Athletes as heroes is a dangerous mockery

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Jon Ward

I told him admitting it to himself was the first step toward recovery. He is now attending weekly SAA meetings (that's right, Sports Addicts Anonymous).

I was proud to hear him say, "My name's Kris, and I'm a Sportsaholic."

Do you know someone like this? Someone whose only reading consists of Sports Illustrated? Someone whose idea of watching the news is Sportscenter on ESPN?

If you do, please, get help. Have them call 1-800-GET A LIFE YOU PATHETIC LOSER. There is help out there.

"Thank God for Mark McGuire." I actually heard some old lady say that on TV. Disgruntled with the example set by President Clinton for America's children, she rejoiced in McGuire's 70-home run season and in the fact that he is not reputed to have engaged in adulterous behavior.

This reflects some big problems. First of all, since when does any non-idiotic person look to politicians as moral paragons? If you relied on politicians for moral guidance, you're probably only reading this because you managed to get out on parole.

Now for the big problem. Do children look up to politicians as role models? Of course not. That's why the lady was thanking God for McGuire. Children have come to look up to athletes as role models almost to the point of idolatry.

Athletes on the whole are probably some of the worst role models our children could have. Not just because worshipping them leads one to the sad state of my Sportsaholic friend, Kris, who I know won't be furious with me for using him as an example of social atrophy simply because he dropped out of the UA and won't be reading this for a while. Athletes are not just horrible role models because many are petty, materialistic (and sometimes criminal) thugs, but because they are people who play games for a living. Granted, we hear about another being arrested every day, but even if they were all model citizens - philanthropic even, like Sosa - their careers would still be games.

When it comes to role models, fame and fortune unfortunately come first. But they shouldn't.

Athletes are not important people. I don't care how many home runs McGuire hits. He's still just hitting a ball with a stick, to me. He's still just playing a game, regardless of how entertaining it may be.

I like to watch Jordan drain a fade-away at the buzzer as much as anyone, but if my kid went around thinking an athlete is more deserving of his admiration than a doctor or a scientist, I would consider myself to be failing him as a parent. Sports are a form of entertainment that has gone too far in this country. It has become an obsession, and a very unhealthy one at that.

Ironically, when you're watching these athletic, healthy people do their thing, you're usually sitting on your ass eating greasy potato chips and swilling beer.

It might be good for the athletes, this obsession, but it's not good for us.

It's an industry of greed. Sports have become a commercialized warzone, an advertisement on every inch of the stadium, every aspect of the sport for sale. Selfish people milking a fat cow to death.

You are the cow, if your child's hero is an athlete. It will continue as long as the public keeps lapping it up like a bunch of mouth-drooling zombies with the minds of gnats, or frenzied painted costumed clowns screaming for more. Next time you watch the game, remember that there are people out there doing really important things, like research on how to prevent pollution, diseases, and starvation. There are people who are not rich and famous, not playing with a ball on television, people who work hard every day, like teachers, soldiers, police officers-people who you have to tell your kids about because they're not on TV -Êpeople worthy of your child's admiration.

And who knows? You may even be one of them.

Jon Ward is an astronomy and creative writing junior. His column Who's the Bull Goose Looney? appears every Thursday and he can be reached via e-mail at Jon.Ward@wildcat.arizona.edu.