So what happens now?
After months of silence from the superstar and thousands of unanswered questions from the public, none of us really know more now than we did before Woods made the statement. And the fact remains that we never will.
Future perception of Tiger Woods will be based solely on individuals. Some may never forgive him for cheating on his wife several times, while others never really cared in the first place. But for everyone else in the middle, the path of Woods can be likened to that of any other famous athlete who's been forced to deliver a mea culpa to the American public.
The trend seems to dictate that the athlete makes his apology, the public critiques it for not being sincere or telling enough, then the player resumes his athletic life. After a brief period, the career continues as if it was never interrupted in the first place.
It happened in 2009 with Alex Rodriguez. Before he was linked to performance-enhancing substances, the Yankees' power-hitting third baseman was heralded as the savior of the clean game, the guy who perfected his skills the right way. A-Rod might have been annoying to many outside of his direct fan base, but few really believed he was a steroid user.
Then came the news that he did, in fact, take anabolic steroids. Shortly thereafter, A-Rod took to the podium at the Yankees' complex in Florida, apologized and admitted taking the drugs. It was really the last time he spoke about it publicly.
Following some rehab work for a hip injury, A-Rod rejoined the Yankees in May … and homered on the first pitch he saw. Yankee fans welcomed him back with open arms, and he became a postseason champion for the first time in his career. The steroid story was little more than an afterthought when Rodriguez held the World Series trophy high above his head in the Bronx.
In Tiger's case, he planted the seeds on Friday morning for his return. He said he has no doubt that he'll return to the PGA Tour — he just doesn't know when. He did say he hasn't ruled out this year.
So for Tiger, if he's lost anything, it's his image outside of the game. Maybe plastering Tiger's face on your company's billboard no longer makes sense. Maybe he's no longer the role model he once was. Maybe he's no better a person than anyone else. Maybe after all this, Tiger Woods will only be perhaps the greatest golfer in history and not much else.
In his personal relationship with his wife, Tiger said his "real apology to her" will come by his actions, not his words. The same can be said for his life as a golfer. Eventually, after he drains a few eagle putts and wows a gallery with an impossible bunker shot on the 18th green, Tiger Woods — the man who has almost become a caricature of himself in the media — will simply be Tiger Woods the golfer. Really, that's the only Tiger that golf fans ever wanted to know.
