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As Tiger Wreck Watch 2009 lurches into its fourth day with little new information, fans and media are combing over every element of this case like symbologists in a Dan Brown thriller. There's brick wall after brick wall in this story, but one of the largest and most well-fortified is this: just who is Elin Nordegren Woods, anyway?
If you were to design the perfect wife for a privacy-hungry superstar like Tiger Woods, she'd look a whole lot like Elin -- low-key, accustomed to celebrity, and, from all appearances on the golf course, totally devoted to her husband's career.
Which is what makes the current questions about her recent behavior -- why did she smash a window in Tiger's Escalade? Is she responsible for his injuries? Why did she change her story to police? -- so challenging. We'd like to think the best of her, but we simply don't know much about her.
As the Daily Beast notes today in a story entitled "The Mysterious Mrs. Woods," there's only been one major story written about Elin Nordegren Woods -- a 2004 Sports Illustrated profile -- and even that story centered on how little anyone outside of her inner circle knows about her.
The facts: She grew up in Stockholm, and while she did some modeling in her teens, the idea that she was a "Swedish supermodel" is one of those urban legends that grows in the retelling. "She wasn't a high-profile model," as the Beast quotes a source from a New York modeling agency, and, to be fair, she didn't seem to be particularly interested in modeling as a career.
But she was around the world of golf long before she met Woods, serving as the nanny to golfer Jesper Parnevik. She met Tiger at the 2001 British Open, and it wasn't exactly a romantic introduction for the ages.
According to SI, Tiger was so nervous about asking her out that he had a friend do it for him. Initially, she declined. But Woods persisted, she relented, and they married in a lavish $1.5 million ceremony in Barbados. That wedding was the stuff of tabloid heaven, with Hootie and the Blowfish as the house band and Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley in attendance.
Being married to the world's richest athlete apparently has done little to change Elin's public persona. We don't see her doing reality shows, we don't see her on the covers of magazines every month, and aside from releasing some photos, she doesn't parade around her children – two-year-old Sam and nine-month-old Charlie – seeking publicity. It's refreshing, really, to see someone in the limelight who's so apparently unconcerned with the fame-hungry world of modern celebrity.
And this brings up the question of obligation. Is Elin Woods obligated to share anything about herself with the world just because of the man she married? Of course not. Their private life is just that: private. Anything that goes on behind closed doors is their business, and theirs alone ... as long as no crimes have been committed. Without speculating on the Woods case, any time there is a reasonable suspicion of domestic violence, it does indeed become a public matter.
What's definitive is that some of the events of recent days haven't been behind closed doors, they've taken place on public streets. And because Tiger Woods is a worldwide celebrity, anything he does in public, from hitting a golf ball to hitting a fire hydrant, draws worldwide notice. Combine the events of Friday morning with the allegations published last Wednesday that Woods had been pursuing an affair with another woman, and you've got a case that police simply cannot ignore.
In the world of celebrity culture, curiosity fills in the gaps in a vacuum of information. Was it the wisest idea for Elin Woods to share absolutely nothing about herself for all these years? Perhaps, perhaps not; that's a decision everyone watching this case has to make for themselves.
What's certain is that the Woods camp would love a mulligan on many elements of this case, and the image that's been created -- or, more accurately, not created -- of Elin up until Nov. 27 may very well be at the top of that list.
The Mysterious Mrs. Woods [Daily Beast]

www.sportsshooter.com/johnjcoleman

" Anyone can take a picture Only a Photographer can take a photograph "

vpheughan

Sheesh! all that to say:

A married guy cheats on his wife, the wife finds out and beats him with a golf club. Pulitzer worthy stuff!! Wait, dont' tell me, was he stupid enough to make a "video"

skymike

Sad story on all sides. I would guarantee you that Tiger might have been
feeding the monster, (no dumb jokes meant here) but at no time could he have been happy in his secret life. She'll never be able to trust him. He probably doesnt like himself anymore, and his family is ashamed. For a billion dollars, there is no toy you can go out and buy that will make you happy here. (again, no dumb joke meant)

so sorry for the momentary seriousness.

I'll fix it with something funny. One time I had a freakazoid gf who, after I dumped her, went into a drunk rage, followed me home, & ran me over w/ her car. This was 3 months prior to the infamous Clara Harris event, and I, of course, didnt die, because I lifted my legs in order to hit the windshiend, rather than go under the car and die.

So the deputies & the am-ba-lance came, (I refused transport, or charges--dont ask me, supposedly you cant in TX for domestic assaults, but they let me decline to press.) And all the drama, etc.

Well now we have a new problem. I'm kind of a known name here. She--less so, but at the time worked for a major FM, (she's gone now), and we actually had to talk in order to figure out how to keep ourselves off the news. Of course, all the authorities got was our real names, which are not as recognizable, and we're damn sure not gonna say, "I'm ____ from the ____ ." My employer's parent company shared the same name with the city's bus service, so they thought I worked with buses, even though my apartment was inside my helicopter's hanger. guess they were busy. We only assumed anyone would care anyway, but as a former news director, I would have found the story juicy.

My current gig wouldnt care, in fact they would turn it into a comedy sketch, so dont get ideas. I wouldnt be telling this, if they did.

But my point is, if 2 or 3 people know your name, your business is their business, right or wrong, its a fact, especially, if the success of your business in someway depends on whether or not a large group of people subscribe to you for entertainment.

You cant have it both ways. You are rich (unless you're in my biz) because people care. You dont get to say, "ok, stop caring now."

But I really do feel sorry for them both.

DblBogey

Extremely easy on the eyes . . . this is the stuff a B&G avatar is made of

skymike

Well, I'll bet she's available, and she'll probably go dutch at dinner.

SmashMouth

Nice, DBL..... you ought to make her your new avatar. I heard she was an Alabama fan!

skymike

psssst! Dbl Bogey, check PM.

Tobias-Reiper

... just another average skinny blonde from Sweden who caught the eye of a guy who gets paid millions for playing a lawn game.

skymike

Isnt America Great ??!!!

Tobias-Reiper

.. lil' pink houses for you and me!