I know this post is kind of late but I need to catch up.
When I think of sports heroes the first name that comes to my mind is Babe Ruth. I think there are many reasons we can consider him a hero in sports. First of all is his upbringing and youth. Being an orphan and not having a very good childhood Ruth epitomized what it meant to live the American Dream. That is success without being born into it and it not just being given to you. I think a lot of people can relate to this as being the American Dream. Maybe not having as much success or fame or riches as Ruth but living a very comfortable life relative to where they started. Also I think people liked the fact that he was an out of shape man and didn't seem very athletic. These factors gave everyday ordinary people hope for more in their lives.
It is kind of strange and difficult to imagine the sports stars of today being heralded as heroes by later generations. It seems that no athlete today or even in the last 25 years has accomplished or will accomplish the kinds of things the Babe did. He shattered records and rewrote the books. Today there is just too much competition out there. I think the only players that may be close to being considered sports heroes one day are Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. They have already established themselves as dominating their respective game as Ruth did. I just wonder how a player like Babe Ruth will be looked upon after many more generations of players come and go in each sport. Hopefully he will always get the same respect and be regarded as the same hero he always has been.
1 comment:
You made an interesting observation about Babe Ruth when you said: "I think people liked the fact that he was an out of shape man and didn't seem very athletic. These factors gave everyday ordinary people hope for more in their lives." It seems like that assessment is very different from the kinds of qualities that you highlighted in contemporary athletes like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. It is difficult to know how today's athletes will be regarded years from now. However, I think that athletes come to have a certain mythology when they are seen in retrospect. John McEnroe often says, "The older I get, the better I was." Perhaps that is a reflection of McEnroe thinks, but I think it happens with the way we regard other former stars as well. You raised some interesting questions.
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