To prepare for his upcoming return to professional golf, Tiger Woods agreed to participate in two different interviews over the weekend on two different sports television networks to answer, one on one, some of the tougher questions that he has yet to answer personally (his first interviews since his public apology in February). It is my opinion that these interviews (which were limited to just 5 minutes each) were very well orchestrated and that he was fully prepared to answer every questions posed to him (tho, there were some questions that he would refuse to answer entirely) … in an effort to appear to the public (and his fans in particular) as if he is doing everything he can to get back in their good graces. It is also my opinion that the decision to participate in these two interviews is a stroke of genius by his PR team:
Love cheat Tiger Woods wants fans to clap him when he makes his golfing comeback next month, he said in his first TV interview since the sex scandal erupted. The shamed billionaire, who agreed answer any questions but restricted the chat to five minutes, also admitted he had been ‘living a lie’. The recording – just a month after his public apology for having at least 12 affairs – is seen as a calculated public relations drive to ease him back into the public eye as he prepares for the major tournament. And the married father of two told how he is nervous about returning to the U.S. Masters. Woods, 34, who has had two spells in sex rehab since November after crashing his car outside his Florida mansion, said: ‘I hurt so many people by my own reckless attitude and behaviour. I tried to stop and couldn’t stop. Talking to TV’s Golf Channel and ESPN, he revealed he was unsure about the reception he would get from fans when he plays at the U.S. Masters on April 8. ‘I’m a little nervous about that to be honest with you,’ he said. ‘It would be nice to hear a couple claps here and there. But also hope they clap for birdies, too.’ Woods also denied that his wife Elin Nordegren had attacked him on the night of the crash on November 27, 2009, after finding out about one of his affairs, adding: ‘Well, it’s all in the police report. Beyond that, everything’s between Elin and myself and that’s private.’ Asked why he lost control of the car, Woods replied: ‘As I said … that’s between Elin and myself.’ A string of women – including a porn actress and cocktail waitress – have come forward and claimed they had relationships with the golfer. He did not discuss details about his affairs but said that ‘just one is enough and obviously that wasn’t the case’. He also talked of the ‘brutal’ moments when he levelled with Elin. He said she was, ‘Hurt. Very hurt. Shocked. Angry. And, you know, she had every right to be and I’m as disappointed as everyone else in my own behaviour because I can’t believe I actually did that to the people I loved.’ Woods agreed to speak with a reporter from the U.S. sports channel ESPN sports and did not place any restrictions on questions that were asked. His only stipulation for the interview, which was carried out at the luxury Isleworth complex, near Orlando, Florida, was that it would last no longer than five minutes … Woods, who has been in therapy for nearly half of the past four months, said of his eagerly awaited return: ‘I’m excited to get back and play. I’m excited to get to see the guys again. ‘I really miss a lot of my friends out there. I miss competing. But still, I still have a lot more treatment to do, and just because I’m playing, doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop going to treatment.’ The sportsman – famed for his privacy – conceded the world knew him ‘a lot better now’. ‘I was living a life of a lie,’ he said. ‘I really was. And I was doing a lot of things, like I said, that hurt a lot of people. And stripping away denial and rationalisation you start coming to the truth of who you really are and that can be very ugly. But then again, when you face it and you start conquering it and you start living up to it. The strength that I feel now, I’ve never felt that type of strength.’ Woods’s last tournament appearance was on November 15, 2009 – when he won the Australian Masters.
While I personally was not impressed with either of these interviews, I absolutely think they will work to his advantage with his target audience … golf fans. He continues to do everything right … he’s already publicly apologized, he’s got his wife back on board with him and now he is giving the appearance of approachability to the press. After he makes his official return to professional golf next month, his plan will be nearly complete. At this point, he’s biting the bullet … doing what he has to do to make his Cheating Scandal a thing of the past. After the jump, check out video of Tiger‘s interviews with ESPN and The Golf Channel …
The Golf Channel interview is not available for embed but you can watch it in full HERE online. What do y’all think of these interviews? Is Tiger Woods looking better in YOUR eyes?
