Daily we are flooded with the latest news from Tiger’s domestic saga. Front-page stuff in both newspapers and magazines, and now a tv special. But why all this drama? Yes, our  interest is stoked by the media; they always search for ways of drawing our attention. But the media would not make all this fuss without knowing that a giant public was eager for the next installment. But why are we so eager? Just plain curiosity, you might say. But that’s too easy. The world is filled with many fascinating subjects, and our curiosity is highly selective. To be sure, there is a certain shock value in the news about Tiger’s illicit sex life. Here is another all-around hero whose private life proves otherwise. But why aren’t we content to let the drama pass, tossing it off with a “Well, what d’ya know?” There is a mystery here that needs further exploration; we might also learn something about ourselves.

It has long been clear that we live vicariously through our heroes – whether fictional or from real life. As we hear the stories or watch their deeds, we privately imagine ourselves as to be them. We feel their disappointments, share their tensions, and are elated at their victories.   To some degree, we privately become our heroes. Thus, when the failings of a hero are revealed, so do we begin to face the dark side of our own personalities. Here we begin to confront the complex mixture of selves, stored from the past, but driven from consciousness by the normalcy of day to day life. As males, we might find ourselves dreaming of these pleasures. How fantastic to have multiple beauties clamoring for our bodies. As females, we might also savor the pleasure of the rapt attention of a super-star in intimate encounters. But there are other voices as well. They are voices of morality, honesty, and faithfulness that war against our unchecked fantasies. There may be memories of what it is like to be a victim of unfaithfulness. Ironically we may find a certain impulse toward revenge directed toward our own impulses.  Such conflicts are not easily resolved – even over a lifetime. And thus, with each new installment of the Tiger story,  we revisit  the labyrinth of ourselves.