Tiger Woods in the role of the underdog

I didn't care much for golf until Tiger Woods came along. In 1997, at the age of 21, he won the Masters -- a tournament organized by a golf club that hadn't admitted its first black member until seven years earlier -- by 12 strokes. What young American sports fan wouldn't be drawn to a story like that?

As the years progressed, he proved that he was much more than just hype. It's unfortunate that there might be an entire generation of kids growing up now who will only know Tiger Woods as a cautionary tale: a once-great golfer who made even greater mistakes. Those who weren't alive at the time, or who were too young to remember, won't be able to appreciate just how good he actually was. They can look up his performance in majors on Wikipedia, but you kind of had to be there.

It's one thing to read about how he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach by 15 strokes; it was quite another to watch it unfold. To know that nobody could touch him. To see the look in his competitors' eyes, because they knew they were up against an unstoppable force. History will show that he won four majors in a row, and five out of seven from the PGA Championship in 1999 through the Masters in 2001. But to have actually watched it in those days was to watch something we knew we might never see again. I was too young to appreciate Michael Jordan's peak years, so Tiger was the closest thing I'd ever seen to a great artist at the top of his craft.

It was then, during the early 2000s, when he was at his most dominant. Each victory felt inevitable. I suppose that's why I started to root against him. Not because I didn't want him to make history, but because making history was simply a foregone conclusion. There was no doubt he was going break Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors, so I went ahead and pulled for the likes of Bob May (who briefly matched Tiger shot for shot during a playoff after the 2000 PGA Championship) and Chris DiMarco (who pushed him to a playoff at the 2005 Masters). Rooting for the underdog is always more fun.

Now, Tiger Woods is the underdog. He hasn't won a major since 2008. His struggles are partly the result of his own selfish choices, partly the cruelty of time and age. The record of 18 majors that once felt inevitable now seems like it might be impossible.

And that means, for the first time in a long time, rooting for Tiger Woods is fun again. If he were to win another major, it wouldn't be just another step on the road to 18. It would be his redemption. It would be a comeback story for the ages. It would be exactly what every kid needed to realize that Tiger is so much more than a cautionary tale. He was the greatest athlete of his time. He made an entire generation care about golf, and maybe he can do it again.