Woods In Great Company

I have never been a Manchester United fan and if it wasn't for Wayne Rooney, I would never even think of watching one match from a team that I believe is bigger than the hype it feeds on. What I admire in Woods, I admire in Rooney. A relentless search for success and a "never give up" mentality that only the true greats in sports posses. No theatrics when he's fouled and getting up immediately after he's relentlessly stopped when on his way to the opponents goal. I love that in Rooney. If he would be playing for Chelsea, I would probably relocate to London to make sure I wouldn't miss one game of my most favorite team and my most favorite English player.

And so, as I was preparing myself for a good showdown between Everton and Manchester United, Saturday evening (Jakarta time), on September 11, word came trough that Wayne Rooney wasn't going to play. According to MU boss Ferguson "Rooney would have had to deal with a harsh reception from Everton fans after recently the story broke that he had sex with a 21–year old hooker while 'lovely' Coleen was pregnant with his now 10-month old son Kai".

After Tiger Woods, yet another of my all time sports heroes has fallen for "quality" time between the sheets instead of on the field or at home. After Tiger Woods, yet another of my all time sports heroes is to be hacked to pieces by the media.

And although Rooney tried to convince his boss that he would not choke under pressure from Everton fans - the latter are mere "grannies" compared to the sharks that make up for the British gossip press - he still was benched on that eventful day at Everton (3-3).

It is hoped that he will not go the same road Tiger had gone as now his biggest opponent will be the British tabloid press. They truly will milk the story until readers' interest dies down automatically, and that may well take a while for it to happen. The worst is yet to come for "Shrek".

But then again, it is reported that Rooney had said about saving his marriage: "If she can't handle it and it is over, so be it."

This "who the f**k cares" attitude may well save him from going Tiger's road. Where Tiger and other famous sports celebs have forked out tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars on silencing hookers or on court orders preventing hookers from spilling the beans, Rooney was the one who told Coleen "that a tabloid story was running about him and a prostitute - and that it was true!"

That's truly Rooney... and no stupid excuses that would maybe save him from being divorced at the cost of millions of British Pounds - and that, my dear friends, is what I like about him. Burn your ass and deal with the blisters!

With (lesser) stories breaking on (Tottenham Hotspurs) Peter Crouch's infidelity and former world champion boxer Ricky Hatton's (hooker accompanied) cocaine sniffing video going global at around the same time, Tiger can now be assured of being in "great company". After all, marriage is the only war where you get to sleep with the enemy and perhaps now he will be excused for just being human, on and off the field.