Where are our heroes today; where are the people who we can look up to in society; to whom does our generation have to aspire to become? By now almost all of you have heard that Yankee All-Star third-baseman Alex Rodriguez has finally admitted to taking steroids and performance enhancing drugs. You most likely have seen the infamous picture of swimming icon Michael Phelps smoking a bong. Why is it, that when we find someone to admire and look up to in the world of sports, they always seem to let us down? Are sports more of an ideal now that it seems that most of the “great” players are on steroids? As a high school athlete and someone who loves sports in general, this is rather disturbing. I am a Red Sox fan and thus I do not really like A-Rod that much anyway seeing as how he plays for the Yankees, but I respected his talent; rather the talent that I thought he had.

During the Olympics, I, along with most of the world, was entranced in awe when Michael Phelps broke record after record; I thought it was one of the most beautiful displays of power and grace that I had ever seen in my life.

It seems, though, that true, pure, natural talent has been replaced by the desire for power, fame and muscle. Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Roger Clemens, Pete Rose and a host of other “greats” decided that they wanted to have more power because that’s what would make them famous and make them more money. Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Curt Schilling, Randy Johnson and others went against the flow of popular demand by developing and honing their skills through hard work and determination. As an athlete myself, I find it very discouraging that many of today’s sports players are on steroids. I constantly question who really has what talent and why.

Young athletes need a role model, someone to look up to. Maybe it is time that we learn that people who are in the spotlight of fame and wealth are not the ones to be admired or idolized. Maybe instead we should admire those whom we come into contact with; our teachers, parents, pastors, mentors and hard working regular people. Maybe we should not aspire to be someone who is distant and far off. Maybe we should look no farther than our front door, down the block, at the local grocer or at the police department. Maybe the hero and the role model you are looking for is right in front of you.