Wow, I cannot catch a break this football season. My team (University of Michigan) couldn’t vanquish a middle school team- especially one with David Sills at the helm (13-year-old prodigy from Bear, Del.), Colt didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, the Patriots were derailed and now the Colts dropped the Big One. Oh, and I can’t forget Colt being injured in the first freaking drive of the National Championship game and the Longhorns subsequently losing the game. Well, a Flint boy brought glory to a sad town by winning the Heisman- but was it necessary to laud his imprisoned father? Last I checked money laundering was not a noble crime (and no, this is not an oxymoron). Geez. So, I have some observations from a Super Bowl party I attended yesterday.
A commercial came on featuring Tim Tebow and his mom- I'm not sure the message in the commercial because suddenly Tim was being assailed for crying on TV when Florida lost the SEC Championship game. I was shocked. I am shocked.
It has been my experience many men can be reduced to tears watching classic sports movies- now, how about losing one of the biggest games of your career? Do you know how many players have shed tears on the sideline? What if you are the leader of one of the best teams in the nation, already a Heisman winner, heralded for your character on and off the field, a magnet for the camera- and you lost. Consider the magnitude of the situation for this young kid- it is unreasonable to suggest he not get emotional. Sure, he wanted to “save it for the locker room”- but are any of us capable of reeling in inconvenient emotion? I know I’m not.
Actually, Pam (grandfathered Clever Girl) and I discussed this on the heels of my own emotional response to the criticism. She had a “moment” during the holidays, due to stress and it was decidedly inconvenient, but she was unable to mitigate her response. I myself am very uncomfortable with emotional displays especially if I'm the one being emotional- and I've had a few blips in the past year. Inconvenient? Absolutely. Manageable? Absolutely NOT. So, given the context of Tim’s tears- I can’t say I wouldn’t have been bawling my eyes out. Convenient or not.
I braced myself and hoped NO ONE would mention Colt’s teary-eyed interview following the National Championship. And there it was. No one inside the perimeter of friends acknowledged my defense of Tim- so I decided not to bother defending Colt. It was clear my commentary was not welcome. Could be because I am a “girl”- could be because I was an outsider- either way … So, of all the disgusting and egregious behavior from athletes and THIS is what is being criticized?
Made me wonder (and as you all know- I'm a big fan of men, so this isn’t criticism nor is my commentary ever directed at ALL women or ALL men) about the schism that exists regarding acceptable behavior. Traditionally, men are not likely to show emotion, so doing so goes against the Bro Code (from a very funny book by Barney Stinson). However, we have grown to expect bad behavior from athletes so it’s not even worthy of comment anymore? I'd say, the person who finds it shameful to cry before you get in the locker room, but finds nothing wrong with Tiger Woods rampant philandering might be of questionable character. There are certain absolutes where character is concerned and frankly, the only thing I truly question regarding Tiger’s, uh, indiscretions is the character of the, uh, “ladies” he decided to, uh- entertain. I had no intention of discussing Tiger today, but here we are.
It's my honest belief Tiger and Elin were engaged in an “agreement” masquerading as a marriage. I believe I stipulated this in “Wood you or Woodn’t you?” I think Tiger Woods is very different from Tiger Woods Inc. (did I speculate this prior to the debacle? No, i bought it just like everyone else). Elin was a Clever disguise for the image he wanted to maintain. I think this was tacit- I am not sure there was much discussion of it in the home. Perhaps along the way, Elin “fell in love” with Tiger, her violent actions outside their home certainly seemed more the “spurned” lover than the wronged partner. As a matter of fact, if not for her actions- his, uh, infidelities might not have come to light. OR- the story was about to blow wide open and she was angry the charade might be exposed. We likely will never know the answer or the real truth. I’ve been watching though- for proof of the farce they called a marriage.
I said in the beginning, if she didn’t leave him- she was more interested in being Mrs. Tiger Woods than she was in self-respect. She has not left him. He is vowing to change- but change into what? Tiger Woods Inc.? Tiger Woods Inc. is over- the image has been exposed for exactly that- an image. Tiger Woods the man is almost antithetical to the image. I say almost because I do not believe Tiger is a cruel, hateful, flawless man and his prowess as a golfer is genuine- antithetical, however, is his massive dishonesty and how that pervaded all his actions. Was he dishonest with his wife? I don’t know. Was he dishonest with people who invested in Tiger Woods Inc.? Yes.
Oh my gosh, I had planned to talk about so many things today and none of this was on the list. William had a little girl and he’s already exhausted. I knew he’d have a girl- though I didn’t want to say so because he was already freaking out. I’ll tell you how I knew. This man has issues with women, as the women in his life growing up were never very kind or nurturing. I think this played a huge part in his fear of becoming a parent. He didn’t learn to be nurturing by being nurtured- he didn’t KNOW the unconditional love a parent has for a child- so, this little girl is going to heal fractures he didn’t know existed. He is going to love her so deeply and honestly he will continuously surprise himself as he wonders where that love is coming from- I have a pretty good idea. Agape from the modern Greek.
Let me know what you want to talk about this week. Wedding planning is a must- it’s that time of year. I’m making fajitas for one of my favorite Clever Guys, Marcus- so I will pass along my secret recipe for marinade- as well as my guacamole recipe, which until now has been so jealously guarded I have NEVER written it down.
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