When the Tiger Woods scandal broke, many were shocked while some were unfazed by the news that another hero had fallen from grace. Woods, the first billion-dollar athlete, had chiseled out of gold his pristine image for sponsors and fans to embrace wholeheartedly.

Charles Barkley once famously asked the question, ”A million guys can dunk a basketball in jail; should they be role models?”. Shortly thereafter in 1993, he wrote the text for his “I am not a role model” Nike commercial which garnered national media attention. The concept rings true although society will always idolize successful athletes. USA Today found that close to 66% of fans say athletes will influence kids more in the years to come.

It all seems rather inevitable. Sports Marketing companies like Octagon help their clients (both leagues and superstars) sell sports to fans. These organizations target our sports fan dollars with whatever means is available to them.

SFC argues that the real heroes are the fans. Those who speak up against the powers that be to make it better for their fellow sports fans. Tiger Woods sold out a long time ago, but more recently his actions have disappointed his fans to the extent that even Gatorade has dropped him. While it would be nice to believe that professional athletes are professional off the field and heroes on the field are worth that hero worship when they shed their sweaty jerseys and throw them into the crowd, it’s just not worth it.

Rather, it’s worth our time and energy supporting our own collective cause. Our cause is holding our representatives and favorite teams accountable for their actions. If they take tax money, we should be able to find affordable seats in stadiums, we should be able watch the game on TV, and we should see the college champion decided on the field. Nothing less.  That’s worth our attention and support.