Tiger Woods and the Media Circus

Tiger Woods was fully aware that whenever he finally broke his silence, there would be a media firestorm surrounding his comments.

I'm not sure ever he could have predicted this.

At 11 AM Friday morning, the world came to a virtual standstill for fifteen minutes while Tiger spoke to selected media, family and friends.

Perhaps the world didn’t stop, but America certainly paid close attention. The land of the free where the only thing we love more than seeing an underdog rise to the top, is seeing the mighty brought back down to human levels.

We have a seemingly insatiable desire for scandal in this country. Look no further than your supermarket checkout line for proof of the garbage gossip rags that some people actually read, and worse yet believe.

Once in a while, as is the case with the Woods story, these charlatans of journalism stumble upon a story that is actually true.

With a story this big however, it’s the legitimate media outlets losing their minds as well.

ESPN’s SportsCenter hasn’t shown any game highlights that I’ve been able to see. It’s been non-stop Tiger Woods coverage.

They even went so far as to bring in a body language expert to see if he was being sincere during his apology.

The top four headlines listed under “latest news” on CNN.com were about Tiger Woods. Number four was, “Minaret collapse reportedly kills 11”.

Part of a mosque collapses in Morocco, and the top story is the reading of a prepared statement by an athlete.

And we have the gall to wonder why the world largely has a dim view of Americans?

People all over the Internet began the debate regarding his sincerity before Woods had even left the conference room.

The opinions seem to be split, with a slight lean towards people feeling he was insincere.

It’s amazing to me how many self-righteous individuals pop up whenever someone makes a public apology.

No one made him do that. It’s not a required part of the rehabilitation process Woods has been going through. He and his people likely decided long ago that he would make a statement when he was ready, and that time happened to be now between rehab sessions.

As for the folks questioning Tiger’s sincerity based on how uncomfortable he appeared, well, my response is, “duh”.

How would you feel reading even a prepared statement on national television, in a room filled with friends and professional colleagues?

Some have said, “He should have spoken from the heart”.

Again, I ask if anyone out there would feel comfortable admitting their own personal faults under that kind of microscope without prepared remarks?

All criticism aside, I just don’t care what Tiger did. It doesn’t matter to me. He hurt no one but himself and his family.

Growing up playing golf in the age of Tiger, I looked up to him not for the guy he was off the course, but for the impossible things he did on it.

I longed to blast outrageous drives down the middle of the fairway and hit absurd recovery shots from deep in the shade of towering pines.

I attempted to hone my focus and my short game to model the steely resolve Tiger has around the greens.

I even regrettably adopted Tiger’s penchant for anger and cursing on the course, something I’ve since been able to conquer as it’s the one part of Tiger’s game I’ve come to loathe.

And so, I’m far more critical of the media circus than I am of the man currently residing in the middle ring.

That is, until the circus packs up and moves on to the next town.

Lane Stadium: The First Game

On October 2, 1965 Virginia Tech opened the still unfinished Lane Stadium with a 9-7 win over William & Mary.

The stadium has changed a great deal in the 45 years since. Tech has added nearly 24,000 seats over the initial capacity of 40,000 and it's without a doubt one of the top facilities in the nation.

While I fully intend to detail the stadium's history in the future, today's post was spurred on by a recent video released by the university showing footage of that very first game.

Also of note, three stadiums to my knowledge used the same initial blueprints; Lane Stadium, Grove Stadium at Wake Forest and Memorial Stadium at the University of Indiana.

Each facility has changed in it's own way over the years, Lane most noticeably, but you can tell they all started out the same. I've included an older Lane photo for comparison.

What Is A 30 Second Super Bowl Ad Really Worth?

It's Super Bowl Sunday and you're sitting around the TV with your closest friends. Ten minutes to kickoff and your heart starts racing in anticipation of how the next 4.5 hours will dazzle and excite you. After at least one full week of planning and enthusiasm the time has finally come... for the first ad!

I know what you're thinking and the answer is "no." We here at Stars and Slights are not, like many Americans, more interested in the entertainment provided during the intermissions between possesion changes and mandated TV timeouts than the actual game.

