MANILA, Philippines ? In the heady, big-bucks world of sports, boxing champ Manny Pacquiao and golf?s golden boy, Tiger Woods, are at the very top of their respective games. Hailed as heroes and inspirational role models, they can do no wrong?until, just in the past few weeks, they did exactly that.

In the process, they revealed that, despite their sterlingly heroic sheen and shine, they all too predictably had feet of sullen clay.

Pacquiao was the first to tarnish his golden crown and reputation by getting involved with a sexy starlet. Only by sheepishly apologizing to his wife?and convincingly winning his latest title fight?did Manny the moneymaker manage to snatch survival and forgiveness from the ignominious ashes of spousal scorn and rejection.

Role model

Early this month, it was Tiger Woods? turn to get caught with his fingers in somebody else?s cookie jar. Throughout his phenomenal career, Woods has been idolized as the perfect, most squeaky-clean role model for millions of young fans, hence the huge fortune he makes annually from his many product endorsements.

Recently, however, he crashed his car under very mysterious circumstances, prompting some keen observers to suspect that he had been assaulted by his aggrieved wife?with a golf club, how?s that for symbolic hubris??after she had discovered one (or more!) of his extramarital liaisons.

Right after that, his perfect image imploded as other publicity-hungry girlfriends?12 at last count?wriggled out of the wormy woodwork, each of them eager for their 15 seconds of reflected notoriety. In keeping with the bigger mess that his indiscretions had made, Woods issued an even more pathetic public apology than Pacquiao?and proceeded to soothe his wife?s hurt feelings by renegotiating their ?pre-nup? agreement, most decidedly and generously in her favor.

That kneejerk reaction got him into even hotter water with some people, who felt that he was using his mega-millions to ?buy? his spouse?s forgiveness when genuine remorse could have left a cleaner taste in the mouth.

Sports heroes

Why do sports heroes like Manny and Tiger blow it? Some observers surmise that it could be a case of too much, too soon. When you suddenly find yourself hugely famous, admired and wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, you could be seduced into thinking that you can do no wrong and can have anything and anybody you want. Some celebrities even end up believing that there?s one set of rules for most people and another special set of much more permissive standards for powerful and iconic luminaries like them.

To make things worse, there are any number of nubile or crafty women and men out there who are all too willing to aid and abet self-absorbed celebrities? more unheroic proclivities.

Perhaps most relevant of all, ?ordinary? people like us may have impossibly high expectations of the heroes and icons we adulate. Especially in Tiger Woods? case, even after he had become exceedingly rich and famous, we continued to hold on to our ?signature? image of him as a ?pure? hero with no time for anything but golf.

As recent events have shown, nothing could have been further from the truth. If we hold our heroes to more realistic standards, we might end up getting less disappointed.

?Which is not to say that we should condone icons? sins of omission and commission. We should just regard them as potentially flawed human beings like us, not as the modern-day gods they have been finessed by their publicity machines to be.

That way, when they stumble on feet that turn out to be made of dingily sullen clay, we will be less disappointed?and sanctimoniously outraged.