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I was just thinking about this topic the other day.
Frankly, no one is perfect.
A year ago, I wasn't a fan of Tiger Woods. A month ago, I wasn't a fan of Tiger Woods. And today, I'm still not a fan of Tiger Woods. Nothing for me has changed. But, those who were his fans, have quickly turned on him. Off with his head, they say! So the question that I really want to ask what is a "fan" exactly?
Teens love their teen idols - today - yet 2 years from now, they'll be acting as though they never liked yesterday's flavor-of-the-month. Suddenly, the idol they once loved to death, are too old, or not hip enough now.
I find that the general media acts as though they're the moral compass of the Universe, but they get it wrong all of the time.
Perfect example is the whole Barry Bonds saga. People who never followed baseball, and didn't know anyone outside of Babe Ruth who has ever played the game, suddenly had an opinion on someone they knew very little about. He used steroids ("The Crucible" becomes a reality), the media always hated him, so it's take-down time with tons of ammunition (although a ton of those bullets were blanks).
Bonds broke Hank "
Mr. Class Act" Aaron's (when it's also known that he was once quite moody and not so easy to get along with... oh... how the media conveniently forgets all of this) home run record, but it's okay, because "
the family guy" Alex Rodriguez is hot on his heels, is 11 years younger, and will help the world forget about Bonds and wipe him out of the record books (and his giant
*). Hooray!!! The media scribes go on and on about how A-Rod does everything right! He's a "
class act". And then soon after, it's revealed that he's far from perfect.
A-Rod is now a total a-hole, so the "fans" and scribes say. We need a new hero. Yeah... Albert Pujols is a consummate professional. Yippee! He's a "
class act". He's a shining example of what a person should strive to become, which is something better than we are. Only that we'll find out about some time in 2011, that Pujols used steroids back in the day, and that he cheats on his wife, and he's far from perfect, etc. "
Say it isn't so, Mr. Pujols?"
Point is, after a few years, the stars that the media builds-up time and time again, will be also be chopped-down at the knees by the same people responsible for their fame. I never bought into Tiger being perfect. I've seen him curse too many times. His father called him the Messiah, to which is an absurd title to put on anyone. Almost any young star is brought along, and thought of to be fresh, a nice guy or gal, a great hero, etc. But, they're not.
Even if all of my friends hate Barry Bonds (and likely many people reading this as well), I'm constantly told not to like him, and despite all I've read and all I've heard, I don't give a damn. He was the best baseball player I've ever seen, and THAT's why I liked him. It has nothing to do with his values, and as long as he's not killing people or responsible for any kind of animal torture, I don't really care. Even non-stars (everyday people) do tons of weird things in their everyday lives. It's just not exposed, because nobody writes about the average person.
I'm not
FOR cheating either, but people really need to get a grip on what the media is always cooking-up for us to eat. I guess
ESPN will soon be writing about how the real hero is Phil "
class act" Mickelson, until a few years down the road, when we find out that he slept with Tiger's wife in a 3-way with Hannah Storm. It never ends!
Steed
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