Thread: Placing Athletes on Pedestals

I think it's ridiculous. He is not running for office (not that I would care about it then either) or trying to be a priest. He just plays golf. If he wants to be a womanizer, what does it matter? He hits golf balls.

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

I think it's ridiculous. He is not running for office (not that I would care about it then either) or trying to be a priest. He just plays golf. If he wants to be a womanizer, what does it matter? He hits golf balls.

Bingo. The only thing that separates himself from any other pro athlete is that he got caught.

And as Americans, I think we are far too obsessed with the lives of stars and such. It really has gotten ridiculous. Remember the Michael Jackson coverage? Yeah, that could have easily been shortened to three days, tops, and the world would have gotten along just fine. Instead, it was dragged out for weeks and weeks. Why was this? Because the public demanded it. Society needs a wake-up call.

Originally Posted by Mario92

Bingo. The only thing that separates himself from any other pro athlete is that he got caught.

Agreed

I don't know that it's so much about him being an athlete on a pedestal. People get to feel like they know celebrities just on account of hearing their names and seeing their faces a lot. In Tiger Woods' case, I think people had an exaggeratedly wholesome idea of his character. It's not so much that we're holding him to a higher standard than "normal" people or other athletes, but more that he's not who we thought he was (however ridiculous it was for the public to think they knew him at all).

I'd also say a lot of the discussion about his affairs (I haven't seen the actual coverage beyond blogs) has an "attaboy!" wink to it, as in, "We didn't know you had it in you, Tiger."

Leave Tiger Woods Alone!

Srsly.

If people didn't care about that type of stuff, he wouldn't be getting paid nearly as much as he is now.

I don't approve of our society's way of idolizing celebrities, period. What is it with people and celebrities, anyway? So a man can golf/bat/swim/sing/act/stand there and look pretty and is good at it. Give him some credit when credit is due, and maybe raise an eyebrow when he tokes up or has an affair, but other than that, he deserves no recognition. Putting the guy's face on coffee mugs and hounding him for weeks after he had a bout of not liking his wife is going too far.

I think it is because people can make themselves feel better by blaming a name in a way that has no social repercussions.

I don't condone the way our mostly shallow societies idolise these people. I do however respect the few that don't let the fame and fortune go to their heads, and try to use their position as a force of good (charity work, acting as a role model for kids and suchlike).

It does constantly amaze me how people value the fairly meaningless antics of sportsmen and celebrities and with almost no thought for the people slaving away making our lives better with new discoveries. Sadly intellect generally has little value in our current society. But maybe that might change someday... maybe...

Photolysis, I entirely agree with you. I applaud those who use the status they carry in society to improve their world. I've never understood celebrity hype. But in my opinion, it's been engrained into us. Social conditioning. Network television and radio dictate the way we as a whole think. They want us to idolize celebrities, because it's dramatic and exciting, and irrelevant, in my opinion, and they know that. It distracts from important things, and is so stupid.

Shows like TMZ are a disgrace. It just shows how pathetic society can be.

"Today, I saw Anthony Keidis leaving a coffee shop and getting on his MOTORCYCLE! WooOOooOoo!!!!" Ooooo, ahhhhh.

Who cares. Stuff like this is why the world has so many problems. The majority doesn't care about anything important anymore.

Why should I care if he sleeps around? It's perfectly legal, and as long as he doesn't hurt anyone I know personally, there's really no need to get involved. It's exactly the same as when it was discovered that Clinton was having an affair. Sure, his parent could be disappointed in him, and his wife, but why did it concern anyone else? It's not like it impacted his performance as a President... Leave them their privacy, and spare me from the "juicy" tales, that my opinion

Just to prove my point further, this popped up on MSN news today...

http://www.thecheapseats.ca/2010/01/...est-cover.html

Since the begining of time man has competed against one another, not only for existence but also social status. Athletes were recognized as people of great power and strength in weak societies, somewhat saviors. We still have the Olympics as a show of strength of competing nations.
Now wealth and character measures a mans greatness, but we still have sports for entertainment, although sports figures are over rated and over paid in my opinion.

I agree with all the points made about this kind of junk, but I do have one aside to mention.

While some athletes do get paid too much, I dont beleive they do in general for one reason...their careers are for a limited time only. One even minor injury can ruin their career and then they are stuck...after that they can try to be a coach or some other trainer, who make much less. Only the very best athletes still get sponsorships and other things after they retire.

Originally Posted by tkdyo

I agree with all the points made about this kind of junk, but I do have one aside to mention.

While some athletes do get paid too much, I dont beleive they do in general for one reason...their careers are for a limited time only. One even minor injury can ruin their career and then they are stuck...after that they can try to be a coach or some other trainer, who make much less. Only the very best athletes still get sponsorships and other things after they retire.

They know what the dangers of the job are, maybe they should study more than just ball throwing. When the economy slumps to the point of nobody going to games, they are shit out of luck.