HISTORY IN THE MAKING : From Ali to the Beatles to Man Walking on the Moon, Tiger Woods Could Be the Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread

With each improbable victory, more is heard, more is understood.

A group of same-race children are running through the playground pretending to be professional athletes.

A boy of mixed race walks up and, for the first time, joins them.

I can play, he says. I can be Tiger Woods.

With each stunning success, somebody looks at somebody differently.

The grandfather sits in front of the TV to watch the hot young golfer. But his eyes focus on the golfer’s gallery.

So many different colors. Look at the dreadlocks next to the Izods next to the old men like him. So many different shoulders touching, yet nobody pushes away.

Come out here, the grandfather yells to his wife. Something you got to see.

America, are you paying attention? Something is happening here, something far bigger than a 21-year-old kid hitting a golf ball the length of three football fields.

Society is slowly being changed here.

Tiger Woods is changing it.

Changing the way you think, the way our biggest businesses act, the way our print and electronic media react.

Changing attitudes, accountability, afterthoughts.

Changing the way we spend our leisure time and who we spend it with.

Changing the face of modern America to approximate, finally, the real face of modern America.

Young, dark-skinned, easy smile, low tolerance.

Many in this country have long looked and behaved like Woods, but only now are we noticing.

Who is this wonder who has won five PGA tournaments in 16 starts?

He is us.

Did you see what Woods did on Sunday? Most impressive win yet, according to many in the golf world.

He won the Byron Nelson Classic, a nice little Texas shootout, which in itself is no big deal.

But he did it after not playing competitively in the month since his last tournament, which was also a victory, in the Masters.

A month filled with controversy about Fuzzy Zoeller’s insensitive remarks and Bill Clinton’s politically inspired invitation.

“I thought, ‘now he’s going to be like everybody else and lose it,’ ” said noted golf course architect David Rainville of Tustin. “ ‘He’s going to collapse under all this pressure, fail when he’s under the gun.’

“But it didn’t happen. Unbelievable.”

On Monday, Woods drove another green, signing a sponsorship agreement with a American Express Co. as much as $30 million, giving him more than $90 million in endorsement money by one account.

Shares of American Express promptly rose 1 1/4 to 68 5/8.

Can Michael Jordan move that much money?

Not the way Tiger can.

Can Ken Griffey Jr. reach so deeply into our broad soul?

Not like Tiger does.

Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson . . . all left marks on the sports world while they were active.

Divots, compared to what Tiger can do.

Give him time, say historians, and he will make a bigger impact than Muhammad Ali.

It is this time--golf’s long career span--that can truly make him the greatest.

“Think of this,” said Patrick Whitesell, an agent with Creative Artist Agency. “Tiger is going to have 30 more years of kicking everybody’s butt.”

And what could be his legacy when that time is done?

He will not be Thomas Edison, that guy with electricity in his swing.

He will not be Jonas Salk, the greatest shotmaker ever.

He will not be the dude who invented the television set. Thank goodness.

He will not be civil rights leader Martin Luther King, or even Jackie Robinson.

But remember when the United States put a man on the moon? In terms of impact, his steps could be bigger.

“What impact did putting a man on the moon have on the average, garden-variety American at the end of the day?” asked USC historian Todd Boyd. “Very little. Tiger’s impact is being felt in ways having that man on the moon was not.”

He may not be best thing since sliced bread. But sliced pickles? His arrival could ultimately effect more people than the invention of fast food.

“Anybody who can change millions of peoples’ attitudes has to be noticed,” said Gary Nash, longtime history professor at UCLA. “Twenty-five years from now, I suppose he will be in the college history books.”

The Beatles? They enthralled a nation, inspired a generation. But did they help empower an entire group?

He will play again this week in a tournament in Fort Worth. Will you be watching? Of course you will.

The TV ratings of last week’s tournament improved about 150% from last year. Every time he plays, ratings improve 150%.

Nash returned from a weekend trip Sunday afternoon and prepared to pay some bills when he remembered that Tiger was playing.

He turned on the TV, something he still doesn’t quite believe.

“I would just as soon pull weeds in the garden than watch golf . . . but . . . people are so taken by him . . . it’s like he’s bionic . . . he doesn’t seem human,” Nash said.

Watch Tiger Woods long enough, and it’s you who doesn’t feel human. It’s you who feels like you can conquer an unfair world.

I used to think his popularity was just about golf, but I walked amid the joyous congregration that is one of his galleries, and everything changed.

This is not about scoring the fewest. It’s about making the most.

“I think that Tiger Woods is a perfect representation of the most salient socials issues in America in the late 20th century,” Boyd said. “He represents the future of America. . . . Things that were once distinct and fragmented have become merged in the same place.”

This is a very good place indeed. Dance around in it while you can.