Dave Pickle is the Tiger Woods of the NCAA national office staff.

Like millions of other fans, I was let down last weekend when it became apparent that Tiger Woods wasn't going to win his seventh consecutive worldwide event.

This desire to see Tiger excel is completely backward from the build-up-to-tear-down mindset that Americans have employed for the last quarter century or so. What makes Tiger different?

I believe the public deeply appreciates two particular aspects of Tiger Woods.

First, he has great physical gifts, but he has relentlessly built the strongest mind that the game has ever seen. He's disciplined enough to stay perfectly fit, he almost never makes a wrong decision and he is almost inhuman in his ability to focus at critical moments. It's the mental part of Tiger's game that has made him a legend.

Second, Tiger always conducts himself like a champion. He never does anything to embarrass himself or his family or his associates. For people who are sick of rich personalities who can't stay out of jail or out of rehab, Tiger reaffirms the positive potential of stardom.

His late father Earl once said that Tiger's ultimate influence will not be restricted to golf - that someday he'll take his fame and money and use them for much greater purposes.

I hope Earl turns out to be right. What an interesting twist it would be if Tiger Woods eventually went pro in something other than sports.