My husband and I were having a great argument over Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemmons this morning. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by my friend's phone call, but since I live with the man, it can be continued later. He often forgets I read the sports section of the paper. And I am a skeptic, not the believer in the sports writer's judgment, as he is. The problem is not who should be a kid's hero, but the commodification of athletes. And the way parents get sucked into accepting that a hero is someone who earns a lot of money. I'd like to see more parents pointing out other kinds of heroes, like an aunt who cooks for the homeless or a grandpa who helps kids learn to read. If we buy into, and I mean buy into literally, the garbage thrown at us by ad agencies and the media, then our heroes will only be celebrities and badly behaved people with too much attention and no boundaries.
I like sports. But I don't like manipulative profiles on athletes with sick children or mothers who died of cancer. I don't like the personal being used as a bargaining chip for a bigger endorsement deal. I want to hear about the fifth inning stolen base, but not the "up close and personal" crap that ruined the Olympics for me. I know some people are rational enough to see through this and think for themselves, and it's no wonder these guys start with the kids, who have not developed critical thinking skills yet. When we talk about character, maybe it better be about people on our block and in the neighborhood, and stop being fans for hire.
No comments:
Post a Comment