Which athletes/celebrities would you want your kids to look up to?

I didn't have any role models as a kid. More I think about it, my mom is one for raising me and my two brothers after my folks split, way before being a single mom was cool.

I'm not a parent, but having athletes or entertainers as a role model seems like a parental copout. They buy into the image created of a Tiger Woods or, to leap into the entertainment world, a Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus, and then turn aghast when the reality doesn't match up to the created image.

I think it was Bob Gibson who said, "You be a role model to your kids." That works for me.

 

What has Brees done that should cause people to not respect him? He's put in a lot of charity work off the field and donated a ton of money and time to charities in New Orleans. I don't think I've ever read a bad word about him.

 

I'd go with Steelers safety Myron Rolle.

 

My kid's two favorite NFL players are (were) Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald. I won't argue with him on either of those two.

 

That's a valid point -- you certainly should be a role model to your kids, more than any random person -- but isn't it a sort of rite of passage to find out your heroes aren't all you thought they were? Isn't there some value to that life lesson?
I think we've all had athletes we admired, at one time or another, and then found out they were a little douchey. I'll venture a guess and say most folks turn out OK despite it.
They're kids. They're going to be fans and look up to people who seem larger than life.
And guess what?
Kids grow up. They'll figure it out with time and probably be better for it.

 

Then your kids will be laughed at. Wearing a jersey with no name on the back is like eating food from the dollar store's freezer section.

 

Well ... teaching your children to blindlessly follow the leader isn't the answer, either.

How about we let kids make some decisions like this for themselves?

 

My son is only going to wear shirts with large pictures of dogs and wolves on them.

 

I am in the camp where I don't want my kids idolizing any particle celeb. I learned myesson growing up; I was a big Darryl Strawberry fan.

 

Sleeves?

 

When appropriate.