Sports Fan Paradise

If I had to describe the current cultural landscape of sports, I would quote the late Tupac Shakur: "Ain't nuttin but a gangsta party."

Of course, I don't have to describe the current cultural landscape of sports. No blogger has to share their opinions. We choose to. The same way nobody has to watch sports, they do so because they enjoy witnessing athletic competition at it's highest level.

That is why it always baffles me when the public reacts so negatively to star athletes who don't act like perfect role models. At what point in these guys' lives did they sign up to be altar boys? Was it in high school when they weren't expected to go to class because of how good their jump shot was? Was it in college when girls threw themselves at whoever had the best chance of going pro? Or was it on draft day when professional organizations ignored all past indiscretions if a guy could run a 4.3 40?

When an actor cheats on his wife do we stop seeing their movies? When a rock star takes drugs (heaven forbid) do we not listen to their music? Why is it, then, that everyone gets their panties in a bunch when a professional athlete pulls out a gun or slings dick all over Vegas? Why are we expecting anything less?

Thousands of men cheat on their wives every day. Normal guys, ugly guys, poor guys, unsuccessful guys. No matter where you fit on the social ladder there will be a skank there for you to slum it with, if you choose to be that type of person. If every guy in the world had the money, fame and looks as Tiger Woods I'm pretty sure it would increase the number of cheaters. To quote Chris Rock, "A man is only as faithful as his options." When it is revealed that the guy with the most options in America tends to stray from his marriage we shouldn't be all that shocked.

I'm not trying to say that infidelity isn't big deal or that it isn't wrong, because it is. What I'm trying to get across is the ludicrousness of holding professional athletes to higher standards then we would hold our neighbors or coworkers to.

Athletes should not be role models because they're athletes. Michael Phelps should be admired for his swimming feats and the medals he won for our country, but probably not for his sober driving or drug-free lifestyle. And that's fine. Tiger can still be the person you model your golf game after, but you might want to take marriage cues from somebody who spends more time with his wife and kids then his 2-iron. You can teach your son to shoot like Gilbert Arenas without telling him he needs to pack heat in the CYO locker room.

I'm sure some of you are disagreeing with me. You're saying that by accepting millions of dollars in endorsements guys like Woods and Phelps have a responsibility to uphold the image that they're selling. You're right; except the responsibility is to Gatorade and Buick, not to us. Even if Joe Schmo is having an affair he most likely brings his wife to company parties, and when he walks into his boss' office to discuss a raise he doesn't preface the conversation with "Oh, before we get started I just wanted to let you know I'm cheating on my wife. Figured I'd get that out there so you didn't give me any extra money thinking I'm a good guy." Just because these guys were selling the public a product based on their "perfect" image doesn't mean they should have to apologize for the advertising campaign.

My point is simply that we should admire people for what they do well, and not for what we think they're supposed to do well. Athletes are no better people then we are, and in many cases they're worse. It's not their fault, sports threw a lot of money at them at a young age and most kids don't know how to handle it correctly. Sports sociology classes are based on this problem, and the solution certainly doesn't lie in a blog post.

So go ahead and model your receiving skills after Marvin Harrison and your fade-away jumper after Kobe Bryant. It doesn't mean you need to start shooting guys and raping girls. And you don't need to start chain-smoking cigarettes to be a fan of Barack Obama either. But it helps.

Read more of Mike Stiriti at the original "Sports Fan Paradise" blog.