Rhetorical Analysis – Athletes as Heroes

WATCO: Professional athletes on American society?

Claim: Professional athletes help the American society because professional athletes work hard and serve as role models for others.

Implicit Assumption: Whatever provides society with role models also helps society.

In his essay "Sports Heroes and American Culture," Steven A. Riess tries to convince his audience that sports players are larger than life and serve a greater purpose than just playing games in front of spectators. He claims that they are heroes that people can look up to and emulate, not just in how they play their respective games, but in how they lead their lives. This may have been true during the early part of the 20th century, but definitely is not true today. Riess is correct that athletes served a great purpose in the past. He cited the fact that athletic heroes such as Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and Bobby Jones helped many Americans define their own personal sense of identity. They also helped people escape from the rigors of daily life. His information to back up his claims is substantial and historically accurate, and it is doubtful that many, if any, other historians would disagree with him. One glaring omission from his essay, however, is how commercialization and technology have changed how Americans view athletes. Athletes are no longer heroes, people who symbolize the American working man and lead moral and ethical lives. Rather, sports stars of today are paid outrageous amounts of money and generally show complete disregard for the mantle of role model. People cannot relate to athletes as they could a hundred years ago. The premise behind Riess’s essay is interesting, but his point that athletes are heroes in society represents and ideal that is far in the past.