Whoa. I have gone a little deep on you there, but bear with me. As of the time that this is published, Tiger Woods will be in danger of missing the cut for a second consecutive week. This would be the first time that this has ever occurred for Tiger, and I will tell you that this is awful for the sport of golf. Why? Golf is boring if Tiger isn’t involved in the tournament. Not only is it boring, but people, myself included, won’t watch it this weekend and that is reflective in the tv ratings again and again when Tiger is not involved. Why? Because Rory Mcilroy, Zach Johnson, Luke Donald, Matt Kuchar etc etc etc are freaking snoozefests. Not only are they boring, but they aren’t great. Not Tiger great. Or at least what Tiger used to be.
Here in the United States, and I am guessing it is like this around the world, we want to watch greatness in sports. That is why I, and many people around the world still want Tiger to win, even if he is not exactly the most moral encompassing man on the planet. Would I associate myself with Tiger or be his buddy if I had the chance? No..couldn’t do it. People make mistakes for sure, but there are mistakes, and then there is cheating on your wife multiple times with multiple women including porn stars.
Tiger Deserved It. However, I still want to watch him play.
Anywho, when it comes to sports, as long as they are not cheating the sport itself, I don’t care. I want to see greatness, which is what Tiger is when he is on. When Tiger is on, it is almost like he transcends human ability, and it is a joy to watch. Not only that, but at least he shows some emotion while he is doing it. When things are great, he smiles and pumps his fists. When things are bad, he yells and gets down on himself. Hey, at least he shows that he gives a hoot, which is a lot more than what some professional sports figures can say.
Yeah, I am looking at you Andrew Bynum. Kobe Bryant last night had a severe stomach flu, consistently vomiting during the game, completely dehydrated yet still managed to play thru it. He was diving for loose balls, getting open without the ball, playing solid defense and still managed to put up 31 points against Denver last night. That is a true warrior. Bynum on the other hand, who is freaking 7’1 and was completely healthy, had a whole grand total of 8 points in a lopsided defeat.
Reportedly after the game, Bynum was smiling the whole way from the shower back to the lockerroom. If I was Kobe and I saw that, I probably would have jacked Bynum in the mouth for his smug attitude. I can’t stand to see such talent wasted, and apparently Kobe can’t either since he told reporters after the game that Andrew needs to play like he gives a you know what in Game 7. Again, Kobe might not be the most moral being on the planet, but when he is on, he is great and he is polarizing. Knock him and Lebron (another sometimes great yet always polarizing figure) out of the playoffs, and no one would care what happened the rest of the NBA Season.
Now, I am not saying that in order for me to enjoy watching someone and consider them great, they have to be of immoral character. I really wish that 100% of them weren’t. However that is just not reality, and when it comes to watching greatness in sports, I am not concerned with their personal moral character. I’d rather watch greatness, and be inspired that way, than watch the boredom of someone like Tim Duncan win another championship.
Jones, I agree, when we’re watching sports, we want to see the best athletes performing at their highest level. It’s cool to watch Peyton Manning shred an opposing secondary, especially in a 2-minute drill.
But there’s often more to sports than just watching the athlete perform. We are also cheering for our team. We tie ourselves to our team, and when “our” team wins we celebrate because we are part of that win. That’s one reason personal morals matter in athletes. If I’m going to cheer for a team, and support that team, I don’t want the team to be filled with thugs and gangstas (thanks, Tu Holloway).
Do their morals affect how I evaluate an athlete’s greatness? Probably not. OJ Simpson is still a great football player, even if he is a murderer. I’d never respect him or even ask for his autograph because of his personal life, but I’ll still admit that he was a great player.
And quit dogging Tim Duncan! He’s a great player, Jones. You don’t have to showboat and dance in every endzone to be considered “great”. I do love when a player works hard, which Kobe does and Bynum doesn’t. Tim Duncan works hard.
I think the real problem is that too many of today’s athletes are viewed as role models. In historical times, role models were the intellectuals, the artists, military generals, etc. Today, the majority of society’s role models are athletes. Times change, I understand that. The problem, however, is that our role models are disproportionately skewed. That is, our kids look up to Tiger, Lebron, and Kobe ONLY. They are not familiar with political figures (e.g., a MLK, a JFK, or a Honest Abe), academics (e.g., an Einstein, a John Nash, or a Carl Rogers), or other potential role models.
Society has soured on politicians as role models for obvious reasons, our artists of fame are commonly rappers, and its hard to recognize or support military officials. Truth be told, we’ve done this to ourselves. Our values are out of whack. We respect self-righteous m/billionaires (think Jersey Shore cast, Teen Mom, Housewives Series) and musicians that talk about selling drugs, rather than individuals that deserve our praise. Setting your likes or dislikes for Obama aside, he’s still achieved great things in terms of education (i.e., Harvard & Columbia) and overcoming difficulties (e.g., divorced parents, race, etc.). That’s the background of a role model. Not a fan of Obama, then how about Bill Gates? He was educated, a self-starter, and created an empire. More importantly, he is arguably one of the most philanthropic members of our society. He is another possible role model.
So, your original question Jones was, “Do we care about personal morals when it comes to greatness in sports?” I say no. I want to see the best athlete, period. However, we need to teach our kids, and understand as a society, that these individuals are great when they step on the court or field, but their greatness ends there. Yes, there are individuals that can be considered role models that are also great at his or her sport. Mia Hamm is a female example, whereas Tim Tebow might be a male example. Yeah, yeah, he can’t pass and hasn’t done anything in the NFL yet. But, Tebow has won NCAA championships, he does have morals, and he is considered by nearly everyone that has worked with him to be a leader.
Food for thought.
Love the comments, and definitely brings an interesting perspective. I figured out while I was writing this post, that there are a ton of ways that you can take that question. I tried to limit it, even though it could have developed into an entire series of posts.