[Source]
I don’t know…I was always a Tiger fan, he’s what made Golf bearable to watch with my family. He seems sincere and for whatever reason I think he should be given another chance, people f**k up sometimes(in his case 9 or 10 times)…but it happens. If his wife is willing to forge through this with him and forgive him then as fans we should all do the same.
Everytime I see that set of choppers, I can’t help but think that he is some dentist’s wet dream…..
Not impressed with these interviews at all. I agree with you Trent. It just seems like he is going through all of the motions/ jumping through all of the necessary hoops to make his cheating scandal go away as soon as possible. I don’t really believe that he is sincere in his apologies so much as he is just tired of all of the public scrutiny. That being said, I do commend Elin for sticking with him in spite of this extremely humiliating and hurtful experience…I hope that they work through all of the issues in their marriage and that he is able to make a successful return to golf.
There is no way you can convince me Elin is sticking with him because of love. Monetary reasons? Public relations reasons? Image reasons? YUP. If he were TRULY sincere, he’d be taking all this time to be a better person. Not all this time to be a better golfer. His career should not even BE a priority. Go away for a few YEARS, work on your marriage, therapy, the children you hurt, your family, & your SELF. You don’t fix stupid in a year…or less.
HE IS SUCH A JOKE! If his wife does get back with him, then she has proven herself to be even more pathetic and a gold digger. I don’t care what anyone says on this matter because it’s true. When someone cheats on you with 10+ people and your health is risked and you don’t dump them, then you are obviously in it for the money. Can we say pathetic? Yes, I think we can.
Now tell us how you really feel, Chase. LOL I agree 110%!
totally agree with Brenna and Chase. he only cares for himself and his damaged reputation. i mean cheating once is bad enough but that many times? if he really wants to be a better person he should stop thinking about himself and golf for a second and spend time with his family.. spend time doing some charity work or something. he’s lucky to hav a wife (or anyone for that matter) even if she wants him for monetary reasons.
I dunno, I don’t think it’s fair to judge Elin just yet. I mean, she has not said ONE word about this whole thing and I sort of respect her on that. Hopefully it’s because she realizes it’s a private matter between her and Tiger. I also thought it was quite telling that she didn’t show up to Tigers “big” press conference. In fact, I don’t think there’s even been photos of them together since this all went down, has there? I guess my point is that we have no idea what she’s thinking.
@Chase…but don’t you think divorcing him would gain her even more money?! Besides that – a chance to have custody of their children?
I think that obviously she truly loves him. I mean, if it was me, and the person I planned to spend the rest of my life with did this to me, I wouldn’t be able to run immediately to the divorce lawyers and sign the papers. She probably needs time to process what happened and think it over seriously before she just divorces him so quickly. People are calling her a gold-digger but I don’t think anyone could divorce without time to think it over if they were truly in love. Give it time.
@Kris – Actually, no. I read somewhere about prenuptial details and she actually gets more money over a certain period of time by staying WITH him. She gets less if she divorces him but still a nice sliver of money. And, of course, she’ll get the children. No judge is going to deny a mother her children because she has no track record unlike Tiger and his peen!
Trent, you are so freakin’ hypocritical. This guy is a total ass with his family, but as long as he “appears” to be making effort to seem on the edge of being almost sort of contrite, then he needs the benefit of the doubt? Come on, of course he’s going to try something so he doesn’t lose his livelihood.
Nice how you stick up for this scumbag but give Jude down the road simply because he refuses to talk about his personal life or put up phony appearances and does what he needs to do without fanfare or vying for public approval.
@sheryl — LOL!! What are you talking about? You think I support Tiger Woods? You need to employ better reading comprehension. Yes, my comments suggest that all of this will be forgotten eventually but not because they should be forgotten. He is absolutely doing everything right to make people forget his indiscretions down the line. I never said he deserves any sort of “benefit of the doubt” but I do believe that his fans will give it to him anyway. I find his behavior deplorable. I have never been a Tiger Woods fan. I’m not sure how you think I’m supporting him but you are sorely mistaken.