Athletes as Role Models?

Americans have always had an insatiable love affair with exceptional storylines, and professional athletes are not immune to the effects of this phenomenon. Athletes were not always role models in American society, but somewhere along the line that changed: great talent on the field is now expected to translate into great willpower, charity, and demeanor off the field. Due to the rise in modern media exposure and certain organizational rules athletes (role models) have lost their individuality and become commodities.



I'm currently working on a project for an American Studies class that concerns the idea of professional athletes as role models, and I'm curious as to what some of you might have to say on the subject. The above paragraph was the intro to the project proposal I submitted to my professor last week, and part of the project entails some polling of sports fans. Obviously, my readers are my very favorite sports fans, so I though I would give you first crack at answering some questions:



*Do you feel that the public (and, to a certain extent, the media) puts unreasonable expectations on the shoulders of professional athletes?



*Has this phenomenon worsened in recent years?



*How does this affect professional athletics as a whole?



Any opinion you have on the matter would be much appreciated, either in the comments, via Twitter, or via email (found in my profile).





The project encompasses all of professional sports, so if you'd rather spout off about Mike Tyson or Tiger Woods than Joba Chamberlain and Miguel Tejada, feel free, and I look forward to reading your responses!

My Apologies...

I'm sorry I've been MIA for the last few days.... and I'm equally sorry to tell you that it's only going to get worse. It's Spring Break, and while I'd simply LOVE so be jetting off to Ft. Myers, I'm running on a college student's budget, so travel will be limited to a week-long backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail (Pennsylvania area). Thus, I will not have access to a computer from Sunday to Saturday, and will not be able to blog.

However, I promise you all some great long posts when I get back, and some hiking pictures with a great view! Until we meet again, enjoy this picture:

Image taken from a video on MLB.com, and screengrabbed by me. I hope my eventual children are this cool.

Photo of the Day

As teams all over MLB had their photo shoots for programs, commercials, and the like, there were bound to be a few goofballs in the bunch. Old friend Coco Crisp, now with the A's after an injury-marred season in Kansas City, is on the left, and Padres pitcher Heath Bell is on the right.

If you're looking for some Red Sox shenanigans, check out this video of our boys making some bloopers. I have to say, the part when Mikey Lowell opines, "It's not meant to be," made me a little sad, but good old Pedey comes through again with a laugh at the end.

Seriously, Daisuke?

In the least shocking news of Spring Training, Daisuke Matsuzaka's batting practice session as postponed yet again, though he did throw 19 pitches in the bullpen, according to Boston.com.

And so that old adage proves itself more than true once again: you can never have too much pitching. There were a lot of questions this offseason about what the Red Sox were going to do with six fully capable big-league starters, and speculation was wild, with suggestions ranging from sending the now 25-year-old Clay Buchholz to Pawtucket to start the season to relegating aging knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to the bullpen.

Wakefield was confident that he would find his way into the rotation to open the year, answering a question about his place on the roster if everyone was healthy with a query of his own: "When does that ever happen?" You guys know by now how I feel about the wily veteran, who has played for the Sox for more than 75% of my life, so I'll spare you the gushing praise.

Love, love, LOVE.

However, I'm more than a little fed up with Daisuke at this point, and I suspect you all might have similar feelings. When he came to the club back in 2007, his arrival was documented with more enthusiasm than Nixon's first trip to China, and he did reasonably well that year, and exceeded expectation's in 2008, before suffering a lost season of sorts last year. Now, in an attempt to rectify the lack of communication of a year ago, he's reporting injury after injury, putting him weeks behind the other starters.


Don't get me wrong, if Matsuzaka is hurting, I want him to get the treatment he needs. However, if this is what we're getting for $100 million, I can't be the only one who's a little exasperated.

Setting Beltre Straight

Amalie Benjamin has a great piece on Boston.com today about the apparent lack of conflict in the admittedly awkward Adrian Beltre/Mike Lowell situation. Of course, Mikey is the fan favorite who had an underwhelming season last year due to decreased defensive production, while Beltre is the new guy who has a reputation for flashing the leather, though he struggled immensely at the plate in 2009.

According to Benjamin's piece, the Sox front office assured Beltre that Lowell would not be the starting third baseman, regardless of his eventual decision (which fully explains their botched trade attempt) but it will make things awkward if Beltre gets off to a slow start. The fans will not be particularly forgiving of a bad April from a player replacing Lowell, who is so revered that he even had the Captain lobbying for him back in 2007.


It's tough to replace a guy who is held in such high esteem by the fans, and Beltre gets it: as he said to Benjamin, he's been down this road before. However, I have a hunch that Beltre could turn out to be a fan favorite in time, especially if his swing is as suited to Fenway Park as some have speculated, and all he has to do is stop confusing us with the Yankees. In Seattle, he said, the goal was to try to contend for a playoff spot:

"Here, it’s different because you don’t hope. Playoffs is a failure. World Series is the main goal."

Alright, let's set some things straight. Every year, the Boston Red Sox try to win 95 games, a number Theo and his team of math wizzes have decided is generally good enough to get to the playoffs. Yes, the roster is set up by those same men to be as good as possible, and thus the team generally makes it there. However, fans who have started to see the playoffs as a birthright (or a failure) need to get the hell out of Red Sox Nation. Let's be serious: anything can happen in a seven game series, and the effect is magnified in the LDS, which of course is only five games long. Getting to the playoffs is what takes most of the work: winning the World Series has almost as much to do with luck as anything else.


Of course winning the World Series is the main goal. I do, however, like to think that most Red Sox fans aren't spoiled and ignorant enough to see any other playoff run as a failure. Get that straight, Beltre, and you could easily win yourself a place in fans' affections.

Quote of the Day

Today's quote of the day is in two parts: the first is a comment to Chad Finn in his weekly Boston.com chat (if you don't participate, or at least read the transcript, you're missing out), and the second is Chad's response.

Comment from Jay: Any chance that New York will use the now vacant old Yankee Stadium area to build a giant warehouse to store A-rod's ego and Jeter's intangibles?

Chad Finn: I like the way you think, Jay. Unfortunately, I think Leigh Teixeira is using it as a walk-in closet.

Here, A*Rod gets a fistful of Jeter's...erm... intangibles.

Two men after my own heart. I've done my share of digs at A*Rod and the Woman Who Has Mark Teixeira's Balls in a Vice Grip, but I grudgingly respect Jeter. That said, the media absolutely FAWNS over him, and it disgusts me a little (okay, a lot).

For the actual plans on the area where the Stadium stood, click here.

Boos for Bay?

Yesterday, during a Red Sox-Mets exhibition game, Jason Bay was given a reception that was, as he said, "lukewarm."

Red Sox Nation, this is unacceptable. Jason Bay played his heart out every time he set foot on that field for us. He came over in a midseason trade, and picked up where Manny left off - something not too many players could do.

Could the negotiations this winter have gone better? Of course, but that's as much Theo's fault as it is Bay's, and Theo sure isn't getting booed.

As David Wright said, “For everything you brought to that city, they should cheer for you.”

Lest you forget, Jason Bay scored the winning fun in the 2008 ALDS against the Angels.

As much as it pains me to agree with a New Yorker (although the Mets are the lesser of two evils), Wright is correct. We owe Jason Bay more respect than that. Was he a Nomar? No. But he wasn't a Johnny Damon, or a Manny, either, and he was always a class act.

I'm embarrassed about the behavior of you so-called fans down in Florida. Jason Bay gave us all he had, and he deserves better than that.