Footballers are role models then?

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  • Jim De VilleJim De Ville Posts: 16,097
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    Xela M wrote: »
    When a man looks as spectacular as (young) George Best on the outside I'm afraid he could have Adolf Hitler inside of him and I wouldn't care. I'm quite shallow :blush:

    It's a shame his son inherited very little of his looks, charm or talent.

    I'm not at all denying that George was a beautiful man, and wonderful player (in both senses of the word).

    You can't be too hard on Calum Best, he had it all on a plate.

    How shallow? You free next Friday?
  • Xela MXela M Posts: 4,710
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    I'm not at all denying that George was a beautiful man, and wonderful player (in both senses of the word).

    You can't be too hard on Calum Best, he had it all on a plate.

    How shallow? You free next Friday?

    That depends... how rich are you?
  • Jim De VilleJim De Ville Posts: 16,097
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    Xela M wrote: »
    That depends... how rich are you?

    I earn enough. Not as much as Beckham, not as little as Jeremy Spake (before he got 'famous').
  • Xela MXela M Posts: 4,710
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    Hmmm... if you were 90 years old and had high fever, you would be almost perfect :p
  • Jim De VilleJim De Ville Posts: 16,097
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    How do you know that I'm not, and haven't?
  • Tal'shiarTal'shiar Posts: 2,290
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    codeblue wrote: »
    Children cheer them on the terraces
    Children wear their names on the back of their shirt
    Children pretend to be them in the playground
    Children play as them on their play station
    Footballers go into their local communities and schools to give talks
    Footballers advertise products aimed at children
    Footballers transcend their sport and become celebrities in the media
    Footballers are seen to live aspirational lifestyles

    How anyone can argue that they are not role models is beyond me.

    Only one of them isnt utter tosh. Aspirational Lifestyles, yeah, they represent the very worst in that, as though all of us could be mega rich if only we tried a little harder.

    Kids wear what they think is cool, they also wear spongebob shirts, is that cartoon a role model now as well? They also play murder simulators, is Soap from Call of Duty now a role model?

    And a role model for what? its only a very small number of kids who have aspirations (realistic) of being a footballer, then you can say Rooney or whomever is a role model.

    If a footballer is your childs source of morals and philosophies, you have failed as a parent. (not you personally, as a general statement)
  • BelfastGuy125BelfastGuy125 Posts: 7,515
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    The actual issue is that the media think these players are role models for their personal lives. They don't seperate the two spheres. Kids don't care about a football player's personal lives. Most kids don't read the s*n or star to see all the bad things they do.

    Where they ARE role models is in talent and footballing ability, and in that sense I find there is absolutely no problem. When the kid is on the playground being Steven Gerrard he doesn't put on a scouse accent, he tries to hammer one in from 40 yards or take a smashing free kick.
  • RichN95RichN95 Posts: 1,031
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    Of British footballers of the last decade there are probably only two that I would say are 'role models' beyond the white lines of the football pitch - David Beckham certainly and Rio Ferdinand maybe. They are both very big names who in many ways courted that position.

    Others can be role models to a minority group - for example Tim Howard with the Tourettes community. A muslim or gay player would be seen in a similar manner.

    But a League One player? Hell no! It's a trite phrase trotted out by those with nothing substantial to say (see also 'sending out the wrong signal')
  • Daniel_GleeballDaniel_Gleeball Posts: 629
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    There was an interview with NBA starJames Barkley who was known to indulge in a few excesses off the court. His response was that he was paid to stop other teams scoreing baskets not bring up other peoples children.

    I agree with that. They should feel obligated to behave in such a way as to be a credit to their employers and parents. Not feel morally obligated towards children's moral and spiritual development. That is the parents responsibility. Wayne Rooney and John Terry can not be held accountable for children's behaviour. If the children emulate some of Rooneys and Terrys less savoury traits than it's up to the parents to tell them hoe that behaviour is wrong.
  • TheMunchTheMunch Posts: 9,024
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    I never had a role model. Growing up I loved Michael Owen since I started following football when he started appearing, but I never wanted to be him. I was always into the science side of things, originally wanting to go into astronomy. Neither Owen, Gerrard, Torres or any heroes in between made me want to go into football. And even then I was only ever interested in them as players because I liked what they did. I've never wanted to do anything with horses like Owen, or punch a DJ like Gerrard, or miss an open goal like Torres. If Ched Evans played for Liverpool in the early 2000s and scored 100 or more goals I'd have had him as a hero but wouldn't have wanted to be like him in any way. And if I did it'd only be as a successful footballer, if I wanted to go into that field. I never looked at Torres and thought "that's what I need to do" because I never wanted to be him.

    If you want to be an athlete or be a professional footballer there are many people to look up to. Ronaldo is a great example as he's a great athlete. He looks after himself and works hard all the time. Or Beckham, Messi, Gerrard, Zidane, Ronaldinho or Pirlo as only a few examples. In fact if Suárez was around in the early 2000s instead of Owen I'd have loved him instead while never having the desire to bite someone or call someone "negrito". My nephew recently saw him in a Barcelona shirt and asked why he wasn't in a Liverpool shirt. He loved Suárez and he'd never bite someone.

    This role-model crap is just an excuse for bad parenting. If Ched Evans gets a contract with a club kids aren't going to go around and rape people. And if they did then their parents would be to blame. But what would be more likely is him scoring goals and kids wanting to be like him by scoring goals.

    Kids are always going to look up to the stars and celebrities, and those into sports are always going to look up to the top athletes. A kid growing up in Liverpool will likely look up to the main striker at Everton or Liverpool. And then it'd only be because of what they do, not because of what they are. When Owen first came about I had no idea what he was like as a person and I had no interest in that side of him. I just loved him for his goalscoring. My nephew loved Suárez because of his goalscoring and what he did in a Liverpool shirt. He has no interest in the bad things he's done.

    Kids aren't the responsibility of footballers. They may look up to them but that's not up to the players. They're just meant to do their job to the best of their abilities, and train to be fit to be able to do that. Anything else is irrelevant. A footballer shouldn't decide against doing something because some stranger's child might emulate it.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 311
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    Boselecta wrote: »
    Says who? Who decrees that the poorly educated, English-mangling, loutish, spitting, snotting, expectorating, diving, cheating, mauling clogger who's stepping out on to a pitch in front of a few thousand fans tomorrow is a role model?
    Is that so? I sense jealousy in your post. Though I do agree not all of them are role models or should be seen as.
    Parthenon wrote: »
    The reason the media insist on labelling footballers as role models at every opportunity is so they can justify regularly invading their personal lives.
    Couldn't agree more.
    Any parent that believes that a bloke who kicks a bag of air around a field is a role model for their children, indicates a lot more about their parenting skills than anything else.

    I hope you're trolling otherwise you just come across as really bitter. I guess athletes are just good at running or throwing things and don't need to do any training or have any discipline.

    Going by your logic everybody should just learn to read something over and over again so that they can get a "highly-rated" job right?
  • celesticelesti Posts: 25,898
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    I would always 'be' Maradona playing football and I loved Michael Jackson, yet I never shot at reporters from my cocaine and Jesus juice parties held at the mafia's house.

    'Role model' is an invented positive used as a negative to criticise successful people, by people who either don't realise that Helen Lovejoy screaming WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN is meant to be ridiculous, or think that kids are way more stupid than they actually are.
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