Two highly reported events took place during Thanksgiving week 2009, that have shaken the confidence of many. On November 25, 2009, the government of Dubai announced that investment company, Dubai World, intended " to ask all providers of financing to Dubai World and its subsidiary Nakheel, to 'standstill' and extend maturities until at least 30 May 2010". ~ Just as glimmers of renewed confidence were pointing towards the beginning of a global recovery, this surprise move to delay payments caused deep concerns... well beyond the once-glittering Arabian Gulf nation. Fear spread across world financial markets of a dreaded double-dip recession. Or worse.
On November 27, 2009, the world's top golfer, was was taken to the hospital after an early morning car accident near his home. Tiger Woods had driven his SUV into a fire hydrant, then into a neighbor's tree. ~ Legions of golf-bloggers-slash-content-creators joined forces with their pop-culture-slash-gossip-news equivalents to "report the story". Most spun it as a presumed domestic dispute, brought on by allegations of the once-irreproachable golfer's infidelities... with a woman described as a "New York City party girl". Forlorn fans responded with comments like, "Tiger, say it isn't so".
And with those two events, a couple of cherished illusions died. Tiger Woods, no matter the outcome of the investigation, will never be seen as perfect again... which is as it should be, because no one is, was or ever will be perfect... but it's also sad because as humans, especially as golfers, we want to believe perfect is possible and for quite a while Tiger Woods allowed us to think it was.
And Dubai... where lush emerald fairways transformed austere sections of sand-swept desert into verdant golf oases, and glimmering skyscrapers sprung up by the dozens. In the end it turned out to be a gamble that didn't pay off and revealed itself as the mirage we should have known it was all along. Because places like Dubai, the way we wanted it to be, are in fact, unsustainable.
That Tiger Woods is deeply connected with Dubai isn't surprising. One of the country's goals has been to become the ultimate golf destination for visitors from around the world. During the boom years Dubai had the resources to attract top golfers and golf architects. Wonderful courses were built and Tiger Woods was rightfully selected to design and represent what would be the jewel in Dubai's sparkling golf course crown, The Tiger Woods Dubai Golf Course and Community. The project is owned by a conglomerate of oil production companies and was officially launched in August 2008. However the initial plan for a Woods-designed golf course surrounded by 22 "palaces"‚ 75 "mansions"‚ 100 "luxury villas" and a high-end hotel has been in a holding pattern since June. This most recent development doesn't bode well for a timely end to that hold. The possibility that the Tiger Woods incident... whatever it actually was... could, in some way, be connected to stresses brought on by Dubai's financial crisis has been mentioned, though the "mistress angle" has largely drowned it out. "Mistress angles" tend to have that effect on news stories.
In the end, we'll all adapt to life-with-more-realistic-expectations, and ultimately, that's a good thing. However, when I found this video earlier today, I've got to admit it made me want to go back to that time... a few days ago... when perfect men and a desert swathed in sustainable, green opulence still seemed possible. And yes, of course I cried.
Arguably Dubai was always going to go the way it has gone, for purely economic reasons, it will return, but with less polish.
ReplyDeleteTiger however, well. Let us wait for the truth to emerge, if it ever does, and we shall see. If he has been indiscreet with a NY 'hostess', and cheated on his Swedish underwear model wife, he will be more of a hero to many men. Sad, but true, and terribly human. BB
I don't think there'll ever be much of an explaination give for the accident. I'm not sure why people feel they need one.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patricia. It has me wondering how much financially invested Tiger is with the project in Dubai. What might have seemed a no lose project with billionaire backing could be a bust...
ReplyDeletePerfection in all fields of life is impossible. Greatest golfer ever, great golf course designer, great investor, father, family man, a great life example...Foundations, hide from media, hide from the golf fanatics like us, and goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteJust trying to list Tiger´s achievements is impossible. We have two reasons to cry: Firstly, we will never, as average people, get close to what he did (and hopefully will continue), so we cry. Secondly, as our golf hero, any slippery walk that he takes makes us anxious, and to know that he was laying in the road, unconscious for minutes, make us think that he is human like us - so we cry!
