Cheering for Tiger

Bill Simmons perfectly summarized how I feel about cheering for Tiger Woods in the aftermath of his public exposure as an unfaithful husband and womanizer:

If my son needs a role model, and he will, that person should be me. I don't need Tiger to teach my child how to behave. I need him to teach my son that it's fun to watch golf. Yesterday was the first lesson. There was a putt, and a roar, and a fist pump, and then my son screaming "Again!" Only Tiger Woods could have made it happen. It's a gift.

This piece, and the closing paragraph in particular, reminded me what a great writer Simmons can be.  It is a shame that he can relate Phil Jackson's admonishment to Michael Jordan that Jordan's decision to walk away from basketball and play minor league baseball was wasting a gift and denying others the opportunity to enjoy his ability; yet Simmons cannot recognize the parallel with his own decision to veer from writing about sports - something Simmons does very, very well, to podcasting, where he is just another guy talking about pop culture.