months ago

i was just about to suggest lance armstrong.

i do agree w/ another poster who said that it isn't so much that he cheated on his wife but that he had this boy-next-door charm and that is one of the qualities that made him so likeable (and marketable). paint wally cleaver a nice shade of beige and that was tiger woods. now tho, seems like the brown wally cleaver has effed up big time. again. and again. and again. so much for the wholesome image...

gogoplata 3 years, 6 months ago

I'm good with Lance Armstrong over Tiger Woods for the athlete of the decade. Cycling is certainly an athletic sport.

sandycove 3 years, 6 months ago

A few weeks ago, this isn't even a question. Of course Mr Woods is the athlete of the decade. He transcended his sport, even sport itself, much like Muhammad Ali, another controversial figure whose character came into question. As a performer, Woods was sublime, once-in-a-lifetime, Secretariat. Woods may also be the hypocrite of the century, the Kevorkian of the sportsman as imaginary role model (for which he deserves our thanks) and a serial killer of disproportionate, fraudulent and self-delusional sports marketing in general (more thanks).

denak 3 years, 6 months ago

Before this whole scandal, I probably would have been ok with Tiger Woods being voted Athlete of the Year.

Now however, even if he deserves it, it would be in bad form to win this acknowledgement. By winning this, it would imply, correctly or incorrectly, that his repeated cheating (and flagrant disregard for the health of his wife and children) was ok. I also think it would just give more for the tv commentators to talk about and quit frankly, I am getting tired of turning on the t.v. and hearing about another mistress.

I say give it to Lance Armstrong. Not only does he seem like a genuinely nice guy (can't remember if he has ever cheated) but he beat cancer and sparked the "Live Strong" movement. In other words, his actions have had a positive, tangible impact on individuals and that should be celebrated.

Dena

Newell_Post 3 years, 6 months ago

Maybe it should have been "sportsman" of the decade, to use an old-fashioned term.

Alexander Neighbors 3 years, 6 months ago

IF he can keep 13 different women + his wife on his payroll that is raw skill.

Mel Briscoe 3 years, 6 months ago

freash, point taken.

happy_go_lucky 3 years, 6 months ago

"All other golders see 20/20" umm no they don't. Eye sight depends on the person, I used to have 20/15 from birth. People have better, some have worse. Everyone can have their eyesight corrected with surgery.

And someone pointed out "there are no Dailey's in cycling" You sir are behind, Dailey lost some 80-100 pounds I believe. Step your game up, before you open your mouth.

dani36921 3 years, 6 months ago

there is more the game than just plain ability... how about sportsmanship? not for tiger... i vote no

arizonajh 3 years, 6 months ago

Isn't this about the decade? Lance won one of those "consecutives" in 1999 not this decade and he stopped after 2005 and then returned in 2009. For three years of the decade he didn't do anything major in his sport. Woods between 2000 and 2009 won 56 PGA tourneys and 12 of those were master's events. I see a lot of people saying golf isn't a sport. That's B.S. If you play once a month it isn't bad but play it three and four days in a row every week for a year and tell me it isn't a sport. He's as much an athlete as any baseball pitcher, kicker in football, or goalie in hockey. He'll take more steps in a round of golf than Shaq will take in three games. Golfers take 60 -70+ swings of the club every round were as a baseball player will swing his bat maybe 20 times a game if he's lucky. Different sports require different skills. If you want to get technical I could say biking isn't a sport. There is no real skill other than pedaling and staying in line with your team. Incredible endurance but little skill. Running Marathons? Just one foot in front of the other, repeat. Baseball players say NASCAR isn't a sport they never get off their butts. Football players say baseball players have no contact on regular basis so it's not a sport. Hockey players say football players wear to many pads so it's not a real sport. Fighters say team sports are not true sport because you rely too much on other teammates. We all like to feel superior and the say the other guy has it easy compared to our hero. Tiger was in my mind the most dominant athlete in his chosen sport over the last decade. Though I will admit Emelianenko is one bad mofo. He did have a hell of a decade, but if AP had named him AoD 90% of people would be saying Fedor who?

