winning takes care of everything

Recently there was an ad that Nike made with Tiger Woods. The caption "Winning takes care of everything" Nike took lots of heat from online critics. There has been a ton of discussion about it. Some say "of course winning takes care of everything. Everyone loves a winner!" Others say no amount of success on the field can make up for shortcomings in your personal life. So which is true? Or are they both wrong? Should we care?

I'm here to give you the RIGHT answer. (as if I could give you a wrong answer.) Winning absolutely takes care of everything. Now before all of my readers start texting and emailing me, keep reading.

Winning takes care of everything, for one reason, US! How many athletes do we adore, but in their personal lives, they are crappy people? Anyone remember Kobe? Feels like it wasn't near as bad as Tiger, right? Wrong. He was still cheating on his wife, and cheating is cheating. But how quickly we forget. it was a mere 10 years ago. And now? Kobe is awesome. The "Black Mamba" has his own line of clothing, shoes, commercials,etc. And we, the sports fans, love it. I love everything about Kobe. His swagger, his lack of concern for the media; he is like the last old school player that trash-talks, wants to win more than anything else in the world, and has the skills to back it up. But do those things qualify for forgiveness? Nope. Not even a little bit.

Look at Tiger, he is a superstar once again. #1 in the world. Once hated by everyone for cheating on his supermodel wife, he is now dating Lindsey Vonn. An olympic athlete. She has forgiven him. Has he proved his fidelity in the short 4 years since the scandal? I guess so. Maybe not. But I'll bet his love and acceptance began when he started winning again? Why, because we the fans love a winner. No one cares about losers.

Here are some other winners that have been forgiven:

Ray Lewis - murder
Cam Newton - accepting money as an NCAA athlete
Mike Vick - dog fighting
Justin Gatlin - steroid use in olympics
Ben Roethlesbeger - rape
Rick Pitino - cheated on wife

So now the question is: is this ok? Is your reaction "I can't believe I let winning influence my feelings for athletes!"? How does this happen? It happens because these people aren't our friends, family, colleagues, etc. Our only attachment to them is their performance in their respective sports. We pay attention to them purely for our enjoyment. And I enjoy watching winners. So do you. Unless your a Jazz or Mariners fan. Oh wait...