Sunday, January 03, 2010
The deification of sports stars
The Tiger Woods affair leads me to speculate how something like this would play out in India. Let's use Sachin as an example. After all Tendulkar is idolised more Woods can even begin to conceive.
Say, Sachin has a "small house". Firstly, would this news ever become public? It's in everybody's best interest that this information stay hidden-Sachin's for obvious reasons, the fans' because they don't need to see their idol defiled, his sponsors' because he can continue to endorse their products without the companies looking bad.
Is it really possible that all these cricketers, mostly young men in their 20's earning millions, mixing with Bollywood, living the high life all around- they are all living "clean" lives? As India becomes increasingly liberalised and aspires to Western mores, aren't there bound to be groupies who wouldn't mind notching a Dhoni or Yuvraj on their bed posts? Surely the Indian media is doing a bang-up job of keeping their cavorting under wraps!
Back to the Tiger thing- is it an American thing to be unable to separate the sportsman from the man? Sachin isn't touted for being the perfect father or husband-not that he isn't, I am sure he is as devoted as they come- but people adore Sachin the cricketer, not Sachin the daddy, and rightfully so.
Did Gillette and AT&T have to withdraw their sponsorship because they were worried that Joe Q Woods' fan would switch to Schick or Sprint? After all now their products were being endorsed by a known philanderer as opposed to the arguably best golfer ever, right?
For that matter, was Joe Q Woods' fan buying Gillette to begin with because it was being endorsed not just by arguably the greatest golfer ever but also a devoted husband and father?
Is the same fan going to stop watching Woods for this reason? Did people stop going to watch the Yankees in the 20's and 30's because their roster featured an overweight ball player who caroused all the time and cheated on his wife or did they go to watch Babe Ruth hit home runs?
If Woods projected the image of ideal father and husband it was because it was thrust upon him. He, or his agents, were mercenary enough to realise that the public wanted him to be this perfect figure and darn it, they were going to provide the public with one.
The public was stupid for wanting him to be anything more than arguably the best golfer ever
Say, Sachin has a "small house". Firstly, would this news ever become public? It's in everybody's best interest that this information stay hidden-Sachin's for obvious reasons, the fans' because they don't need to see their idol defiled, his sponsors' because he can continue to endorse their products without the companies looking bad.
Is it really possible that all these cricketers, mostly young men in their 20's earning millions, mixing with Bollywood, living the high life all around- they are all living "clean" lives? As India becomes increasingly liberalised and aspires to Western mores, aren't there bound to be groupies who wouldn't mind notching a Dhoni or Yuvraj on their bed posts? Surely the Indian media is doing a bang-up job of keeping their cavorting under wraps!
Back to the Tiger thing- is it an American thing to be unable to separate the sportsman from the man? Sachin isn't touted for being the perfect father or husband-not that he isn't, I am sure he is as devoted as they come- but people adore Sachin the cricketer, not Sachin the daddy, and rightfully so.
Did Gillette and AT&T have to withdraw their sponsorship because they were worried that Joe Q Woods' fan would switch to Schick or Sprint? After all now their products were being endorsed by a known philanderer as opposed to the arguably best golfer ever, right?
For that matter, was Joe Q Woods' fan buying Gillette to begin with because it was being endorsed not just by arguably the greatest golfer ever but also a devoted husband and father?
Is the same fan going to stop watching Woods for this reason? Did people stop going to watch the Yankees in the 20's and 30's because their roster featured an overweight ball player who caroused all the time and cheated on his wife or did they go to watch Babe Ruth hit home runs?
If Woods projected the image of ideal father and husband it was because it was thrust upon him. He, or his agents, were mercenary enough to realise that the public wanted him to be this perfect figure and darn it, they were going to provide the public with one.
The public was stupid for wanting him to be anything more than arguably the best golfer ever