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 3 years, 6 months ago

Lecher of the decade?

Sigmund 3 years, 6 months ago

arizonajh (Anonymous) says… "Isn't this about the decade? Lance won one of those “consecutives” in 1999 not this decade and he stopped after 2005 and then returned in 2009."

Point taken, only 6 of the 7 'on the trot' Tour de France wins came in 2000-2009, but the Tour de France is just one bicycling event, although the best known in the world. Below is a more complete list.

1999 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France 1st Prologue 1st Stage 8 1st Stage 9 1st Stage 19

1st Prologue Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1st Stage 4 Route du Sud 1st Stage 4 ITT Circuit de la Sarthe 2nd Amstel Gold Race

2000 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France * 1st Stage 19

1st GP des Nations 1st Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 1st Stage 3 ITT Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 3rd Bronze Individual Time Trial 2000 Summer Olympics

2001 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France 1st Stage 10 1st Stage 11 1st Stage 13 1st Stage 18

1st Overall Jersey Tour de Suisse 1st Stage 1 1st Stage 8

2nd Amstel Gold Race

2002 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France 1st Prologue 1st Stage 11 1st Stage 12 1st Stage 19

1st Overall Jersey Critérium du Dauphiné * 1st Stage 6

1st Overall GP du Midi Libre 1st Profronde van Stiphout

2003 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France 1st Stage 4 TTT 1st Stage 15

1st Overall Jersey Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré * 1st Stage 3 ITT

2004 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France 1st Stage 4 TTT 1st Stage 13 1st Stage 15 1st Stage 17 * 1st Stage 19

1st Overall Tour de Georgia 1st Stage 3 1st Stage 4

1st Stage 5 Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon 1st Stage 4 ITT Volta ao Algarve 1st Profronde van Stiphout

2005 1st Overall Jersey Tour de France 1st Stage 4 TTT 1st Stage 20

1st Jersey Points Classification Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

2008 2nd Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race 1st 12 Hours of Snowmass 1st Individual Time Trial Tour de Gruene 1st TTT Tour de Gruene

2009 1st Nevada City Classic 1st Colorado Pro Cross-Country Championships 1st Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race 2nd Overall Tour of the Gila

3rd Overall Tour de France * 1st Stage 4 TTT

7th Overall Tour of California 11th Overall Giro d'Italia

But there is more intangibles here to consider. Bicycling saves the planet while only rich Republicans who exploit the Poletariat are golfist and in the near future golf pastures will be considered theft of the peoples property and a waste of the citizen workers water!

leedavid 3 years, 6 months ago

Athlete of the Decade? Heck if you can golf the way he does and have affairs with 9 to 12 different people and none of them know about each other.....ought to be something of the decade.

leedavid 3 years, 6 months ago

I don't think he should consider driving for NASCAR anytime soon. LOL!

Pywacket 3 years, 6 months ago

The best athlete, hands down, in the last 100 years (or possibly more): Secretariat.

Breathtaking--otherworldly--transcendant. Put the humans to shame. Watch his performances on YouTube if you have any doubts. He had to be held back--while breaking records and beating a talented field by upwards of 33 lengths. Absolutely stunning athlete. They discovered in the necropsy that his heart was abnormally large--that may have accounted for some of his freakish ability, but he was just the perfect storm of physical prowess, desire to run, and excellent training.

I think Tiger deserves the nod for the decade, though. Lance came in 2nd and Roger 3rd, which seems about right. It is infantile to suggest that his infidelity should have any bearing whatsoever on this. And yes, Dena, Lance "Mr Nice Guy" screwed around on his wife. That's pretty well known, but being a crappy husband has nothing to do with either man's achievements in golf or cycling.

And whoever commented that Roger could beat both the other two into submission in less than a minute (in a brawl, apparently) is a clueless neanderthal. That is so not the point.

Obviously each sport has particular skills. You have to look at it the way they look at dog conformation judging. A boxer, toy poodle, and an English springer spaniel are vastly different, so a judge at Crufts or Westminster must judge each to the standards of its own breed, because they obviously can't simply be compared to each other with any objectivity. If the boxer embodies to 98% what the breed is supposed to be, while the poodle ranks 96%, and the spaniel 95%, of their respective breeds, the boxer will win.

