Whoopsy!

One day into my quest to post every single day for the month of December and I fail. Terrible.

Why did I fail, you ask? Well, I wish I had a great answer like my house blew up, or aliens stole my internet connection, but the truth of the matter is that I simply forgot.

Between packing up my belongings for my nearly two-week housesitting and petsitting gig, getting to the house, acquainting myself with the dog, feeding her, walking her and unpacking my junk, blog posting slipped my mind.

So, to make up for it, I'm bringing you two posts for today. Here's post #1...

Title: Loss of an idol

This week, thousands of people around the world lost a hero as one of the most powerful, influential and inspirational sportsmen was labeled a cheater (and apparently, rightfully so). Their dreams of seeing Tiger Woods surpass the records set by class-act Jack Nicklaus, deflated. Their memories of green jackets, Ryder cups and one of the strongest father-son bonds ever televised, all washed away, replaced with an image of a cheating husband and father.

As I sit back and wait for the flood of late-night jokes to pour in, I am left to wonder just where Tiger went wrong.

Sure, he's had his fair share of critics over the last decade or so. He cursed at missed putts, dropped drivers after wayward tee shots and even threw clubs following shanked approach shots. But, through it all, few could deny is insatiable hunger for victory, his intense competitiveness and his unwavering dedication to the game of golf.

He inspired thousands to pick up a club and head to their local courses and even more to turn their TVs to the golf channel on championship Sundays.

I am one of those thousands. Golf became exciting when Tiger entered the scene. A teenager beating old men at their own game. The Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby of the links. Along with the rest of North America, I took notice.

Photo courtesy: Lawrence Donegan's Golf Blog

Now, after years of watching him hunt down pack leaders on Sunday afternoons, I am waiting to see how he emerges from this latest challenge. He's down more than a few strokes this time.

The other interesting part of this story is the overwhelming amount of support Tiger is receiving. Newspaper articles are riddled with readers' comments: "He's only human" "Let him deal with his mistakes in privacy" "We still love you Tiger".

I can't recall a time when a celebrity husband and father of two young children has received so much support following a scandal like this one. And this goes beyond a one-time slip up. We're talking about an alleged 31-month affair.

If there's one thing I know for sure, though, it's that I won't be able to cheer for Tiger like I did before.

In this case, the moral compass beats out my appreciation for a competitive spirit.

Tiger, you've got some serious explaining to do.