Norts Spews

Last year I posted about Duh Sawx while they were steamrolling their way to the MLB championship. I reflected on the whole concept of fan loyalty and the seemingly irrational but culturally universal way that people live vicariously through their sports heroes. This year, mysteriously, despite bringing back pretty much the same team that flattened the competition last year, they are an abomination. I mean totally unwatchable. Can't hit, can't pitch, they stand around in the outfield watching balls bounce over the fence, they're listless and boneheaded.

There is a lot of psychology in sports. You'll notice that the most expert commentators, people who have played the game, but a lot of stock in teams' emotional state, their interpersonal chemistry (which can be all business, they don't have to like each other off the field), who is fired up for revenge on whom. It's tough to repeat, that's all there is to it. Winning a championship is often bad news for next year.

Turning now to Tiger Woods, yes what he has done is incredible. He destroyed his family because he let fame and fortune go to his head in all the wrong ways, and he overstressed his body till it gave out on him. Three years ago he was addicted to painkillers and he couldn't walk. Throughout it all -- ten years of struggle during which he could not compete -- he kept insisting that he was going to come back. And quite a lot of people, including me, though we had our doubts, thought he would probably do it. Yep.

He changed the game. Before Tiger, golfers were overweight, out of shape, smoking cigarettes between shots. He approached the game as an athlete, bulking up his shoulders and arms and hitting the ball farther than anyone before. It didn't even matter that he missed the fairway half the time because he was so close to the greens. So the young guys started going to the gym, the PGA moved the tees back, and now Tiger's length off the tee is about average. So he has to win a different way. I have to give him all the credit for fighting through terrible pain, conquering his demons, working with iron discipline and not giving up on himself. He hasn't just come back as an athlete, he genuinely seems to be a more mature, nicer person.

But we musn't forget that he is also extremely wealthy. Almost no-one in his situation can afford the very best orthopedists and surgeons and pain specialists and physical therapists and psychological counselors -- a lot of stuff insurance won't pay for. I'm pretty sure insurance would not have paid for those three surgeries. He had the resources heA needed to accomplish his miracle. Most people don't.

Also too: Let me once again remind you that "anonymous" is not an acceptable handle for commenting here. An observation about sexual misconduct by Bill Clinton was perfectly appropriate on my post about reality and the law, and I would have published it otherwise.

Clinton was impeached for lying about a blow job. Most people think that was not warranted, but his behavior was certainly scurrilous. Monica Lewinsky initiated the affair, but no, the CEO cannot have an affair with an intern. He was absolutely obliged to turn her down, and regardless of who made the first move, he was exploiting and harming a vulnerable young person. The most serious public allegation against him was by Juanita Broaddrick, who alleges that he raped her when he was Attorney General of Arkansas. There is corroboration from friends who say she told them about it at the time. She says he apologized years later, saying he was not the man he used to be. She did not go to the police and there was no investigation at the time.

So what should we make of this? I would say it is unfortunate that he was nominated and became president. I think we should have done better. Fortunately, his time as an important public figure is pretty much over. He has said and done so many idiotic things in recent years that nobody wants to be on the stage with him. And the cultural reassessment we have undergone about the sort of behavior that once got him characterized as a "charming rogue" means he's pretty much toxic anyway. He certainly didn't do his wife any good during her presidential campaign. The past can't be undone but we can do better from now on.