As far as I'm concerned, karma got Dubai. Their miserable record on human rights, including burying the rape of a French teenager and exploiting Indian labor to build their masoleums, to speak nothing of women's less than 2nd class status in their desert domain, is merely the chickens coming home to roost.
ReplyDeleteYes, metaphorical. I know it's an extension of a global meltdown. Just the part that doesn't bother me.
Why would you cry about Tiger Woods or Dubai? Both were overrated and arrogant.
ReplyDeleteGolf Girl, please keep these blowhards from bloviating on your blog such as Anonymous 11:18am, posters like these greatly devalue great blogs like this! He knows absolutely nothing about Economics or Political Science. He took a bunch of clips from the Huffington Post and just conveniently pasted them here. He probably doesn't even play Golf.
ReplyDeletePatricia, this was an outstanding post & that video was awe-inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI think it's sad when the private lives of *celebrities* are invaded by the likes of The National Enquirer, which is, I believe, what started this entire fiasco. Whether it is true or not, is really none of our business, so I don't really want to hear the whole story. I like living in my little dream world & I get perturbed when the gossip rags attack people I'm fond of in an attempt to bust my bubble. It's like they have been lying (like forever) in wait to get some dirt on our Golden Boy of Golf. Oh wait! They do that with everyone! Why would anyone believe a word they print? They are total scumbags!
As for Dubai, they will recover. Like you, I believe they won't have the same *sparkle* as before, which is a good thing, given their history. I could really care less about Dubai. Their treatment of women is archaic & for all I care, they can sink into the ocean & disappear forever. Screw 'em.
We all know that there is nothing in life that is truly perfect. On the other hand, we also know that no person is perfect, only human. So what if Tiger isn't perfect in his personal life? He is still an amazing golfer that I really enjoy watching. I don't want to know about his personal life because it's none of my business.
As for the anonymous comments, I just put duct tape over my mouth....
I really enjoyed that video. I wish I had that kid's swing. Tiger may not be perfect, but his swing is still incredible.
ReplyDeleteReality can really bite sometimes.
I don't entirely understand how a person could crash their car so hard right outside their house
ReplyDeleteI think he should have been honest with the police from the outset and the media would have left the story alone. I find it very strange that he postponed a meeting twice with the cops and then the 3rd time he canceled. If Woods had nothing to hide he could have simply stated he was driving his vehicle down his property and lost control because he was on the phone or falling asleep or changing the radio, but since that didn't happen I think there's more to this story.
ReplyDeleteWell yeah, and if there is more to the story, he's very wise to be doing exactly what he's doing, which is...not saying anything.
ReplyDeleteEven if whatever happened was something quite minor... a spat with his wife or a medication overdose or some such thing, the less he says the better it too easy to turn any statement or appearance into something it's not. He'd do well to stay out of sight for a while. Unless he broke the law in a big way, they won't be able to force him to say anything, and I think the "legitimate media" will drop the story once he's silent for a while. Let TMZ and enquirer write what they want. No one who matters believes them anyway.
Tiger Woods "deeply connected" to Dubai ?? The wreck somehow connected to the "stresses" of what is going on in Dubai ?
ReplyDeleteUmmm - hey look - Plaid pants and a new shoe store !!!!!
Newsflash - Tiger didn't buy land to build a house and a golf course - they were paying him.
These kinds of wild assed conjectures really don't suit you very well.
Good lord, Avge Golfer - if that's what it takes to bring karma down on your head...why hasn't the US come tumbling down around our ears already ?
Dubai is in the trouble it's in because they tried to get out of the oil business and into the travel business. The crumbling world economy (except for China) made it impossible for them to continue. It happens...except in the US where dingbats and politicians try to convince people that some companies are "too big to fail."