ziggy125:

Twitb, i was simply stating the fact that Tigers finance and status was earned through golf, and his foundation wouldn't have ever happened had it not been for golf, so you cannot say it has nothing to do with golf, thats it..........and on that note i retire from this post.......i'm getting dizzy going around in circles

how the kids are being helped has nothing to do with golf, not how the foundation was started. i realize that. but what is going on in the learning center, for example, isn't golf-related. 

Ms M:

How in the world are these numbers being compiled?  I find it hard to believe his foundation has directly helped 10 million people.  I guess if you count building driving ranges in distressed areas and then the people who use them, we could get to 10 million....I've used the facility at Belle Isle in Detroit (BEAUTIFUL range, btw) so one could count me...IF...that's the way the numbers are being compiled. 

I'm with Charles Barkley when he says, don't consider athletes role models.  Too many young men and now women aspire to be professional athletes, when getting to the professional ranks is literally like hitting the lottery.  Many are qualified but only a few lucky ones get the opportunity. 

I also agree with LeonardWoods - TW is the greatest golfer on the planet - and that's all.  He's a good guy who leads a clean life - like almost all the other folk on the planet...that part does not make him stand out.  His millions and glamourous lifestyle is what makes him stand out and I would not want my son to get caught up in such things....(if I had a son).

Woooo!  I'm not alone and crazy?!?

I have a book about hockey arguments and in that he talks about how many players make it to the NHL and how many kids were born in a certain range.  I'll have to look it up later on if I remember and post it, it's ridiculous how low the percentages are of making it.  So, M and Charles are more than correct, it is like winning the lottery.

As for helping 10 Million people, on his website does he talk about how he isn't the sole funder of the foundation, how he holds a concert every year and ask people just like you and I donate money to said foundation?  Isn't anyone who donates that money at least as worthy of being a role model as Tiger is?  Neo is the greatest gofler on the planet and that's all.  Everything else comes directly from that.  There are plenty of better role models in our own lives to look up to.  Every year during the World Junior Hockey Championships our ESPN (TSN) interviews each and every member of Team Canada.  Most of these kids are drafted to the NHL already, the rest are going to be drafted shortly.  90% of them will make it, some will be the very best.  Every year they ask the same question "who is your role model/who was your role model growing up?"  You've got Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Martin Brodeur, Steve Yzerman... the list goes on and on and on.  And every kid (at 16-19, they are still kids) answers the same thing year in and year out: "My parents."

LeonardWoods:

As for helping 10 Million people, on his website does he talk about how he isn't the sole funder of the foundation, how he holds a concert every year and ask people just like you and I donate money to said foundation?  Isn't anyone who donates that money at least as worthy of being a role model as Tiger is?  Neo is the greatest gofler on the planet and that's all.  Everything else comes directly from that.  There are plenty of better role models in our own lives to look up to.  Every year during the World Junior Hockey Championships our ESPN (TSN) interviews each and every member of Team Canada.  Most of these kids are drafted to the NHL already, the rest are going to be drafted shortly.  90% of them will make it, some will be the very best.  Every year they ask the same question "who is your role model/who was your role model growing up?"  You've got Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Martin Brodeur, Steve Yzerman... the list goes on and on and on.  And every kid (at 16-19, they are still kids) answers the same thing year in and year out: "My parents."

i don't think tiger is talking about how many people in total have been helped by the foundation, only the direct impact he has had. the annual report has a donor list, for example. i think what it comes down to, is what you give in relation to what you have. if you can only help one person, that can be just as important as 10 million, but those that have more are expected to give more.

i don't discount the fact that good parents are good role models, but why can't others outside that realm be good role models as well, teachers for example. and even athletes. tiger has said he wants to be a role model...

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/tiger_woods.html

If you are given a chance to be a role model, I think you should always take it because you can influence a person's life in a positive light, and that's what I want to do. That's what it's all about.

http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/parenting/index.php/couriermail/comments/sporting_role_models_hypocritical_oath/

Contrast that with Tiger Woods who said, “I like the idea of being a role model. It’s an honor. People took the time to help me as a kid, and they impacted my life. I want to do the same for kids.”

twitb71:

i don't think tiger is talking about how many people in total have been helped by the foundation, only the direct impact he has had. the annual report has a donor list, for example. i think what it comes down to, is what you give in relation to what you have. if you can only help one person, that can be just as important as 10 million, but those that have more are expected to give more.

i don't discount the fact that good parents are good role models, but why can't others outside that realm be good role models as well, teachers for example. and even athletes. tiger has said he wants to be a role model...

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/tiger_woods.html

If you are given a chance to be a role model, I think you should always take it because you can influence a person's life in a positive light, and that's what I want to do. That's what it's all about.

http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/parenting/index.php/couriermail/comments/sporting_role_models_hypocritical_oath/

Contrast that with Tiger Woods who said, “I like the idea of being a role model. It’s an honor. People took the time to help me as a kid, and they impacted my life. I want to do the same for kids.”

Why does it make Neo a better role model to want to be a role model?  I don't get why he "wants to be a role model" and why he "wants to be remembered for donating money."  Both are things that you do not because you want to be remembered for them, but that you just want to do them.  You don' thave to broadcast them, you don't have to tell people it's what you want to do.  If you really just want to help people or be a role model or whatever, just go out and do it.  Your actions speak louder than words.  Unless of course you're Tiger Woods, then your skills at golf make your words mean more than the people you see everyday doing what he does outside of golf without asking to be noticed for it and not doing it to be noticed.

