Whine - Athlete role models
For sake of reference, I'll pick football athletes. A couple reasons for that: A) I probably know more about football than most of the other sports. 2) Football, based on a quick Google search, is the most watched sport in the U.S. Some may argue that NASCAR is, but I don't care, this is my whine now, isn't it?!!?
Though some of this conversation can probably be correlated to celebrities (which itself has a debate about the definition of a celebrity), I am specifically going to focus on the athletes. The athlete role model would cover any professional athlete that is paid to play. These players have followers. The higher the rank / position / exposure, the more followers there are. Obviously, the first string of a football team, would [likely] have many more followers than the same team's third string (of course, not counting those third stringers that were once first stringers).
Recently, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick. You remember him, the former Atlanta Falcon quarterback that served time for animal cruelty. There has been vast discussion on the internet about him and what the Eagles did - however, my point is not about what he did, but more along the lines of why. Forget exactly what he did for the moment too - it is just the fact that it was something that was illegal. Why? Why would someone with that type of reputation and, especially, income, do something like that? I am sure there are a myriad of psychological answers to this as well, but do you think Bill Gates ever said "Hey, I feel like committing a crime today." Or Warren Buffett? Or Paul Allen? Do you suppose he sat in his living room one day and said "Gee, I have all this money and a great job - I think I'll go do something stupid, illegal even. Yea, that's what I'll do - risk my career and finances." Brilliant.
Are professional athletes held to a higher standard? Sure. Why? Because they have followers. And some of those followers are kids. Therefore, these athletes in turn are role models. If they don't want that role, then they should either not be stars (be the third string instead), or not be in that sport at all. This would be a similar argument for celebrities - if you don't like the limelight, don't go into acting. Admittedly, there are extremes (thank you, paparazzi), but that is a discussion for another day. Anyway, they have to watch what they do. Why? The followers. And today, more so than ever, there are eyes and recording devices everywhere.
And I'm not talking about the speeders. Not the Paris Hiltons or Lindsey Lohans. I'm talking about those that commit crimes. Real crimes. Or those that do things that are just plain stupid. Vick was the first example. Consider Plaxico Burress from the Giants. Goes to a bar with a loaded gun. Two words: duh and duh.
Speaking of doing things that are just plain stupid, though I intended to keep this focused on football, I need to digress for a moment. Consider the baseball steroid scandel. All those athletes now disgraced. The loss of [some] fame and [some] fortune. And consider Marian Jones - the female star athlete of the Olympics. She too lost a number of records and medals due to doping findings.
Ironic that today's cheese is American, and today's whine deals with, essentially, the American sport of football.
All-American cheese. Unlike some other non-American cheeses that are made in America, this is an tried-and-true American cheese. It is typically yellow or white in color and is somewhat firm.
American cheese is an easily melting cheese and can be found in a number of dishes. More traditionally, you will find American cheese on burgers - such as all the cheese related burgers you can buy at McDonald's. Some put it in macaroni and cheese as well. It can also be found on sandwiches such as ham and cheese (though a number of other cheese can be used too).
You can find more information about cheddar here.