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Why DO we make heroes out of our sportspeople?

Raz

Raz

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As a nation I mean....I haven't travelled overseas, so maybe I'm way off the mark, but somehow I don't think so. Australia has a tradition of idolising its sporting heroes to a ridiculous extent. The thread about the cricket guy who was killed made me think about this, but it's certainly not the first time it's occurred to me.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with pursuing a career in sport. God knows those people have got a shitload more discipline and drive than I do, and I'm certainly not disrespecting that...nor am I disrespecting any achievements they may have made in their chosen field.

But why are they heroes and role models? What have sporting heroes done that in any real sense has contributed to the human race, or to our society as a whole, beyond providing some entertainment? Why don't our top scientists and medical researchers get the same kind of treatment? Why is it that when a sporting personality in this country dies the whole nation goes into mourning and yet I doubt any of us could name a handful of our leading HIV or cancer specialists?

This is a serious question, please feel free to discuss at will...I'd be very interested to hear what comes of this..
 
I personally have no clue whatsoever why the rest of Australia idolises sports stars :\
I mean in all seriousness, what have they done to make Australia better as a whole? absolutely nothing.

they give us an excuse to go out and get pissed while watching a game of [insert sport here]. that's basically all they have done for us.
sure, some sports stars do charity work in their spare time, and good on them for that. but so do alot of other people, who get no recognition whatsoever.

i think i have stated it before, and i will say it again............... Steve Waugh did NOT deserve Australian of the Year. there are plenty of other people who deserve it more, and would do alot more with the honour, than steve waugh ever will.

i mean, what about the woman who pioneered in making the first artificial skin, to be used with helping burns victims recover faster?
she helped nearly 100 of the bali bomb victims with her invention, and countless others who got burns in some way. she has done alot more for this country, and it's people, than steve waugh could ever do with his charity work :\
but unfortunately, because our shitty little prime minister is a fucking cricket fan, AND friend of steve waugh, she didn't even receive a mention :X
 
maybe it's because we imagine them having a life that we don't.... we imagine that they love their jobs and and happy every day because they're doing what they love for money. We want to be in as good of shape as they are. They're highly idealized by the media, so we're surprised when we find out that they have broken families and coke habits, almost as if we expect them to be an entirely different class of people. It's an illusion that is really easy to keep alive in your mind, living vicariously through what you imagine their life is like.
 
I don't have an answer to the question, but I think that the same question can be asked about musicians, actors etc.

why do we idolise musicians, actors, dj's? I can't think of anything more that they have done than sports people.
 
raz i have always felt this way about this topic. People who play around with balls all day get more of a mention then people who risk their own lives and save others pfffttt i say. Sure sport is great and it's excellent to play to keep healthy and cative but heros? please...
 
Society is obsessed with the celebrity.

However, Personally, having been an athlete myself growing up, i have the utmost respect for athletes. I KNOW how HARD it is to get to where they have gotten, i KNOW of the discipline they have needed, and i KNOW of all the sacrafices many of those people have made growing up. And to me, that puts them on the highest pedastul (or however u spell it!). I didnt have the headpower to make it to where the elite are, along with a lot of australias population, and i think this is partly why they are respected so much, because australia IS a sporting nation whether you want to believe it or not... it is drilled into aussies as kids that sport is a healthy way of life, and that is why, i believe, so many australians love sport.
 
Why do we make heros of our sports people?

Think about the last time you were in a pub with all your mates... it might have been the World cup rugby final.. so ill use that as an example because it is a decent example.. and better if you are english.

Ok so the game is almost to the end of the 2nd half, youve been drinking all night.. cheering your ass off because youre on the edge of your seat all night.. Australia is on a come back... Jonny's hasnt been placed in a position to finally finished australia off.. there are like a few seconds left... you have a gulp of your beer... look up and some English dickhead has fucked up and given Australia a penalty.. omg chance for Australia to take it to overtime... Cheers go up all over the place... you would love to say something but u are so pissed instead u just get lost in the sea of happy faces...

Kicker lines up shot at goal... Absolute silence... everyone hoping.. everyone placing themselves in the shoes of the kicker... This is Australian history on your 15th schooner... this means more than anything... this is Australian pride...

