When young people see their heroes on the football field, they may decide to model themselves on their heroes. In terms of their sport, this is an excellent thing, to try to make yourself the best player you can.
But a good football player, is a person who is good at football, and their abilities at their chosen sport may have no relation at all, to indicate what kind of a person they may be. They are merely human beings, who have great skills to enable them to play well.
Certainly, some of them may have exceptional skills at being a good team member, or a great leader, who shows their team the way to win. But they might simply be really good at kicking goals, and is terrible at most other things. Certainly there are AFL players who I feel do great things away from their sport, as well as when they’re playing, and those are the players, I hope young people will follow, as they go through their lives.
But truly, the people we could all be thinking of, if we wish to have good role models for a good and worthy life, are those people who do good things that have long lasting benefits for others, rather than simply helping their team to win a game. People who work in the public arena, working hard and well to help other people to have better lives. There are Australians who do wonderful things, helping vulnerable people in many ways, to enable the ones they work for to have better lives. They are my role models, humble people doing wonderful and selfless things.
In this Covid-19 time, many of us are staying home, as safe and sound as is possible, while nurses, doctors, and other essential workers do their work, never knowing if, or when, the coronavirus might be there to infect them. Good role models, all of them. Working hard to help other people, above and beyond what their job requires of them – risking their lives to help.
I’ve had people call me an inspiration, does that make me a role model of sorts? Well if others can emulate me when I’m at my best, that would be a fine thing. (Just don’t look too closely at me when I’m slacking off!)
We all have our moments, good and bad, and surely having others copy us when we’re at our best, would be a time to be proud of, both for ourselves, and the others who follow, and do good also … I’d love to know what you think about these ideas, please leave a comment!
Carolyn Cordon - Creative 
When you write football, you mean Australian Rule Football. When I write football, I mean World Cup, Pele, Maradona. When my fellow Americans write football, they mean the NFL, gridiron, a game where foot rarely touches ball. But I digress…
Generally speaking, I think people who have the ambition and talent to become the best in their field, usually don’t have much empathy. Their focus is too tight and thus a kind of selfishness. They aren’t much fun to hang out with.
It’s like they always to say, “Wanting to meet your favorite poet because you love their poetry is like wanting to meet a duck because you love pate.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, my football code is certainly AFL, but I’m aware of the others. I’ve seen them, for sure, and follow the Adelaide Soccer team, to a slight degree, and have memories of watching Soccer as a child, the British competition, as it was then, when Liverpool was a family favourite, for some reason known only to my older brother, I think. My Aussie Rules team is the Mallala Magpies, and we follow them, and sometimes go along to watch. They’ve just begun playing again now, and having looked at the results for the weekend, I wouldn’t have enjoyed being at the game, because the Magpies were thrashed by their arch rivals Two Wells Roosters …
And regarding your point about those at the top of their field having little empathy, I suspect these things depend on the things valued in the field of endeavour, and dare I say it, gender may make a difference in come circumstances. I’m thinking here of a couple of Australian politicians, whom I look up to, and both of these women had a lot of empathy for others. I can’t say the same for many male politicians …
And regarding poets, certainly the best poems can come when the poet rips out their guts, and places the result on the page …
LikeLiked by 2 people