Cry Baby Ball Players
In the movie In A League of Their Own the character played by Tom Hanks declares — “There’s no crying in baseball!” Obviously some of the over-paid athletes of today have never watched that movie. Why is it every time we turn around there’s some athlete crying about being hurt and not showing up to play. Some of these over-paid softies have forgotten what it’s like to play little league in a dusty old ballpark where hometown heroes are made. I think this phenomenon says a lot about the celebrity hero worshipping culture we live in today.
What exactly is a hero? Webster’s defines hero as; “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability: an illustrious warrior: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities: one that shows great courage.” If the definition is right, then many of the so-called athletes we call heroes today, fall very short of the bar set in the dictionary.
Let’s go through the list here;
“A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.” No where does it say in that definition that the hero will pump up with steroids for their strength.
“A illustrious warrior.” Nope, no warriors in baseball.
“A man admired for his achievements and noble qualities.” Once again, we have to say nope. After all, Barry “it’s never my fault” Bonds is pretty much being ignored as he approaches the Babe’s homerun record. Everyone knows Bonds is a cheater and deserves either an asterisk beside his name, or even booted from baseball all together.
And lastly, according to the Webster dictionary, a hero is “one who shows great courage.” Again, we have to say a resounding NO to baseball hero status.
So where do we find a hero today. Many times we look to our men and women overseas fighting for our freedom. While I’m the first to say yes men and women in uniform are heroes, I think we sometimes overlook our backyard heroes. People serving as police officers and firefighters.
But again, I find myself wondering, is that the only place to find a hero for today? Maybe we should also look to One who gave His life, so that His friends might have life.
Keep encouraged!
Dr. Rus