Similarly, to decide on an "athlete of the decade" you must measure each to the standards of his or her own sport. It would be hard to argue against Tiger's golf performance over the last 10 years ranking much less than about 98%. The way he plays, it is a very athletic game and the accuracy he maintains is stunning.

Roger, while sharing Tiger's amazing focusing ability most of the time, has had some notable off performances--it's easy to see how he wound up #3. Lance has been pretty consistent, but perhaps not over the entire decade, the way Tiger was. That's my best guess for why the votes fell the way they did.

Of the three, Roger is the only one who didn't have surgical / recovery down time, but he was still the least consistent of the three (and, since his consistency was still amazing, that's saying a lot for the other two).

mom_of_three 3 years, 6 months ago

Oh, Multi, I think your posts were hilarious! The world needs a little bawdiness once in a while.

Pywacket 3 years, 6 months ago

Porch Person~ To clarify, the heart wasn't enlarged in a pathologic sense. You're quite right, of course--if a heart normally weighing, say, 9 lb, is enlarged to 12 lb due to disease, the animal is in trouble. But his seemed to be naturally larger than average.

Here is an interesting article on the subject: http://horsesonly.com/crossroads/xfactor/heart-1.htm

Because the heart was not actually weighed, some have disputed the veterinarian's claim as to the actual size, but there seems to be no doubt that it was much larger than "normal" for the species, and the genetic explanation for this is intriguing.

Correction to my previous post: he opened up to 31, not 33, lengths in the stunning Belmont that you mention. (I was relying on memory!). This link gives a great account of that fabled race: http://www.secretariat.com/races/belmont.htm

I was a total horse nut as a kid and never missed a triple crown race on TV. Although I was wild about Secretariat, I'm sure I didn't fully realize the significance of what I was watching at the time. All these years later, it is wonderful to be able to watch him again, thanks to YouTube!

Autie sez: "..but one thing to consider. You can't really drink beer and ride a bike at the same time" Guess you've never seen one of these, Autie: http://www.schallstailgate.com/BeerHatGuy2.jpg

Now you've got something else to add to your Christmas list! (Along with this: http://www.uh.edu/engines/bicycle.gif)

riverdrifter 3 years, 6 months ago

Dang, Py:

"The best athlete, hands down, in the last 100 years (or possibly more): Secretariat."

Another horser! I was on the infield at the wire when he came by at Churchill. It was my first race. The ground absolutely shook when he went by. His eyes were totally glazed back and you could feel the wind from him. He was a total locomotive. The girl next to me said, simply, "Jesus Lord." Been to 2 Super Bowls & a World Series game, NFL playoff games, college bowl games & so on. Nothing compares. Secretariat.

Eh, in the mean time give this lame deal to Tiger.

conservativepunker 3 years, 6 months ago

Hell no.

Sigmund 3 years, 6 months ago

sierraclub (Anonymous) says… "Bicycles save the planet? How do they all get to France? Swim?"

That might have been a bit overstated, but I swear the part about only rich elitist exploiters of the Poletariat are golfist and in the near future use of a golf pasture will be considered theft of the peoples property and the waste of the citizen workers ground water. It will be punishable by 10 hard labor at below living wages at The All Natural, Organic, People Garden and Progressive Whole Foods Cooperative followed by probation at a locally owned Al Gore Re-education Camp.

Pywacket 3 years, 6 months ago

Riverdrifter, I bow to you. What I wouldn't give to have been at any of his races. I wonder if we'll ever see another that comes close to what he was..

TopJayhawk 3 years, 6 months ago

Of course you have heard that Tiger is thinking of changing his name. To either: Lion Woods or Cheetah Woods. Of course he is athlete of the decade.

gogoplata 3 years, 6 months ago

Golfer of the decade sure. But because golf is not a sport that requires much athletic ability there is no way he is the athlete of the decade. Golf is a game like bowling or billiards. You use a similar motion on almost every swing except putting, hitting a stationary target, with no practical time limits. Many 70 year old men and women still golf because it is a game not a sport.

sfjayhawk 3 years, 6 months ago

Yes, he was the best athlete of the decade. no question about it.

