Inge and other athletes I am glad my kids like
I took my 3 and 4 year old boys to a spring training game in florida this year and the only player they could remember afterword was Inge. Whenever we watch a game on TV they ask if Brandon Inge is up and how he is doing, and I even got them little jerseys when we went to a game this year at Comerica (which he homered in, by the way, and they were thrilled). With all of the jackass athletes out there, in college and the pros, I really try to encourage my kids to respect the ones worth respecting. I guess my question to you is, which athletes would you like to see your kids look up to? In michigan terms, I indirectly knew Marcus Knight when I was in school, and always liked the kid. He was dating my girlfriend's roomate and he was a very respectful, gentlemanly guy. It made me root for him even more in college and when he was trying to make it in the pros. On the flip side, a friend of mine lived on a few doors down from Jeff Backus in the dorms and we always thought he was a dick, and to this day I can't root for him.
Chad Henne was a great leader and Granderson is a great role model.
Granderson is a no-brainer. There's a reason why the MLB is turning him into the league's poster-child.
IS THE COOLEST!
You know who else is a great model in sports though? Walter Hermann. Doesn't ever talk or play. But he has some serious class.
BOOM HERMANN'D!
I wonder how it would feel to be an OSU fan and have your kid idolize TP.
I'm sure they think it would be great. I think it compares favorably to the Manningham situation the last few years. He had "brushes with the law" and "in-house issues," but he was still very much liked by the fan base. I'm sure whatever you think of TP, OSU fans have a very different perspective on it.
To me, he is high on the list of guys that are everything that is wrong with the athlete culture today. Not quite as bad as Bryce Brown this year, but the spectacle he turned his recruitment into was a joke. Those kind of athletes think we should be honored just to have the opportunity to come see them play.
Can someone remind me of something crappy that Pryor has done? (note: I did not vote negative here)
he went to OSU over Michigan
I think his recruiting was a 'look at me' debacle. I never called the kid a criminal or said there were recruiting violations, I just feel like that publicity hound mentality is growing and these 18 year old kids who have never done anything better that play pretty well in some high school football games feel like they are rock stars.
If we didn't have TWO paid recruiting service websites where thousands of hardcore fans pay 10 bucks a month to learn what time the new hotness recruit went poop at school and follow their every move maybe these kids wouldn't feel like rock stars. Add in the non-stop facebooking and myspacing by fans, etc, and how are you not supposed to feel like that? look at ricardo miller - he has two hundred MICH fans telling him he's the greatest WR in Michigan history every day on his facebook and he's a 17 year old who hasn't played a down of his SENIOR YEAR IN HS.
I'm not saying you personally are one of these folks, but it's not fair to get up in arms at cocky high schoolers when that cockiness is directly related to the amount of attention fans give them prematurely.
Fair point. I am not one of those guys, but you are correct that they are a major part of the problem. I also agree that Pryor is not the only one who has had the soap opera. My point is only that some athletes still maintain their humility, and a sense that their is somethings out there bigger than themselves. The guys we were mentioning in this thread, specifically, are men first and athletes second, and I believe they have earned the respect that they are given. That is why I am happy my kids look up to them vs. some of the other athletes.
But again - this is sort of what I oppose to. You say that the athletes mentioned are "men first and athletes second", and the people to whom you refer seem to be good guys, I guess.
So when you imply that this isn't true of Pryor, I wonder. Because I know nothing about the kid as a person. I know he got into a verbal altercation with a fan at a high school basketball game. I know he cried after OSU lost to PSU. That's really all I know about him as a person. So I guess I'm not ready to say he's a shit head, you know?
As a matter of fact, I think I try to avoid giving these guys many positive OR negative qualities that I haven't directly experienced. Remeber when Kirby Puckett was a man to be admired? Eugene Robinson won NFL Man of the Year then promptly got arrested with a hooker. Recently, look at McNair - a guy with a great rep that got shot, it seems, by his piece of ass on the side.
I'm not saying that Granderson isn't a good guy, or that Inge isn't a good guy. But these images - Granderson's squeaky clean one, and Terrell Owens' bad one, are cultivated by the media for their own purposes. Just remember that.
Out of curiousity, what's your impression of Will Campbell?
You seem to imply that there was something different or unique about Pryor's recruitment. That's absurd.
comes to mind with all the charity work he does.
GRANDY
also, if I ever reproduce, my kids will be indoctrinated into the Cult of Ken Griffey Jr whether they like it or not. They'll be 12 before they figure out he isn't actually the All Time HR King.
