His remarkable return to the top of PGA rankings brings back memories of all those nights I spent watching him romp to victory, in one major after another. If Tiger was leading going into the final round, the rest of the field could bid the title goodbye. When he was not leading, the leader through the earlier rounds would start to get nervous about the inevitable Tiger prowl. More often than not, Tiger would catch up with the leader and pip him to the title. I found this ‘Tiger v The Rest’ rivalry incredibly exciting, not so most of my friends who found golf the most boring among boring sports, their testosterone-fuelled brains more attuned to the high speeds of Formula One and the Premier League turf war.[break]
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In fact, when I was back in college, I loved all sports, and loved watching them on TV. Early in the day, I would tune in to the rough-and-tumble world of the Aussie Rules Football or get a taste of the more laid back Major League Baseball with my morning cuppa. During weekends, I would be occupied by cricket. If Jacques Kallis or Ricky Ponting was batting, I wouldn’t miss a ball.
My interest in sports was vicarious. As a sickly kid, I didn’t have much of stamina, although I did try my hands at basketball and cricket occasionally. But I loved sports. I still do. Though I don’t get to watch much TV these days, I keep a close tab of sporting contests around the world. But something feels amiss.
Even in late 1990s and early 2000s, a time I was hooked to sports like a drug addict, doping and cheating cases would crop up once a while. But most sportspersons believed in playing by the rules. Or so it seemed. The doping scandals from the period that have come to the surface of late have shattered that illusion. The hardest to take has been the knowledge that Lance Armstrong cheated his way to seven consecutive Tour de France titles. I used to spend countless evenings glued to the TV during the month-long Tour De France campaign, year in and year out, expecting tough competition. Every year, Armstrong destroyed any hope of a closely-fought race by decimating the rest of the field.
A disquieting thought takes hold of me whenever I think of my favorite sportspersons these days: Have they climbed up the ladder of success through dishonest means as well?
I feel cheated at this egregious violation of sporting spirit, perhaps the best exemplified by the official Olympic games credo: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
The focus on ‘fighting well’ rather than beating one’s opponent, on ‘taking part’ rather than ‘winning’ mirrors Krishna’s exhortation to Arjuna to carry out his responsibilities without expecting any return, which according to Gita is the dharma of all humans. As in other areas of life, this sporting spirit seems to be fast disappearing from the world of sports.
Recent revelations that many elite Australian athletes and coaches have been involved in systematic doping further dents my belief in sports. If Australia, a country whose identity is inextricably linked to its sporting achievements, can fall so low, one feels despondent thinking about the rest of the world. Nepal has not been immune from doping scandals as well. Most famously, the country’s ace marathoner Rajendra Bhandari, the winner of two gold at the 10th South Asian Games in Colombo, was stripped of his medals after testing positive for a banned substance in 2006.
Perhaps we have ourselves to blame for placing ordinary human beings on such a high pedestal that we start expecting them to behave like gods. And isn’t the ‘success at any cost’ ethos of elite athletes only a reflection of the society they come from?
Tiger Woods is back in his stride after five long years in sporting wilderness. There is no way to tell how he will fare on the greens in the years to come. Off it, we would all do well to remember that he is one of us, with each one of our human strengths and weaknesses.
The writer is the op-ed editor at Republica.
biswas.baral@gmail.com
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