I think to be a top athlete you have to believe in yourself and your abilities. That isn't arrogance, if your abilities are there.
But the way that you interact with others is a big deal as well. Now, I'm not talking about their actual personalities and the way they treat fans, but the image that the media can create that sells products.
Kobe is out, thanks to that incident with the girl. That's why you see so many other players getting endorsements, primarily Wade and Barkley and LeBron. Kobe is starting on his way back in, but he's lost millions in the process.
They may be assholes in real life, and if you knew them that way, you wouldn't have anything to do with them. But they aren't projected that way, they're projected as winners. As tainted as AI was, he was still a media darling when he was winning. As long as their behavior doesn't interfere with that image the deals still come in. A good case in point is Barkley and his DWI incident. He was smart or humble enough, or his handlers were, to know that he should step out of the spotlight for a while to show contrition. Sure enough a heart-felt apology and he was back in business as though nothing ever happened. People like to be able to forgive, it gives them a sense of power even if in reality they have almost none.
To a certain extent ignorance is bliss. It is outrageous that we genuflect to people who are good at playing a game, and giving them fortunes to entertain us. If we knew what kind of people they really are, like Michael Vick and his dogs, they'd soon find themselves without the endorsement deals. The same could be said for certain actors as well. We should instead have respect for scientists, and doctors and engineers, people who struggle to solve problems that affect us all, people who work hard to produce real results. And real economists who speak the truth and try to help run things the right way, only to be ignored by the people in power, who by the way, have as much concern for you as these petulant athletes.
This society is sick to spend so much time worrying about stuff like an NBA title, or watching idiotic television programs or NASCAR. But they seem to have little interest in taking care of the things that matter, like understanding the place and purpose of the Government and Financial Institutions, and making sure these people do what they are supposed to. As the US declines, and deservedly so, we should consider how we got into this mess, trusting people who were unworthy to mind the store.
