In August of 2010 I posted a short article on this site titled Tiger’s Fall and Rise (Click here to read my original post). It addressed with the public’s fascination with high profile sex scandals, specifically that of Tiger Woods. After winning last weekend’s PGA tournament, Tiger appears to be back on top of his game and I too feel the same.

To my amazement, my initial article was picked up by the Tennessean and run as an editorial in their Sunday paper. They characterized it as my taking up for Woods since I too had an affair publically exposed after a failed extortion attempt. Some of my other “detractors” at the time also commented, criticizing my reference to Woods infidelity, saying I was defending his actions. Apparently didn’t read or fully comprehend the article.

The rhetorical question I asked in the original post is why are we so infatuated with someone’s downfall or the details of their personal lives? The reality is because we are all broken people and want to relish in the fact that someone else’s brokenness may be worst than our own.

When The Christian Post covered Amy Winehouse’s death from a drug overdose, it was one of the most highly read stories on our site. I found that amazing, especially since I had no idea who she was until her death. The same was true when former Congressman Anthony Weiner resigned over inappropriate tweets and text messages he sent to other women (btw, I wrote most of the Weiner stories including one today on Andrew Breitbart’s latest chapter on how he uncovered the scandal).

“No, it’s not the details of the story or even of the affairs themselves, but rather the fall from Mount Everest that holds our fascination for such long periods of time,” I wrote in my original column.

A year and seven months has passed since I penned that post and last weekend Tiger won his first tournament since 2009 by capturing the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Before Tiger stumbled by succumbing to sexual temptation, he was considered the best golfer in the world – maybe of all time. He’s been through a difficult period, losing his marriage and several major sponsorships. But through the peaks and valley’s he has pulled his game back together and is now poised to compete in next week’s Master’s.

In an Associated Press article on Monday, former champion golfer turned commentator Johnny Miller described what he called the “two careers” each golfer experiences. I believe the same can be said for other careers.

“Every golfer has two careers,” Miller said at the end of NBC’s telecast on Sunday. “You have the first burst, and then sometimes you have a lull, and then you have a second career. Some guys have a pretty darn good second career. If I was coaching him, I’d say, ‘OK, you made the mistakes you made. Let’s just start over. This is the second career. You’ve got a new swing. Let’s see what you can do with this one.’ “It wouldn’t totally surprise me if he were to win 35 to 40 times from now,” he said. “He could do it. The way he is playing right now, he is going to kick butt.”

Is Tiger back on top for good? Only time will tell. But no one can argue that he is once again a force to be reckoned with. I ended my original Tiger post with this last paragraph.

“I remind my eleven-year old son that it’s not what happens to you, but more importantly, how you handle what happens to you.  At such a young age he’s watched his Dad achieve success and fall flat on his face.  He’s made the cut on a competitive baseball team only to log onto the team website the next season to discover his name missing from the roster.  I think that had more to do with me than my son’s athletic ability. Falling is not fun and it leaves us cut and bruised and sometimes broken.  But getting up and dusting ourselves off sure does feel better than wallowing in the mud.  After all, a sponge can only take on so much water. Let’s all pull for Tiger to reach the top once more in both his professional and personal life.  That would be a story worth reading about.”

Last night my son and I were dining at a local pizza restaurant before his baseball practice. As we ate our supper we watched an ESPN story on Tiger’s latest victory. When the story ended, my now 12 year-old son looked up and said, “I’m glad Tiger won last week.”

“Why,” I asked.

“Because like you, he’s had a rough couple of years,” he said, smiling as he looked up at me. “Now you’re both back.”

Unlike Tiger, I haven’t won a major golf tournament but I have more than I can say grace over. Two great kids, a challenging job as a journalist and a two-book deal in the works. And my son is right. Tiger I are both back and it feels good.

Paul Stanley is a freelance writer who lives in Tennessee. He is writing a memoir about his own life in business and politics.  He can be reached at paul@paulstanley.org