WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (NYT) -- For years, Tiger Woods was the world’s best-known athlete, even though his crafted image allowed the public to see virtually none of his private life.

Today, we know where he eats breakfast (Perkins) and what he likes to order (egg-white omelets with broccoli).

We know -- or think we know -- details of his marital life.

We have listened to a voice mail he apparently left a mistress.

Thirteen days have passed since the first news flash that Woods crashed his SUV on his property in Windermere, yet the story shows no signs of weakening.

Tuesday came reports that his mother-in-law, Barbro Holmberg, was treated for stomach pains and released from a hospital. In a normal news cycle, it might have warranted a paragraph or two in a wire story. This week, it’s another tentacle extending into the sports, news, entertainment and gossip worlds.

While it’s true Woods’ fall from grace might be forgiven by many the moment a dramatic putt drops, it’s also true that today, what’s dropping is his image.

“I can’t think of any other athlete who’s been placed higher on the pedestal,” said Dave Czesniuk, director of operations for Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. “I think that may be the sensation we’re getting. Now that we realize he’s got some imperfections, it’s tougher to swallow than maybe any other athlete ever.”

Gatorade found it tough, confirming Tuesday that it is dropping the drink named after him, although the company claimed the decision was made before Woods’ accident.

Meanwhile, Woods’ wife, Elin Nordegren, has moved out. She has bought a mansion in her native Sweden. But the couple is attempting to save their marriage. All were alleged in Tuesday’s news cycle.

“Now people have to sort through all of the claims and stories and decide, both for themselves and through the filters they’ve been given in the various media, what parts of it are true and what parts of it might not be -- and what parts of the story might still have been untold,” said Phil de Picciotto, president of the marketing firm Octagon. “It’s the latter that’s fueling, in large part, the continued proliferation of stories.”

David Satterfield can appreciate that from multiple perspectives.

Satterfield spent 27 years in the newspaper business as a reporter and managing editor before joining the firm Sitrick, a strategic public-relations firm specializing in crisis and sensitive situations.

“There are untold dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of professional athletes who have done worse things than what Tiger Woods did,” said Satterfield, formerly of The Miami Herald. “But I’m not sure anybody had projected an image as squeaky-clean and wonderful as Tiger’s.”

Czesniuk: “That’s why we’ve had such a strong, visceral reaction.”

The faster Tiger Woods the man can return to being Tiger Woods the golfer, the better. Will it take time to shake personal problems and dominate again? (He is, after all, human.) Or will he roar from Day 1? (Witness how well he performed despite the loss of his father and while playing on a knee that required surgery).

Unfortunately for Woods, this is golf’s off-season.

“That’s the biggest problem right now,” Czesniuk said. “There is too much downtime -- idle hands in the devil’s playground, or idle eyes, as the case may be. I hope this doesn’t turn into the same sort of level like Michael Jackson or the royal family.”

For as long as memory can stretch, Woods was the man who would surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major championships. The one who would be, or is, the greatest golfer ever. Nobody messed with Woods when he donned his Sunday red, because he meant business. He reaped endorsements unlike any other active athlete, many playing off his commitment to excellence.

Now, he’s the butt of late-night jokes.

"Maybe I’ll learn something here myself,” David Letterman, no stranger to extramarital scandals, said in introducing a top-10 list of ways for Woods to restore his image. Among them: "Find Osama bin Laden," "Safely land golf cart in Hudson River" and "Blame Letterman."

A "Saturday Night Live" skit featured Kenan Thompson, portraying Woods, appearing with a mangled golf club wrapped around his head -- presumably placed there by Nordegren -- while finally facing the cameras.

Appearing before the public might have been a good first step, Satterfield said.

"I think he needed better advice right out of the box that I don’t think he got," Satterfield said. "It’s been proven time and time again that if there are eyebrow-raising details out there, they’re going to come out eventually, and so it’s smart to sort of take them head-on and limit the amount of damage you’re going to suffer.

"I don’t know if they thought this stuff wasn’t going to come out, but sort of stonewalling the cops and not 'fessing up right away to both what actually happened and the cause of why it happened are continuing to hurt him."

Satterfield said without knowing all the details, it’s difficult to map a course of action now. He said he can respect Woods’ need for time to deal with family issues, but eventually, Satterfield said, Woods should tell the public, "This is what I did and this is what I’m doing about it."

Satterfield and de Picciotto agree Woods’ deals with sports-related companies might be safer than those with firms such as Accenture, a consulting, technological and outsourcing company.

"I’m not sure you want your corporate spokesperson to be in the public eye the way Tiger is right now," Satterfield said.

The staying power of the Woods’ story will make repairing his image harder, de Picciotto added.

"There isn’t a singularity of message at all,“ de Picciotto said. ”Imaging and brand-making are largely all about delivering a clear, crisp message about your products and services. There isn’t just one story. The longer they stay out there and the more they expand into other areas, the less helpful it is for business."