Fall from grace

"I'm not a role model. Just because I can dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids." ~ Charles Barkley

Perhaps the Round Mound of Rebound was right all along. It's not up to him or other athletes to set the tone for the youth of America. If there is anything we have learned in 2009, why would be want them to?

Just a few weeks into this past year, the news broke about the prior steroid use of Alex Rodriguez. While the last few years taught us to never be surprised about a baseball player and his indiscretions, we, as fans, always held out hope that the heir apparent to the Human Asterisk was clean. Now A-Rod and Barry Bonds are forever linked for more than just home runs. At the end of the year, Rodriguez and his teammates were enjoying another champagne shower and the press conference of February seemed so far away. What does that teach the kids?

You could say that A-Rod's "fall" came only from the top of the new Yankee Stadium facade. If that's the case, Tiger Woods fell from the top of the Empire State Building, if someone happened to move the famous skyscraper to the top of Mount Everest. The divorce proceedings have just begun and the endorsement losses are still mounting up, but it is already clear that the biggest star in the world will never be the same. The biggest lesson we learned in 2009 is that as much as we think we know these athletes and entertainers, we don't know them at all.

Just because we can watch a guy can hit a 500 ft home run or land a 178 yard shot softly on the green does not mean we know them. No matter what they say when the red light is on, does not mean we have any idea of the person when the cameras are put away. We think we know them and yet we have no idea. We drink Pepsi because A-Rod does and we use the Gillette Fusion because Tiger told us to. These two, and hundreds of athletes like them, do their job and they do it well. But that does not mean they should be raising our kids.

The guys want to be them. The girls want to be with them. They are strong and powerful and can do their jobs better than most people can ever dream of. They are rich and have their pick of the hottest girls out there. And if you're Tiger Woods, you don't even have to pick, you can just have them all. We buy their jerseys and their products and we strive to be like them. Growing up, our parents want us to be like them too.

Why can't we just enjoy them for what they are as athletes instead of anointing them the savior of the world? The guy who waited on me from Chik-Fil-A this morning did a great job but I don't know what kind of person he is when he is off the clock. It's the same thing with athletes. When they are away from the field, ice, court, or course, we really have no idea who they are. I'll be honest, I'm fine with that. As long as they entertain me while they are working, I don't care what they do off the clock, within reason, of course.

Instead of trying to raise the next Alex Rodriguez or the next Tiger Woods, why don't we strive to raise the first (insert name here)? And even if he or she can't hit the curveball or nail the 45 ft putt, maybe they will be raised with some values that we can all be proud of. Remember, just because he can bare hand the bunt attempt or effortlessly get out of the sand, it doesn't mean he should raise your kids.