Ah, Conference Championship football weekend in America.  There are likely a lot of folks hurting in the head and sporting heart today.  Good thing it’s a holiday.

There are also those who are hurting in their heads but are quite happy in their sporting hearts.  They are the lucky ones today.

I had no skin in this game so just sat back and watched.

Did you see the games?  What did you think of the on-field behavior of the players?  What did you think of any of the post-game stuff?  Do you think all of that is representative of the country and the people we are becoming or have even already become?  I’m not passing judgment here, just simply asking what you think. 

So, what do you think?

I know what I think but it’s really not that important what I think except maybe to me and my family.  I know that even if my kids could make it to the professional level, no matter the reward, I really don’t think I would want them to become that type of person that all too often exists there.  No I really don’t.  No matter the sport really.

That sort of success just doesn’t seem worth it in the end to me.  I’m sure there are exceptions but they don’t often enough seem to be very abundant or even evident. 

I think I remember one high-profile professional athlete, basketball player I believe, who informed all of us that he shouldn’t have to be a role model for our kids, that no athlete should have to be, that it should be the parents.  At the time I kind of got it and kind of agreed but now I want to ask why he shouldn’t have been that as part of the payback for all that he had received; it wasn’t just him and his hard work that got him to where he got to- heck, Obama even told us that- it was much, much more.  So why not give back, even if by a sense of duty if not choice? 

Ah, too much responsibility, too much work, is that it?  And, besides, with no parents in the home anymore or those who are there not very plugged in or engaged, who fills the void then Charles?  Who?  (Ooops, I said his name.  Sorry Charlie!)

So if my kid could pursue professional sports and had no one to look up to on the way there and no sense of paying any of it back once he got there himself then why would it seem the right thing for him to chase after?  Oh, I get it, the money, the fame.  Or maybe it’s the respect that has always been due not because of the person that led to the athlete but rather the athlete that was born from the desire.  He or she are just better and much more deserving of so many things the rest of us are not.  Is that it?

Now I get it. 

But I still wouldn’t want my kids to pursue such a path.  I still believe in the beauty of the human condition and spirit as evidenced by the many heroes AND positive role models who do still exist.  This note is for you all.  I want to thank you very much and ask you to please keep it up, to please keep doing what you do and helping our young folks to aspire to good places in this world, in their lives.  You might just be a simple mom or dad who wants to see your child do right and that is often more than enough and much harder to get accomplished than anyone who hasn’t done it or tried it can imagine. 

For my part I will still watch my kids play sports and root them and their teammates on.  I will be there no matter what.  I will make sure that they study and do their homework and respect their teachers and classmates.  I will do all that I can to help them and to be that tiny little bit of a positive role model that, when summed along with the other tiny little bits in the spectrum across their daily lives, might just be enough to overcome the high-profilers who manage to show them an entirely different and undesirable way.  Back off and leave my kids alone.

And congrats to the fans and teams who were victorious.  In America, you rule.

To the losers well, maybe it was just that this time your teams weren’t good enough this time, in that game, and that sucks but maybe it’s really okay.  Or will be better in a few days at least.  At least the hangover will go away.

In either case just be careful who you let your children hang with; there are a lot of role models out there, whether they want to admit it or accept it or not.