And again, no one is pimping out David Toms every other day for doing something equally as great without talking about how he wants to be remembered for his foundation.  No one thinks Rory should be a great role model, even though he does just like Tiger and donates a great deal of money to different causes.  People think Tiger is the great role model because he is an incredible golfer.  If he wore camo pants to support the troops or donated a certain dollar figure for every birdie and it was the Rory Sabbatini  Learning Center, we'd never hear about the RWLC and hear constantly about Eldrick's great support for the troops and his awesome belt buckles; and not just here, in all these silly articles about "Eldrick the Great."

LeonardWoods:

Why does it make Neo a better role model to want to be a role model?  I don't get why he "wants to be a role model" and why he "wants to be remembered for donating money."  Both are things that you do not because you want to be remembered for them, but that you just want to do them.  You don' thave to broadcast them, you don't have to tell people it's what you want to do.  If you really just want to help people or be a role model or whatever, just go out and do it.  Your actions speak louder than words.  Unless of course you're Tiger Woods, then your skills at golf make your words mean more than the people you see everyday doing what he does outside of golf without asking to be noticed for it and not doing it to be noticed.

And again, no one is pimping out David Toms every other day for doing something equally as great without talking about how he wants to be remembered for his foundation.  No one thinks Rory should be a great role model, even though he does just like Tiger and donates a great deal of money to different causes.  People think Tiger is the great role model because he is an incredible golfer.  If he wore camo pants to support the troops or donated a certain dollar figure for every birdie and it was the Rory Sabbatini  Learning Center, we'd never hear about the RWLC and hear constantly about Eldrick's great support for the troops and his awesome belt buckles; and not just here, in all these silly articles about "Eldrick the Great."

just because tiger tells people what he does and wants to do doesn't mean that what other people do and want to do doesn't have merit. tiger is no better than david toms or rory sabbatini or some anonymous donor, imo, i don't think that's the point of what tiger says and does. by virtue of being such a great golfer, that's going to trump everything else he does. i think he just wants people to know.

twitb71:

just because tiger tells people what he does and wants to do doesn't mean that what other people do and want to do doesn't have merit. tiger is no better than david toms or rory sabbatini or some anonymous donor, imo, i don't think that's the point of what tiger says and does. by virtue of being such a great golfer, that's going to trump everything else he does. i think he just wants people to know.

That's exactly what it is.  And that's the exact reason I question his motives behind it.

LeonardWoods:

That's exactly what it is.  And that's the exact reason I question his motives behind it.

could it be simply because he wants to be known for something other than golf?

twitb71:

could it be simply because he wants to be known for something other than golf?

Then show it don't say.  I want to be known as the best hockey player that ever lived, doesn't mean much.

LeonardWoods:

Then show it don't say.  I want to be known as the best hockey player that ever lived, doesn't mean much.

its not like he's telling people about his foundation and then doing nothing. i think there's enough information out there to let people know that it's a viable organization and people are being helped.

twitb71:

its not like he's telling people about his foundation and then doing nothing. i think there's enough information out there to let people know that it's a viable organization and people are being helped.

Then why tell us that is what you want to be remember for?

LeonardWoods:

Then why tell us that is what you want to be remember for?

again, so people will know. if it was a vanity thing, tiger would just slap his name on it and move on. but he's actually doing things in this area. much like paul newman, who was known as an actor and race car driver, but many people know him just as much for his humanitarian work, specifically, newman's own line of products in which the proceeds are used for charity.

people will contribute to the tiger woods foundation because it is tiger woods, i understand that, but there is also an end result that is legit. if people feel that a significant impact is made in an area they feel strongly about, and somebody is doing something in that area in a significant way they can't do on their own, that's what these things are for. does it make tiger a better person? maybe he's been a better person all along, and this is his way of giving back. does it make tiger a better person than me? i don't think that's the intent.

twitb71:

again, so people will know.

And again, do it and they will know.  You don't have to tell us.  If you really want to do it to help whomever you are helping, then what the heck do you care if anyone else knows it?  So your foundation gets pub?  You don't have to tell us that you want to be remembered for it to get the word out.  It's like someone rolling around saying they go serve at the soup kitchen and they want to make sure everyone knows that.  Well why?  If you're going to help out, what do you care if anyone else knows it?  It speaks for itself to those it helps.

LeonardWoods:

And again, do it and they will know.  You don't have to tell us.  If you really want to do it to help whomever you are helping, then what the heck do you care if anyone else knows it?  So your foundation gets pub?  You don't have to tell us that you want to be remembered for it to get the word out.  It's like someone rolling around saying they go serve at the soup kitchen and they want to make sure everyone knows that.  Well why?  If you're going to help out, what do you care if anyone else knows it?  It speaks for itself to those it helps.

the best answer i have is, sometimes it takes a tiger woods to motivate others to do the same.

twitb71:

the best answer i have is, sometimes it takes a tiger woods to motivate others to do the same.

But that has nothing to do with telling us he wants to be remembered for it.  And if it takes an Eldrick to get others to donate their time and/or money for good causes... Lord help us.

LeonardWoods:

But that has nothing to do with telling us he wants to be remembered for it.  And if it takes an Eldrick to get others to donate their time and/or money for good causes... Lord help us.

i guess i don't have a good answer then.