I was sitting in the news room at my university newspaper when I heard one of the sports editors mention, “talk about a slow sports day, the only headline is tiger wood’s dad died.”  The interesting thing is that just a few hours earlier I had logged on to my computer to check what was going on in the sports world, and was shocked at the breaking news.  To me, Earl Woods losing his battle with prostate cancer last week at the age of 74 marked the end of an era, and the beginning of something greater.

Earl Woods was not a typical father.  His death is not just an instance of a regular family member of a superstar passing on.  Not only did he raise the best golfer in the world, but he fathered a multi-millionaire who is impressively humble, charitable, and compassionate.

When Tiger left Stanford to join the pros with just a few weeks remaining in the 1996 PGA Tour, sports fans were taken back by the audacity of this phenom and his seemingly Gestapo father.  People questioned why he had made the jump to the big leagues with the year almost over, and why hadn’t he chosen to cash in on his fame years before.  But Earl knew what he was doing, he had managed his son’s career and built the game’s greatest prodigy.  Tiger proved him right too, by winning three events in those remaining weeks, and coming back the next April and making history at Augusta.

That Sunday in Georgia nine years ago has already been classified as one of the most important achievement in sporting history.  What strikes me the most about that epic victory is that the image that is seared into the brain of every sports fan is that of Tiger walking up through the gallery to his father and engaging in the most famous bear hug of all time.

For every Tiger Woods, there are literally thousands of youth athletes who buckled under parental pressure, just ask the Raiders about Todd Marinovich, err Marijuanavich.  The kid who burns himself out because of expectations and over aggressive parenting has become one of the most used clichés out there.  When Tiger arrived on the scene and absolutely took over the game, everyone expected that he would be another statistic. 

We all heard the bold claims made by Earl Woods, how his son would break every record and even how he would have a greater impact on this planet that Gandhi.  No one bought it.  Everyone criticized big Earl and accused him of running his son’s life, telling him what to do, and robbing him of a true childhood.

When Earl published his book “Training a Tiger”, he was lambasted for his arrogance and apparent self-congratulations.  The fact is that Earl was right.  Everything he prophesized has been realized.  Tiger is the best golfer in the world and has absolutely changed the game. 

In addition to the Tiger Woods Foundation which was created by Tiger and Earl back in 1996, just this past February, Tiger opened the Tiger Woods Learning Center, a school for underprivileged children in Anaheim, Calif.  With endless amounts of money in his checking account and a heart as big as those legendary bear hugs, Tiger’s charitable ventures are only just beginning, giving light to those Gandhi comparisons.

Earl was a proud man, who enlisted himself as a Green Beret in Vietnam to help his country.  It was there where he met his best friend, a South Vietnamese army general named Tiger, a moniker that Earl promised to give to his newborn son.  He was proud of his background too, especially the fact that he broke an important color barrier in sports, being the first African-American to play baseball in the old Big Seven conference.

Earl took all the hardships that he faced and molded them to lessons which he instilled in Tiger, and as spectators and fans, we are the benefactors of his parenting.

As avid followers of sport, we are always looking to the future.  Regardless of what is happening now, we are always pondering how much better our team will get or how our favorite athletes will do.  This is the reason why we literally sit for nine hours and to watch men in suits select college athletes to play football for them.

There are only two possible routes that Tiger can take now. One possibility is that the loss of his mentor and best friend will result in him losing the focus and edge that has made him the best in the world.  That’s not going to happen.

Tiger will dominate.  What we are about to witness will dwarf the Tiger Slam of 2000.  The minute I read that Earl had died, I immediately imagined the scene at Winged Foot Golf Club come June.  Tiger up by an insurmountable margin, tears streaming as he putts out to win his 11th major.  Tradition holds that the final day of the U.S. Open is always played on Father’s Day.

In sports we always talk about “storybook endings.”  The national championship of American golf will set the stage for the definition of that phrase.  When Earl’s condition was getting worse a month ago, Tiger said that he wouldn’t play again until the Open.  Who knows if he is going to practice and prepare? It doesn’t matter.  He will win.  He will win big. 

Two years ago he won the Masters for a fourth time with Earl in a hotel room a few miles away, unable to make it the course because of his health.  Tiger cried at the podium, saying he couldn’t wait to get home and “give him a big bear hug.”

That event was foreshadowing for what will happen.  But there won’t be any bear hugs, because this time Earl won’t be there when Tiger gets home.

Andrew Kieta is a contributing writer to Atomic Sports Media.  He can be reached at andrew.kieta@atomicsportsmedia.com.