Pywacket 3 years, 6 months ago

The people who think marital fidelity should be dragged into the judging process-- do you feel this way about the Academy Award recipients, too? Music award competitions? The Genius Grant awards? I don't think a lot of awards would be given out if judges considered what the contenders were doing in private as part of the criteria.

I'm baffled as to how or why his recently revealed infidelities should have any bearing on the choice of Tiger as Athlete of the Decade. And what if the awards had been announced in June--long before he slipped up and was caught? Or what if he hadn't been caught? The "being caught" part was arbitrary--meaning it might not have happened, might have happened 6 months after the awards instead of before, and (most importantly) any of the other contenders could have their own skeletons--or, make that curvaceous blondes--in the closet and they simply haven't been caught yet.

What are you suggesting? Give the award to Federer because (out of the top 3 vote getters) he's the only one who (as far as we know) is squeaky clean? What happens if, 3 weeks later, he drives his car into a mailbox, then a street sign, and his wife has to "bust out the windows" of the vehicle with his tennis racket to free him? (..and he goes to the ER with a strange crosshatch pattern across his face that is made by the windshield, we are told)

Then, the next few days, sleazy women start crawling out of the woodwork... Do you then take the award away and hand it to the next-highest ranking boy scout?

For reasons that should be obvious, nothing should be considered but the contenders' accomplishments in their respective sports over the past 10 years. Obviously, arguments pertaining to each man's merit as an athlete are quite valid--and there is some good discussion as people debate those merits, and who indeed should have won--but it just muddies things up to try and drag personal issues into it.

jaywalker 3 years, 6 months ago

Yes.

pumpkinpatch 3 years, 6 months ago

Men and women all through the ages have been stepping out on their partners. Why do we need to drag a persons private life into the lime light? If a person is good at what they do in their profession, then they should be recognized for it. Most athletics/business person of high performance have some dark secret that they'd rather the world not know about. Why should what they do in private be an open book. I know I don't want all I do, to be viewed by all. It's high time we just pull our noses out of other peoples private business and wipe it clean. I love watching Tiger play golf.

merrill 3 years, 6 months ago

So many women are attracted to rich and famous men usually knowing whether or not they are married. The part that has me puzzles is what makes so many women admit to having an affair after a situation becomes big news

Many men may well be attracted to rich and famous women usually knowing whether or not they are married. The news never covers these stories.

It is my speculation that a politicians other sex life is revealed not out of morality but out of a low life plan to destroy a political life so another politician can win..... this sucks. So how much is the repub party paying the national enquirer?

Isn't there some kind of invasion of privacy issue here? I am surprised that the national enquirer is still in business.

And who the hell are these camera toters poking around into the private lives of others? Are these people not trespassing somehow? Where are the lawsuits and restraining orders?

merrill 3 years, 6 months ago

Then again why is it sex lives of others gets more attention and fanfare than matters that wreck millions of lives? Where are the investigations and courtroom hearings?

About matters such as:

The republican party are masters at putting millions upon millions upon millions of people out of work. All they do with a remarkable degree of consistency is wreck the economy,initiate huge movements of shipping jobs abroad aka the Reagan-Bush Global Economy and try to wreck social security and medicare.

Is there a definite pattern? Absolutely!

The Reagan/ Bush Home Loan Scandal http://rationalrevolution0.tripod.com/war/bush_family_and_the_s.htm
The Bush/Cheney Home Loan Scandal http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2009/0709macewan.html
What did Bush and Henry Paulson do with the bail out money? http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/10/good_billions_after_bad_one_year
Why did GW Bush Lie About Social Security?( This would cost taxpayers $4 trillion and wreck the economy) http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2005/0505orr.html
Still A Bad Idea – Bush Tax Cuts http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2001/0301miller.html

All of the above displays reckless economic behavior that which drains the cookie jars and puts many millions out of work that which can destroy so many many many lives.

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