What If?

What would happen to Tiger Woods if Lance Armstrong was found to have cheated? I'm talking proof beyond ANY doubt that he cheated. Think about that for a second before reading on.

I'll start by saying, I'm a former road racer myself and Lance is one of my heroes when it comes to cycling. I, personally, feel that Lance never cheated. All the evidence points to Lance's innocence because there is no evidence. Lance has never failed a drug test. That said, let's move on.

So, what if I'm wrong and it's found out that Lance did cheat? What would the ramifications be for Tiger?

While Tiger has been the most popular athlete for years, Lance has never been too far behind him. In fact, when you add in Lance's work with his Live Strong foundation and Cancer in general, you'll find Lance is just as well known as Tiger. I'd be willing to bet that Lance was/is more respected in the world than Tiger. We're talking Tiger pre-getting caught, folks.

So, what happens? In short, we forget all about Tiger's troubles. The back lash from the public towards Lance would be 10X what Tiger is feeling. To put this into perspective, what Lance has accomplished is by far a greater feat than any record Tiger could put up. Winning the Tour De France 7 years in a row. I will point out that Miguel Indurain did win 6 in a row in the 90's. He was another of those freak athletes. Tiger would have to win 15 more majors to come close to that level of accomplishment.

Looking at this from the image standpoint, I think Tiger would make out like a bandit with new sponsors and endorsements. Nike, along with all Lance's sponsors, would have no choice but to sever ties with him. With the public distracted by Lance and his issues, companies would be free to go after Tiger. This is all predicated on Tiger overcoming the emotional challenges he faces. If Tiger can get some closure within his personal life, I feel, he'll be fine.

This was just a what if folks. I personally hope Floyd Landis, who did get caught cheating, and all the other haters leave Lance alone. It's a shame he has to go through this every time someone gets a hair up their butt.

As for Tiger, I hope he realizes he came back way too soon. He needs to shut it down for the year and work on his personal life. His talent will always be there, as we saw at the Masters.

Tiger, if it takes more than a year, so be it. Those of us who understand that life comes before work will not hold it against you. Go handle your business, then come back and blister the field some more or don't come back, that's your call.

Jeremy