Well, duh. He had hype. So didn't Ty Tryon, so didn't Michelle Wie, so does any other young phenom in just about any sport. Tiger was no more, no less. The difference? Tiger answered the hype, and then blew past it as if it was standing still.

After obliterating the field in the '97 Masters (his first year on tour btw), followed by 7 more majors within his first 5 years on Tour.....

Yeah, the hype was well deserved at that point, and his reputation was rising accordingly.

You seem to be taking his current status, or even his status of the last 6-7 years, and using that to argue he's always been at that level in terms of media oversaturation. And not for nothing, but the idea that his reputation was "blown out of proportion" is laughable. He's one of, if not the most recognizable athelete on the planet! He's the first athelete to be worth 1-billion dollars! Yep, it's all just media hype blown out of proportion.

What world do you live in?