Speaking of HR kings and class acts, Henry "Hank" Aaron is the total package. An elite player, a social pioneer, and a gentleman. He obviously doesn't resonate with the younger generation since he's been out of baseball for 30 years, but he should. If your son (or daughter) loves baseball and is looking for a role model, tell them to "Be Like Hank".
The entire blog just shivered.
It's getting harder and harder in part because athletes are worth more when they get more headlines. That means if they're not winning MVP's (or sometimes if they are) even people directly a part of their lives are trying to develop dirt on them, for their own good, none the less!
I am reminded of an episode of Sports Night, if any of you remember that show, wherein one of the sportscasters is disheartened with no more heroes left for his kids, and then that night some poor, 40 year old Nigerian with cancer and a spot free record breaks the mile record time.
For me, if an athlete takes the time to recognize fans, does his best to avoid breaking the law (and I do mean does his best, because we've probably ALL committed more than one arrestable offense and not even have known it), and seems to know he's got a really fun job, I'm pretty happy.
For a specific one, I'm going with David Cone, I kid you not. I sincerely appreciate a guy who comes to every practice and every workout, works hard in school, and sticks by and supports his team despite the knowledge he MIGHT play one snap a season. Maybe.
As a guy who toiled in obscurity on his HS varsity team, I always have appreciation for those guys who play but don't get to be superstars. That's why I always cheer for the David Cones of the team just as hard as the Chad Hennes on Senior Day. It's tough when your athletic dreams don't turn out the way you want, but getting to put on the uniform and take the field is a reward in itself.
That is why it is important when those types of guys actually have some success and get rewarded. Not that Inge is a scrub, but in a normal year with the popular guys (A rod, Beltre etc.) healthy, he will never make an all star team. This year will probably be the only year he will ever come close, so I am rooting for him. If you remember in 97' our captains were Jansen and, I think his name was Mays, the walk on LB who blew out his knee. When he walked out for the coin flip against OSU holding on to Jansen to walk, and pumping his first at the crowd, the place went nuts. That kid wasn't using Michigan to get to the NFL, he was a "Michigan Man." I wish I would have thought of him when we were discussing what a Michigan Man is.
Really good point. There are some great pictures of him without pads in his jersey cheering on the team during that season.
It bothers me when the reserves/walk-ons only get a little golf clap on Senior Day. This is basically the only recognition they get, so I wish fans would applaud them as much as the starters.
spits that hot Fiyah!!!
Also lives in Ann Arbor, so he is pretty smart as well!
i hope i don't have any kids. i'm not saying when i'm older, just i hope i don't have any kids right now.. !
MGoBloggers can't reproduce. Too much radiation from our monitors.
I hope I don't have any living in Cancun right now.
While "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" is a fine, albeit underproduced play, I don't think that "Picnic" deserves all of the accolades it has received, especially after the William Holden movie.
I'd rather my non-existent children looked up to Arthur Miller.
According to Wkipedia, Arthur Miller died at 89 engaged to a 34 year old painter he had been living with. I guess we all end up with some skeletons in our closets if we live long enough.
I hope that when I'm 89 I'm still bagging 34 year old ladies. I should be so lucky.
He was also married to Marilyn Monroe when he was younger. So was Joe DiMaggio, which brings us full circle to baseball and the OP . . .
34 and 89. That must have been some pick-up line.
"I joined AARP the day that you were born!"
seem unbeknownst to adults. Growing up I had the usual sports heros: Wayne Gretzky, Michael Jordan, Daryl Strawberry etc etc etc. I based my cheering on their preformance on the field (court, ice etc) and never followed their personal lives.
My brother (who was as avid a sports fan as I) chose to cheer for a different athelete. A man by the name of Terry Fox (who most Americans probably never heard of as he was from a small town in Newfoundland Canada) got cancer at a very young age. He lost his leg to it in his teen years and decided that to raise money for cancer research he would run across Canada. That is Canada, the second largest country (in land mass) in the world. His goal was to dip his prosthetic leg in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He ahcieved that goal but toward the end of his journey he needed to be helped along at times by vehicle and shortly thereafter lost his life to the disease he was fighting.
