Why is it that people worship athletes and fawn over celebrities? I am the biggest sports fan there is but treating these athletes as anything other than people who are very good at what they do is foreign to me. If Tom Brady was signing autographs at my neighbors house it's not a lock that I would go and if I did go I wouldn't call him "Mr. Brady" or tell him he was a "hero" or a "titan". If I ran into him I would talk to him just like I would talk to anyone else. As for asking for a autograph, what good is an autograph? Am I going to take it to work so I can hang it on my wall or maybe hang it from the rear view mirror next to the fuzzy dice? What I saw happen yesterday in congress blew me away. What I have realized is that we have elected people to run the country who are no better than a 10 year old girl at a Hannah Montana concert (sorry Joelle-It's normal behavior for a 10 year old girl! :-) ). Listen to what a few of these clowns in congress said to Roger Clemens yesterday:
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told Clemens. "I hate to say that. You're one of my heroes" (What? Roger Clemens is one of your hero's?)
More highlites from DAN SHAUGHNESSY:
Representative Dan Burton, Republican of Indiana, was buffoon of the day (did you notice the Lone Star cuff links?), bashing the media, reminding us that Roger is a "titan" in baseball, and invoking the old Ray Donovan question - "Where do I get my reputation back?" Burton was shocked, shocked, that McNamee lied to reporters when asked about steroids back in the pre-Mitchell days.
There was plenty more jock-sniffing. Representative Danny K. Davis, Democrat of Illinois, told Roger, "It was a pleasure meeting you last week." Representative William Lacy Clay, Democrat of Missouri, asked Roger what uniform he plans to wear into the Hall of Fame. Representative Virginia Foxx, Republican of North Carolina, produced four photographs of Clemens, a progression dating to his Red Sox days, and insisted, "You appear to be the same size."
Don't even get me going on Arlen Specter of PA who I actually heard on WEEI say that he was pushing the SPYGATE issue because his team (Eagles) lost to the PATS. Talk about abusing power....Mr. Specter why don't you please do something about the 3 bucks for a gallon of gas I am paying.
If someone can enlighten me as to why I should follow the lead of the folks in Congress and devote a portion of my life to worshiping athletes and celebrities please feel free to help me out.
Great post! I feel exactly the same way. It made me so angry to hear these "representatives" make such remarks, especially the "hero" remark. Heroes, in my mind, are teachers, firefighters, police officers, our military, etc...Those that actually make a difference in the world around us. Not overpaid, over-indulgent, arrogant athletes (okay, maybe they aren't all like that).
Comparing them to a 10-year old at a Hannah Montana concert was perfect!!
SWEET NIBLETS!
Posted by: Wendy | February 14, 2008 at 08:48 AM
Your comments were right-on! I feel exactly the same way.
Posted by: Mom | February 14, 2008 at 10:30 AM
All this from the one who refuses to talk about politics! I love it! I'm personally convinced that Arlen Spector is Satan.
Haven't you ever seen that e-mail that goes around every now and again about how congress is filled to the brim with criminals of every sort? It's the best e-mail, it basically lists the number of "criminals" in an "organization", like 50 have been arrested for DUI, 100 have written bad checks, 20 have served time in jail...etc...and then at the end of the e-mail you learn that these are the members of our congress!
Wasn't it the mayor of Detriot that got re-elected after his arrest for heroine? People are insane.
Posted by: Sistah | February 14, 2008 at 07:12 PM
I couldn't agree more. I am a huge sports fan but not a hero-worshipper. My heroes are the people trying to keep the peace in Darfur, trying to teach school in New Orleans, and trying to fight for equal access to education and health care. I admire the talent of anybody who can reach the top of their chosen profession, but I don't put them on a pedestal or worship them.
Posted by: Lisa K. | February 18, 2008 at 12:41 PM