*Kick*

Goes over... Fucking Amazing... beer flies everwhere.. homophobic mates hug and kiss likeminded homophobic mates... The whole place is a buzz...

alternate scenario...

a white coat makes a new type of fabric... or something.

Personally I dont think Steve Waugh deserved Australian of the year.. the last time someone won other than a sports star i think it was Gustav Nosel (sp?) That was excellent as it would at least allow their achievements to reach the public.

Its not like Steve Waugh's form was all that good last year... and plus he only got it because he was retiring.
 
"Hero" is one overused word.

It is applied to sportstar's who are a "hero" because they hit a ball with a wooden stick well.

It is applied to people who have suffered, such as a S11 or Bali Bomb victim. I have the utmost sympathy for these people and their families but being a victim should in no way be confused with being a "hero".

As to why it is done? I have no idea but "Aussie of the Year" going to a sportstar is ridiculous IMHO.
 
because we're good at it. the logic is easy to follow - most western countries have celebrity obsessed culture (america's hollywood, england's tabloids etc.), so it follows that we would be the same. and what is australia best known at being good at? sport - for a nation so damn small, we breed an amazing amount of really good sportspeople, so it follows that our celebrity culture is going to be centered around this.

of course, it's stupid that people like this are worshipped when other far more deserving people go unheard of, but you that's the way things go - celebrity (like most things) is decided democratically, and the majority of people are too stupid to give hero status to anyone else.
 
There are "heros" is all areas we live in.....and we can choose which one we want. I dont really care who makes a hero out of anyone. Agree, when its on the front page of the paper often it is annoying. Steve Waugh aussie of the year is fucked...and Im a huge cricket fan. Blame the imposter PM we have. The Hooksey thing was there a lot because of the horrible way his life ended.....if he died of a long term illness there wouldnt have as been much publicity. He needed a nice farewell.

Also, I think sporting people can be seen as heros because they are just normal people better at a sport some of us play....can relate to them better. ie: a Warney would just a bogan sloth if he had no cricket ability...Wayne Carey a car salesman...blah blah.
 
I think a lot of people idolise sports stars/ actors/ musicians because they are such an accessible part of our society. Many of us played sport as youngsters so the acheivements of top level players are that much more tangible... we've had a taste of what they've gone through to get there. And like everyone has said before, you always look up to people who acheive something that you didn't manage to do.

How many of us dreamed of making a medical discovery when we were 4/5? I'd assume not many of us. Why? Because you don't discover something in the time it takes to bat a 50 over match. It's usually years of labourious, meticulous work which is anything other than glamourous.

Also, sportstars are often the people who can excite a nation. They're the ones who people tend to turn to when there's nothing else to be proud of in their country. They provide a diversion from unhappiness, particularly in times of a depression. Sir Donald Bradman may have been 'just a cricketer' but he sure as hell gave people something to cheer about.
 
Backo said:


Ok so the game is almost to the end of the 2nd half, youve been drinking all night.. cheering your ass off because youre on the edge of your seat all night.. Australia is on a come back... Jonny's hasnt been placed in a position to finally finished australia off.. there are like a few seconds left... you have a gulp of your beer... look up and some English dickhead has fucked up and given Australia a penalty.. omg chance for Australia to take it to overtime... Cheers go up all over the place... you would love to say something but u are so pissed instead u just get lost in the sea of happy faces...

Click to expand...

I was the guy drinking in the corner looking extremely bored shitless...
 
onetwothreefour said:
celebrity (like most things) is decided democratically, and the majority of people are too stupid to give hero status to anyone else.
Click to expand...

I totally agree.The biggest problems in society, are caused because:-

"THE MASSES ARE ASSES" .
 
I'd rather have sports people being idolized than bloody over exposed reality tv "stars" who should know when their 15 minutes is up. At least sports stars work hard to get where they are.
 
People on reality shows should be ashamed to be on such exploitive crap.The fact anyone idolises them is a HUGE WORRY.

Look at me I'm famous for appearing on TV,my talent = nothing. Gee What skills,he,he,he,he,he.............................. :D .
 
The big brother "celebrities" annoy me the most out of all these overnite stars. What did they do, absolutely nothing, they sat in a locked house for a few weeks. They represent your average Australian. You could meet anyone and get to know them and idolise them, but rather than meet people in real life its much easier to flick on TV and like the reality tv stars who the television programmers decide is best.
 
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