I can't believe I'm commenting on Tiger!

I never thought I would do anything on Tiger Woods. I'm not into golf. The only time I watched golf is when Tiger made his US Open comeback on one leg. I knew I would be watching history and I did not want to miss it. Also, my boss was letting me watch it on his TV he brought to work so he could watch it as well.

For the first time, I am actually siding with Tiger here, not about his cheating but by his sponsors dumping him left and right. I guess this happens when you are an ICON in your sport and make a mistake. I do not understand why some of these companies dumped Tiger but kept other stars for other mistakes. Kobe Bryant had rape allegations against him and a lot of his sponsors dumped him, but charges were dropped. Tiger had sex with a lot of women and none of them, so far, have claimed had been raped.

Gatorade, AT&T, TAG Heuer, Accenture, and GM all cut ties with Tiger and ended their sponsorship with him. From the websites below, it is thought shareholders could lose up to 12 billion dollars not having Tiger as a representative. I wonder what would happen if Tiger starts to win again? Will they try to sign him back?

Golf itself will be greatly affected by Tiger not being at tournaments. Many examples of low TV ratings have occurred when Tiger is not playing due to knee surgery. Tournaments lose money when he does not play even if it is televised or not. Without Tiger, professional golf would not be as popular today as it is. TV ratings and the number spectators will drop every tournament in which Tiger does not play. If Tiger can achieve life after a mistake, then he will have to win like he used to. Again, Kobe is a prime example since he has won repeatedly, his status has increased and the sponsors have come back. If Tiger does not perform well, he might become the next Shawn Daly.

1. ^ Shareholder Value Destruction following the Tiger Woods Scandal, by Christopher R. Knittel and Victor Stango, University of California at Davis, December 28, 2009
2. ^ Tiger Woods Scandal Cost Shareholders up to $12 Billion, UC Davis Study Says, Business Wire, December 28, 2009