What Defines a
Hero?
Sporting heroes
are revered and treasured by the world.
Who's
your favourite sports hero?
Are you a weekend
warrior? Submit your Details here.
People From all walks of life have been
inspired and united by it's sporting greats. They have celebrated
and rewarded their successes. The television made it possible for people to embrace the
opportunity to see their heroes live in action, and the achievements
of sportsmen and women are easily watch by many millions of
people due to this 1950's invention.
"All sorts of
athletes are called hero's, and then two weeks later they're not."
Throughout history,
Hero's emerged from war and gained their title of hero by
sacrificing themselves or risking their lives to save others. Sports allow hero's to emerge in times of peace.
Heroism is doing
something of outstanding benefit to one's society that most would
find impossible to perform, and some athletes do meet that criteria.
However, in order to be
truly heroic, Athletes have to do more than just show physical
prowess on the playing field.
Only if you have those
two components together -- that your society thinks you're doing
something of outstanding benefit, plus what you're doing is
something most people couldn't offer either through mental ability,
physical skill, or quality of character-- then you've got the
possibility for heroism .
In addition, Hobbs says
many of the athletic traits revered most in sports heroes such as
speed, strength, and endurance were traits that were necessary for
success in battle and found in traditional wartime heroes.
An example of a sports
hero who fits that bill in her mind is Jesse Owens. Owens displayed
not only great physical strength and endurance, but also mental
determination and courage in defiantly winning four medals before
Hitler at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin.
|
