A Moment's Pause for Our Hero

Tiger and his kids, Charlie and Sam.

Let's take a moment to pause from contentious politics following this past weekend's most memorable event that had people around the world on the edge of their seats.

Consider the history, the media coverage given one person, the scandals and now the nearly complete, full redemption of arguably the most well-known man in the world.

Tiger Woods.

The name echoes across oceans. Fans and curiosity seekers far and wide flock to get a glimpse, whether they are in his presence on the golf course -- as many were the past four days on the eastern coast of Scotland -- or fortunate enough to see his visage on a TV screen at the top of the leaderboard of the oldest organized tournament on our planet: the 158th British Open

Astonishment. Forgiveness. Congratulations.

Locked in embrace with his 11-year-old daughter, Sam, with his 9-year-old son, Charlie, at his side, Tiger found comfort after four grueling days of golf that saw him emerge, and for one brief moment, rise to the lead on the final day.

"Hopefully you're proud of your pops for trying as hard as I did," Tiger told the eager press afterward. That's what  I told my kids, he said. That's what he wanted to talk about. They had never seen their father at the top of his game. They have only witnessed the pain and heartache of a fallen hero.

He tied for sixth place, his best finish in a Major golf tournament in five years. At one point it looked as though he was going to win, do the unthinkable yet expected of a great American hero: Charge victorious to the finish line.

Ironically, his playing partner that day, Fancesco Molinari from Italy, emerged the victor, playing steadily while all the attention was on Tiger.

We hunger for a hero. We have his back. We want to see him come back. But what has he given to the world that makes him so popular and so loved?

Try hope. Pride. Invincibility when he was at the top of his game. Then the fall. Personal issues. Indiscretions. Injuries. And now redemption.

Yesterday Tiger rose from the ashes and proved that he is not a quitter. He still shows signs of greatness. He showed humility among his peers and toward the press, qualities that were missing when he was dominating the game.

Simply ask anyone who watched the ancient game this past weekend that had grown men whacking a little white ball across a barren, windblown coastline -- many who wouldn't have paid attention otherwise. They wanted to see Tiger succeed.