To this day I don't know why he made that choice but our lives were as different as our cheering preferences and seemed to follow similar paths as some we cheered for. He was always the good son; did everything right and never got in trouble. Now he is a Dr. I was more like the Daryl Strawberry's and Denis Rodman's (minus the cross dressing and possible homosexual tendancies) and dropped out of school and got in trouble with the law. I guess it pays to choose your role models wisely, and I hope my children are more like him in that area than me.
I think you need to speak with someone.. in person.
Of note: The Terry Fox van was just found and valued at over $4 million.
that the first part of your computer that will need the Geek Squad, will be the ( button, followed quickly by the )button. Jebus(christ)!
I worked with the Whitecaps for a few years. Let me tell you, Inge may be a good guy in the spotlight, but he is really a dick. He did some shady stuff...no joke.
...but this was when he was what, 20 years old? Who doesn't do some shady stuff at 20 and mellow out to be a good, family man as they get older?
Just got my autographed photo of him in the mail yesterday for pledging to his Grand Kids Foundation. My boys (6 and 8) are well-aware that Curtis is my fave. My oldest son likes Cabrera (digs the long ball, I guess) and my youngest roots for Maggs.
As they get older, I will often remind them that the reason I like Curtis so much is not just because he is a good player, but because he is an even better person. I'm glad the Tigers have a CF that my children will be able to look up to for many years to come.
celebrities to be role models for our children. I think it is best to emphasize that they are humans and make mistakes like everyone. Sports, movies, t.v etc should be used as entertainment IMO. We should live in such a way so that we are the role models our children look up to. Let the kids pattern their game around what they see on the t.v. but make sure the life lessons come from us.
Having said that, I did correct many of my childhood imperfections (not all by any means, but many)and went to University and stayed out of legal trouble. I have quadruplet 1 year olds at home and hope I can provide the type of role model that will lead them to become good productive members of society.
Holy crap, I have two year old twins and think its really difficult. I applaud you for just surviving. I assume that you are on the computer at work, because I can't get near the thing at home.
I was actually having this discussion recently, about childhood sports heroes and how great it was to be a Detroit sports fan in the early-mid 90s. I had Dumars, Sanders, and Yzerman. I loved the way they played, great but in a quiet, humble way. My favorite Tiger was Mickey Tettleton though, only because he always had the biggest dip in. Those were pretty golden days for Detroit sports idols.
Today, I cheer for Lamarr Woodley, Steve Breaston, and Jake Long in the NFL. They were all guys I met while at Michigan, and all impressed me in some way or another. In basketball, I pull for Tayshaun and Chris Paul. Baseball...pretty much all of the Tigers these days. And in hockey, I like Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Franzen. Actually, now that I think about it, these aren't such bad days to be a Detroit sports fan either.
Thumbs up for Tettleton. Big wad + catcher + homers + that batting stance = Tigers legend, IMHE.
His nickname was "Froot Loops." Seriously.
We always called him "The Tet Offensive". Him and Rob Deer, what a lethal combo!
Rob Deer is another good one for children to idolize. In 1991, he had a .179 batting average but OPSed .700, had 89 walks (good for 8th in the league), 25 HRs, and lead the league in strike outs with 175. That's AWESOME.
Moral for your kids? Never swing at anything that isn't in your wheel house, and when you do swing, always go for the HOMER.
It's hard to find a team in baseball history with such potential to both hit and give up home runs. That was not a team that was ever going to win a game 2-1. I'm really glad my formative years came watching the early '90s Tigers and not the late '90s version.
Tettleton was definitely a personal favorite of mine. The stance and ice-cool look at the pitcher was awesome. I also used to drive my coaches crazy by mimicking Tony Phillips' stance at the plate. Another favorite. Too bad he was caught sniffing coke, if I remember rightly.
Enough said. And for the latest news on MC, his blog is still up and running, http://mauriceclarett.wordpress.com/. My favorite post is 3 down from the top, titled "I'm back." I didn't know it was possible to take a vacation while in prison. Apparently it is.
Mike McMahon. I was always a huge fan of his 50 yard pull-us-within-two-but-then-blow-the-conversion-heroics.
And Inge is my tiger. I think I am drawn to sexy, muscular, white men.
Then again, who here isn't?
the whole UM basketball team. Beilein knows how to find 'em, and how to teach 'em. Didn't Manny get all-academic big ten? CJ, David were obviously outstanding citizen types. And how do you not like DeShawn's airhead-goofy-but-lovable kid persona, in which he does funny things like walk to the wrong end of the court and all Beilein can say is "Oh, that's Peedi." ?
Great player, great athlete, humble, all-around good guy.