False Alarm Illustrates Tiger's Epic Impact

How many people can paralyze the world's consciousness on a holiday weekend, make us stop everything until we're sure all is well? Tiger Woods is one of the precious few. Friday afternoon, while we were shopping and working off the mashed potatoes and nursing hangovers and watching better football than the day before, there was the biggest athlete on the planet, reportedly in serious condition in an Orlando-area hospital after he was injured in a one-car accident at 2:25 a.m.

Turns out he is OK, beyond some facial lacerations that might require more makeup for short-term TV commercials. He was treated at Health Central Hospital for "minor'' injuries and released in good condition, according to a Woods spokesman, but try claiming this was a minor situation at the moment of impact. That's when Woods was sprawled in the street outside his $2.4-million mansion -- fading in and out of consciousness, according to a local police chief who spoke to the Associated Press -- after his wife, Elin, had heard him crash his 2009 Cadillac sport-utility vehicle into a fire hydrant and then into a tree on a neighbor's property.

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Imagine the sight of Elin smashing out the back window of the SUV with a golf club -- as important a tee shot as Tiger has hit lately, I'd say -- to remove Woods from the vehicle. Imagine Woods laying in the street, blood in his mouth and cuts on his lips, administered first-aid treatment by police officers and a rescue team while his wife leaned over him.

Scary. And even scarier if alcohol was involved, which police have ruled out though an investigation continues and charges still could be filed. "We will ask him everything," said Kim Montes, spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol. "We just haven't had a chance to do so because he was being medically treated."

The important thing, of course, is that Woods and his surgically repaired knee are fine, meaning the mishap won't affect his ongoing pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' all-time record of 18 major championships. But that is the first thought that entered my mind upon hearing the news, and we should be thankful on this Thanksgiving weekend that one of the greatest athletes we'll ever see will continue to entertain and amaze us with his immaculate ball-striking, unprecedented skill and maniacal thirst to conquer golf like no human before him -- or after him.

"We appreciate very much everyone's thoughts and well wishes,'' Woods wrote on his Web site Friday evening.

If anyone ever doubted his global impact, this should have been proof of his impact on society. My cell phone didn't stop ringing and texting device didn't stop buzzing for hours. Every TV channel, from ESPN to CNN, delivered regular updates. It was the sort of coverage normally accorded a president or a pope, but then, in his realm, The Eldrick has climbed to a similar plateau. No athlete has made more money, with Woods recently passing the $1 billion mark in career prize earnings, business and endorsement deals, design work and appearance fees. Only retired basketball star Michael Jordan, at $800 million, and former Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, at $700 million, are in the ballpark. At 33, he has accomplished more in less time in the sporting kingdom than anyone else, including Jordan and Muhammad Ali and Wayne Gretzky and Babe Ruth and all the others to whom he is compared. He has won 14 majors, 71 PGA Tour events and 82 events around the world, staggering numbers in that he only delivered his "Hello, world'' speech 13 1/2 years ago.


When we hear that Woods was in an accident, we instinctively pause and reflect and worry. While it turns out the injury damage was fairly minor, the Florida Highway Patrol was right to classify the injuries as "serious'' given his condition when offiicers arrived. Certainly, don't blame the media for overblowing this one -- when an official agency says a world-famous person has been "seriously'' injured, news organizations must pursue the news. It seems obvious that Woods, ultra-protective of his image, tried to spin this into the "minor'' zone. "The accident was really minor,'' said Gary Bruhn, mayor of Windermere, Fla., the suburb where Woods and other major sports stars live. "He was taken [to the hospital], treated for some scrapes and was released,'' Bruhn said.

These things happen to all of us at some point. But when they happen to Woods, the world shudders. I only can imagine what thousands of amateur journalists are writing on their blogs, using their imaginations to suggest something scandalous happened at 2:25 AM. Is it curious that he was leaving the house at such a late hour after Thanksgiving? Maybe. Is it possible he was going to buy some groceries at a time when no one would bother him? Maybe. Was alcohol involved? Again, the police say no. Is it unfair to speculate until we know more? Yes.

Which brings me to what I admire most about Woods. He's the most scrutinized athlete in this land and any other, subjected to more nonsense than almost any celebrity out there. And except for a flareup or two on the course, usually over pictures taken in mid-swing, he handles it about as well as could be expected. Remember when his wife won a lawsuit after an Irish magazine published a nude picture of her that was proven fake? The magazine was forced to pay $200,000 to the Woods family, chump change for Tiger but symbolic nonetheless. "The false and deeply offensive article in The Dubliner magazine, with the accompanying photograph of another woman wrongly claimed to be me, caused great personal distress to me and my family," Ms. Nordegren-Woods said of the photo, which was published during the 2006 Ryder Cup in Europe.

Recently, Woods has had to deal with a National Enquirer report that he is hooking up with a New York "party girl.'' The rag even mentions a name, which I won't repeat, and says he has met up with her around the world. A sports blog ran pictures of her, naturally. And I'm sure that's where Woods was headed at 2:25 AM, right, to see her? Please.

Just the other day, the couple was together with their daughter, Sam, on the sideline at a football game. They were watching Woods' alma mater, Stanford, play rival Cal in the traditional Big Game. After delivering a pep talk to the team, participating in the coin toss and shaking the hand of Cardinal star Toby Gerhart, Woods received a trophy at halftime for entering the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. While delivering a 20-second speech, he was booed by Cal fans. Taken aback, he paused, then delivered his own message.

"The second half is ours!'' he bellowed.

Alas, Stanford lost. He does not have superhuman powers, in case you wondered.

Do your dignity a favor: When it comes to public figures, don't assume what happened in an episode until you really, truly know. Until then, be happy that Woods has yet to pull out of the Chevron World Challenge, next week in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Be thankful he came back from knee surgery, won six times after missing eight months and was right to consider it a successful comeback, though he didn't win a major championship this year. Be thrilled that he'll be at the Masters at Augusta National in April, the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June and the British Open at St. Andrews in July.

And be blown away that part of your Friday involved having Tiger on the brain. He has that effect on all of us.