Saturday, December 19, 2009

Adeste Fideles

I might have gone with the Marine Corps motto, Semper Fidelis, or "Always Faithful." But before you rush off to translate that phrase, it is not only seasonly appropriate, but also Latin for "O Come All Ye Faithful." These are the words I woke up with in my head as I pondered the odds for Tiger Woods divorce. Tiger is yet another in a series of high-profile players to find their private indiscretions made public.

I can remember during the heyday of John Elway's superstardom when rumors swirled about his fidelity to his marriage vows. I recall being outraged at the suggestion that the greatest athlete I had ever been made commercially aware could be capable of cheating on his wife: his college sweetheart, Janet. As his career continued to chug along, and he finally won a Super Bowl, then two, he retired in a blaze of glory. He even left with the Super Bowl MVP trophy under his arm.

Then, when the dust had settled and real life came to the Elway household, the stress and strain of all those years of "putting a good face on it" ended. John and Janet were no more. They went their separate ways. If Chuck and Di could get divorced, why not Mister Bronco? As a fan, I felt bad for him and his family. I sympathized with the challenges of carrying on a private life under the microscope of the Mile High Media. Then, last year, he did the unthinkable: He got married to a cheerleader. A former Raider Cheerleader. It would be somewhat akin to Chuck taking up with Princess Caroline instead of scary old Camilla. If England were at war with Monaco.

And as the days go by, we will be subjected to more tawdry details of Tiger Woods' descent in to regular-old humanity. We will probably also be provided with more insights into the tragic and untimely death of Cincinnati Bengals' star Chris Henry. It is the problem with putting people on pedestals. It makes it so much easier to see them. All the time. Doing all sorts of things we might rather not see. And in the end, there are always choices. Remain faithful. Or, if you don't want to know, turn it off.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yay paragraph breaks! Boo divorce n' death!