February 25, 2008 @ 09:26
As I watched Tiger Woods win another golf tournament over the weekend I got to thinking about Barrack Obama.
Obama owes a lot of his success to Tiger. I know it sounds crazy, but follow me on this one.
Obama has become the first black American to actually be taken seriously in a Presidential run. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were nothing more than token candidates, but Obama has not only been taken seriously, he’s also taken a sizable lead in his battle with Hillary Clinton.
Americans have accepted the idea of a black man leading their country and I really think that Tiger helped ease them into it.
When Tiger turned pro in 1996, golf was still and predominantly white sport, dominated by white players and run by extremely white establishment.
This wasn’t basketball, football or baseball. This was something much different with a much different attitude.
Then along came Tiger who took ownership of the PGA tour. Nobody would admit it, but in the beginning it made a lot people of uncomfortable because it represented a dramatic change in the profile of the sport.
But not only has it survived under Tiger’s reign, it’s also thrived. The sport of golf has never been bigger or more popular and Tiger Woods is the reason. A black kid from California has made a lot of money for a lot people and needless to say he’s been widely accepted by everyone involved with the sport.
And I really believe Barrack Obama has been a benefactor of this.
Tiger proved to a twisted and generally intolerant American society that the sky won’t fall and the world won’t end if a black man takes control of a white institution.
I realize its only golf, and it’s hard to compare it to the highest office in the world but I truly believe they’re connected.
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