Willie Nelson once implored "Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys." I think he meant Dallas Cowboys because their fans are so obnoxious, Michael Irvin and Emmit Smith are trying to destroy the English language, and also because Jerry Jones is crazy. He then went on to say "make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such." Willie had a real sense of humor since he would go on to spend most of his adult life fighting lawyers and such. (Lesson here is pay your taxes, don't do drugs, and don't be Willie Nelson.)
You need to choose your heroes carefully. One minute you are rooting on Sammy Sosa against Mark McGwire during a home run chase and the next moment you are wondering why in front of congress Sammy can't speak English and Mark is "not here to discuss the past." It's because they both were cheaters, and so was Roger Clemens and a whole list of others. Most were Yankees.*
When you look to celebrities and athletes for heroes you will find yourself disappointed more often than not. For every Lindsay Lohan in Mean Girls you will find a Lindsay Lohan doing coke off a toilet. For every Tom Cruise in Top Gun there is a Tom Cruise worshiping alien gods, wearing platform shoes, and jumping up and down on Oprah's Couch. Trust me when I say that they are not to be trusted.
Sometimes it's best to be inspired by the parts of a public persona rather than the whole. So find the good, be inspired by exceptional talent, but please keep in mind that your heroes are human and they too have serious flaws. Unless of course they are Greg Maddux, the greatest pitcher of the modern era.
*I don't have a whole lot of facts to back that up, but you should follow me blindly.*
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