It irritates me to no end when I hear people call professional athletes “heroes”. I’m sure there are a handful among them who really are, but I think labeling most of them as heroes is a little much.
Making obscene amounts of money playing a game does not automatically put you in the “hero category” in my book. I’ve witnessed basketball players break the rules of the sport by “travelling” (running without dribbling) 30 feet and making a perfect lay-up, all without a ref blowing his whistle because the offender is “THE” major celebrity on court. Tennis players who have meltdowns while cussing out the line judge, Soccer players knocking an opponent unconscious because he was a better player and taking him out of the game would improve their odds of winning, Athletes beating and degrading women, in the tabloid news for infidelity, the list goes on. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want these thugs to be my kids’ heroes. I’d rather they stick to idolizing the 2 dimensional cartoon Super-heroes on Saturday morning TV.
So what is a hero? The parent that makes it to their kid’s YMCA games. The parents that sits at the dining room table after dinner stretching the boundaries of their teenage memories to help explain Algebra to their kid. The single parents (Moms and Dads) working several jobs to make ends meet, busting their kid’s chops to stay in school. The soldier going to war to make sure their kids, and yours, never have to endure the atrocities inflicted on many children in other countries. These are real heroes.
So to any Mom or Dad who reads this post and sees something familiar in the previous paragraph, good job “HERO”! You might not get the recognition you deserve now, but when your kids grow up to be fine, upstanding individuals, just remember you had a big hand in it.
To the soldiers serving in the military today, and all their parents, please accept the only thing I can offer, a heartfelt, and grateful, “Thank you” from an ex-Ammo Troop(1987 – 1996). Thank you to the soldiers for putting your lives on the line for us. Thank you to the soldiers’ parents for raising and nurturing such courageous, moral, and selfless young people.
