In the forest of the night

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry

William Blake

TWO DAYS before Thanksgiving, the National Enquirer reported that a New York City “party girl” named Rachel Uchitel had been seeing golf super hero, Tiger Woods, on the side.

Radar on-line.com reported that on Thanksgiving evening, Tiger got into a heavy fight with his wife, Elin Nordegren, at their home in the gated community in Orlando, Florida where they live.

When the argument escalated, Tiger left the house and according to Radar, told Elin: "You've ruined our Thanksgiving! Are you happy now?"

This led to Tiger running out of the house at 2:25 a.m., getting into his car and taking off, hitting a fire hydrant and ending up smashing his Cadillac Escalade into a tree.

Rachel Uchitel says she didn’t Upon emerging from the Escalade, Mr. Woods was incoherent. He had lacerations to his lips, blood in his mouth, scratches on his face according to the Radar report.

This is where the story gets murky. Around local breakfast tables, the curious have opined that Elin ran out of the house after him with a golf club and smashed the back window of the SUV as he sped out of the driveway causing him to loose control.

The media reported that she smashed the window trying to extricate him from the vehicle after it crashed, trying to save him.

No one knows for sure what happened and Tiger isn’t telling. His only response to police was to have his attorneys give them a copy of his driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance and pay the $164 fine for reckless driving. In Florida, apparently, that is all that is required in a one car accident of this sort.

Jaimee Grubbs says she did Meanwhile, Rachel Uchitel has hired Gloria Allred, the famed California civil rights attorney, to protest the Enquirer’s reported story. Rachel says she didn’t have an affair with Tiger.

However, the Enquirer says that it’s original story was verified with polygraphs, multiple sources and an on-the-record exclusive interview with one of Rachel's friends.

The Enquirer said that multiple sources, including an alleged friend of Rachel’s, Ashley Samson, that they were having an affair and the two were “in love.”

Rachel, an events planner and former director of VIP operations at the NYC nightclub Grffin, who denies an affair with Tiger, told one media outlet that she hardly knows Ashley, who is quoted on-therecord in the Enquirer story. Rachel said she wasn't even sure of the woman's last name.

But then, after the hubbub caused by the Enquirer, another voice is heard from. Jaimee Grubbs, a Las Vegas waitress, claims that she has been having an affair with Tiger for lo these many months, admitting that they have been together more than twenty times, according to her story.

She isn’t the only one. there are at least two more woman who have come forward.

"Everything has to be perfect for Tiger," a neighbor allegedly told Radar. "Something at home must have upset him. I think he was probably just furious about something, got in that big Escalade and drove off."

In a statement to the press, Tiger said that he admits that the accident

is my fault, and ... obviously embarrassing to my family."

This last week, he was supposed to play in the Chevron World Challenge, an event to benefit his own foundation at the Sherwood Country Club in Sherman Oaks, California.

On Tuesday, a day before he should have shown up to start practice, he posted a statement on his web site saying that unspecified injuries prevented him from playing in the tournament. "I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week," Mr. Woods said. "I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I'm very sorry that I can't be there."

Tournament officials said fans who bought advance tickets with the hope of seeing Tiger could get refunds beginning next week.

“I would ... ask for some understanding," he wrote in his statement. "My family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.”

At Nike, his primary corporate sponsor, said: “We respect Tiger's request for privacy and our thoughts are with Tiger and his family at this time.”

Mark Kriegel, a national columnist and writer of two New York Times best sellers on sports, said

only for the sake of argument, let me concede that you or I may have done worse. Still, let me ask, this sound like an innocent guy?

Mr. Kriegel continued

take the worst-case scenario: He cheated on his old lady, got busted, wrecked the car. Doesn't mean he's beyond redemption. Doesn't even mean he's a bad guy. But, really now, do you believe him? Do you know anyone who does?”

But Tiger hasn’t said much other than “... the many false, unfounded rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.”

The problem with all of this is that both adults and kids around the world look up to Tiger Woods as a role model.

Does any of this make any difference?

Today, we live in a society that is rife with double standards.

We want our heroes to be perfect yet, the rest of us common folk, can get away with almost anything.

Eventually, most of the people that kids look up to, the ones they want to

be just like,” are role models who are more susceptible to falling off their pedestal because of their fame or status.

Look what happened to Michael Phelps.

After all the hype of his gold medals at the Olympics and his swimming excellence, the media painting him as the All American Guy, he was discovered to be someone less than perfect.

Before the fall, he seemed too good to be true, and he was. People will remember the gold medals, but Michael Phelps is tarnished now.

Some of our sports heroes, under pressure from their own inner demons, or as an outgrowth of their distorted view of themselves, become involved in damaging off the field activities. Drug related crimes and gambling offenses are examples of self destructive paths that some star athletes pursue. Abuse toward women and other forms of violence, including sexual assaults and murder, have become commonplace reflections of their destructiveness toward others. Fame, VIP treatment and life in a bubble often lead our sports heroes to live by their own set of rules without regard for the consequences.

Each week, it seems, one of our fabled heroes falls from his lofty perch and crashes hard back to earth as we, the once faithful followers, point our fingers and shake our heads in disappointment and shame.

Before Tiger, it was Michael Phelps and Alex Rodriguez. Who’s next?

With the current stream of fallen heroes, one cannot help but wonder why any athlete in America would ever think about cheating, lying, stealing, drug dealing or even passing gas in public?

A-Rod didn’t need to take steroids. He said he started taking steroids in 2001, after the Texas Rangers had already signed him for a record $256 million contract.

He told ESPN that steroids were a part of the culture and that he needed something that could give him an extra edge on his competitors. But most don’t think that A-Rod needed an edge. He was already averaging over 40 home runs a season for the three seasons before 2001.

What is the incentive for a multi-million dollar athlete to do a stupid thing? A-Rod gained maybe 20 home runs over a threeyear period and Phelps gained a few minutes of fame after a whirlwind publicity tour.

What will happen to Tiger’s reputation is still up for grabs.

How many Vicks, Joneses, McGwires, or the likes of Barry Bond or a Clemens does it take before we realize that putting our hero worship behind sports figures is misplaced.

Perhaps we should start to look at those people who are our real heroes.

Our heroes are our neighbors; our friends; the person we kiss goodnight.

They are the brave men and women who fight fires and rescue us when we are in peril. They are the ones who help us, protect us and serve us, each and every day. They are our school teachers, our priests and pastors, the people who walk that extra mile to help. They are the people who volunteer and stock the local food and clothing banks. They are the people who offer to help organize and run the many local service organizations and work tirelessly and most of the time without applause to put on the many events in town throughout the year.

Those who come to our rescue when we need them. They might not wear a cape on their backs, but they wear courage on their chest and bravery on their sleeve. And we thank them for this. For being stronger, faster, and more courageous than most; for giving themselves for the sake of strangers. We honor them.