This is a sad but powerful reminder that our children's heroes should be people they know--truly know--like parents, or a close aunt or uncle.
The stuff of true heroes and trustworthy role models is seldom something that could be shown on TV, because it takes place over time, years of small decisions invisible to the world, silent choices of people over things, God over self, future provision over passing pleasures.
The sociological attraction of being a sports fan is to belong to a "tribe," to have identity and membership in something bigger than ourselves. But how smart is it to invest your children in a tribe over which you have no control, no say, no vote, other than exchanging your money for peripheral participation?
If we're going to invest heavily in any "tribe," it should be one that's going to last, going to prevail, going to transcend every other tribe for eternity.