Truth be told, though, we recognize the symbol if importance of paying close attention to the game outside of the real game: the competition for the "best" or "funniest" Super Bowl ad.

For just 30 easy payments of $100,000 you could find your advertisement, which probably cost at least $50,000 to produce, being viewed by nearly 40 million people worldwide.

Live sporting events, especially the Super Bowl, are one of the few remaining sources for advertisers to keep viewers tuned in rather than channel surfing to avoid advertisements. With that privilege comes a very steep price but, for many advertisers, the benefit of 40 million viewers and impressions outweighs the cost to produce and place an ad during "the big game."

Ted Nugent Star Spangled Banner

This probably should have been saved for the Fourth of July but I couldn't resist. The following is a recording from the meeting of the Cowboys and Eagles on January 9, 2010 in the opening round of the playoffs.

Guitarist Ted Nugent originally stuck his claim to fame as a member of the Amboy Dukes more than forty years ago but has since embarked on a very successful solo career.

While not nearly as epic and revered as Jimi Hendrix's famous performance of the Star Spangled Banner this was certainly a memorable showing.

State of the Union

I’ve decided to try a “new” journalistic tact to provide some more unique content to our little slice of the blogosphere.

My creative juices tend to flow best just as I reach the state of tiredness that makes my basic functions difficult and renders most everything hilarious. Said juices tend to flow freely just after midnight and return to a sporadic trickle just before dawn.

My circadian rhythm appears fatally flawed.

None the less, I shall bring you these ramblings- which may or may not be the continued makings of my first book- as they appear the day after.

It wouldn’t be true “gonzo” journalism if I edited them, so I’ll try to avoid the temptation to tinker, but I fear my maniacal alter-ego “the editor” may continue to inflict his knowledge upon us all.

Here are the initial impressions from POTUS' big talk, virtually unedited:


Get off the Goddamn Internets (sic) man! It’s rotting your brain from the outside in. A beautifully useful tool, yes, but there are so many fools shouting at the same time the cacophony sometimes drowns out what really matters.

As if I didn’t have enough reason to despise the dumbing down of America known as Twitter, seeing elected officials on their Blackberry’s “tweeting” during the State of the Union address puts me on edge.

I’m a 24-year-old man who has grown up squarely in the age of technology, and even I know there are times when it’s not appropriate to be on your damn phone.

I don’t even answer my phone during dinner, yet these people feel it’s totally appropriate to send messages during a speech by the President?

It’s not just any speech either, it’s the most important speech of the year hands down. For a public speaking nerd like me, it’s not unlike a huge sporting event.

Obama’s first State of the Union was a pretty good one too. It was like the previous guy’s eligibility was finally up and this year for the big game we finally had a quarterback who could throw (and didn’t fumble as much).

Obama shines under the bright lights of the big stage, and while his prose was a bit lengthy, I thought overall it was well thought out and presented.

I’m not commenting so much on the policies, those seemed to be a mixed bag. Even the general tenor of the speech was a bit too arrogant for my tastes. All this, “America! We’re #1!” nonsense is just that. However, it’s just so utterly delightful to listen to a speaker who can actually speak.

The cynical bastard will reply, “Oh well he has a teleprompter.”

To that, I must remind you he’s reading a speech that’s over an hour long on national television in front of ostensibly the entire nation. I’m not sure John and Jane Q. Public could hack that.

Song Of The Day: Grizzly Bear- Two Weeks

If you wander the vast expanse of the Internet anywhere near as much as I do, you're probably familiar with the band Grizzly Bear by now.

Over the past year or two, they've become the big thing amongst the "indie hipsters" who just love their independent flair.

Because of this (and the fact that Pitchfork loves them), I was always reluctant to listen to their stuff. I finally broke down and watched this video for the song, "Two Weeks" off their successful album Veckatimest.

This song immediately struck something with me. It has some beautiful vocal harmonies that dominate the song, something very rare these days. I'll admit, I haven't been able to really get into the other songs on the album, but I also have yet to listen all the way through.

This may well be one of the coolest -and no doubt creepiest- videos I've seen. You've been warned.