I consider myself a casual golf fan, but like many of you this weekend, I was drawn to the Masters. Why? I’ll give you a hint-it wasn’t eventual champion Phil Michelson. Rather it was Tiger Woods. As a sports fan, I wanted to see the world’s best athlete do what he does best: play golf.

Yes, Woods is the world’s best athlete. If you have any doubt of that, check the numbers. Since Woods entered the PGA Tour he has won 55 of 201 tournaments. Although this may not seem that impressive of a feat, one must take Michelson’s record into account. Not only is Michelson Woods’ closest rival, he is the only golf figure that can be accurately compared to Woods due to the fact that they play in the much more competitive modern PGA. And Lefty has won only 38 of the 410 events he has entered. No single athlete in any other sport has achieved that much of an edge over his closest competitor, and thus Woods is the world’s greatest.

So as I sat and watched Woods and the rest of the field, I came to think about the real problem with today’s sports world. We all know about Woods’ extra-marital problems, his now-infamous car crash, and his time in sex therapy (whatever that is), but when I watched Woods play, golf I no longer cared about that. Yeah, Woods screwed up, he really screwed up, but do I need to know about his wife’s location during the Masters or have her followed by paparazzi as she picks up their children from school? No, I don’t. Woods may be a public figure, but he is human like me and you. He will make mistakes and he’ll have to suffer the consequences of those decisions. But Woods should be entitled to a private life, his children and wife should not be harassed, and only those close to Woods should be concerned about his and his wife’s attempts to reconcile. Some may say Woods let down the kids that idolize him, but I would argue he showed them even the best of us make poor decisions, and it’s how we react to the consequences of these decisions that shapes who we are as people.

ESPN and other sporting news agencies need to stop being TMZ and start highlighting the great aspects of sport. I watch sports because I believe they are the perfect escape from the real world. Sports can give you moments that nothing else can, whether it’s a group of college kids defeating the best hockey team in the world or a small school from Indiana coming a few inches short of the national championship. Sports can be so special, but today they are ruined by negative aspects like Ben Roethlisberger’s and Adam “Pacman” Jones’ varied indiscretions.

Sunday was the perfect example of this choice. The media should cover the heartwarming story of Michelson’s victory as his wife and mother battle cancer, but when I watch Sportscenter I have no doubt the coverage will be about Woods’ return from disgrace. This is how we get away from this crazy world, let’s not make sports into another depressing aspect of it.

Sports Columnist Pat Grayhack is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected].