Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Hero Worship

Okay- I don't get it. The hero worship that goes on in this country. Why? Why are so many people obsessed with the speed and strength of a professional athlete? Why are so many people obsessed with the lives, success and failures of athletes? It's entertainment, yes, but the odd way in which people worship those people just baffles me. People decorate their houses with the images of teams and players.

If I were to make a list of the most important people in history (good topic for a new post), I would include Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Confucious, Einstein, da Vinci, Mozart, Shakespeare, Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington. I would also include Michelangelo, Freud, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are others that could be included in an extended list such as Newton, Franklin, Gates and Guttenberg. I don't think an athlete would ever make the list.

Here's a question. How many people in the country can tell you what sport and what team either Michael Jordan or Peyton Manning play/play for? Now- how many people can tell you why Newton is on my list?

Have a nice day.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about Darwin and Copernicus?

James Wodarek said...

So many names I could have put on that list. Actually, I would be interested in everyone else's list. Mike, so where does O.J. Simpson and Michael Vick fall on the list???

Anonymous said...

O.J. and Vick are not on the list-but they are exceptions, the only athlete that would come close to that list in my view is Mario Lemieux-because I feel his talent was so out of the ordinary-no athlete in any sport did what he did and his chartable work with cancer.

add Joseph Campbell and Carl Sagan to my list