Where will you be when the drought ends? How will you feel when the floodgates open and the rain finally falls? The world will invariably take notice when Tiger finally escapes the zoo, releasing himself from the self−imposed cage at the circus that's become his life. Few, however, will agree on a common emotion.
As he passionately pumps his fists one more time, people will stand up and applaud. Others will boo. Some won't even take notice. They're in church, far too engrossed in sermons on the sanctity of marriage to recognize the world−famous adulterer celebrating on the 18th green.
The fourth−place finish at the 2011 Masters may very well serve as a starting pistol for Tiger Woods's Race to Redemption. It's been two years since Tiger's famed Thanksgiving car crash in 2009 and three since his last major title at the U.S. Open in 2008. Mistresses came and went, just like his career.
Sunday at Augusta felt like a different scene, the set change seemingly completed for the final act of the Tiger Woods Story. The fall from grace in Act Two would serve as the impetus for revitalization in Act Three. The waters parted so Tiger Woods could recapture our hearts and charge into the history books.
He started the final day 7 strokes behind, roared into a tie for the lead, and eventually fell into a tie for fourth at 10−under. In a career with 14 major victories, falling short of the bronze is a disappointment.
But climbing out of a mine shaft takes time; it cannot be accomplished in a single bound. Regaining the public's favor and sympathy necessitates baby steps and, most importantly, time. Criticism will still come from all ends of the earth, from the monogamous couples upset at his infidelity to the golfing analysts aggravated at his 3−putt on 12.
Tiger disappeared into purgatory, and now he's returned. But what will happen when the journey is completed, when Woods finally lifts the Wanamaker Trophy, the Claret Jug or the Open Championship Cup trophy? How will we feel when Tiger escapes the moral red and dons the green jacket?
Redemption in sports is an intricate matter. Athletes come back from injury and disease, from slumps and droughts. They rejuvenate their image and rise back into the public's favor. Social and athletic redemption make up two sides of the comeback coin, and athletes consciously navigate both paths to complete the journey.
Think Michael Vick's work with PETA and his simultaneous success with the Philadelphia Eagles. Both on−the−field success and socially upstanding behavior are necessary to facilitate forgiveness. Tiger seems to be headed in this direction, but when he arrives at his destination, will there be demonstrations to go along with the cheers? Tomatoes thrown beside confetti?
This is difficult to predict because there's no normalized hierarchy for moral actions. Is adultery worse than murder? What if you murdered a dog instead of a human? What if you were charged with DUI and second−degree manslaughter but only spent 24 days in jail? Tiger Woods has no historical precedent.
Even when he retreated into the shadows, Tiger was in the spotlight and will forever remain there so long as he chases Jack Nicklaus' 18 career majors and challenges for the title of "Greatest Ever." Woods is undeniably golf's most alluring figure, and it isn't even close. He single−handedly caused a young, hip generation to pay attention to a sport socially associated with the elderly and the rich. And then everything was blown. In more ways than one.
When Tiger Woods' name sits atop the leaderboard at a major — it could be this year or it could be in 2020 — it will be difficult to come to a consensus. He wasn't accused of cheating on the course, like so many of his baseball counterparts have been, but cheating on his wife, so how will this affect his legacy, if at all?
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