Recently there has been a string of news reports that have surfaced, which present the private lives of famous professional soccer players for the whole world to view. Most of the time these reports mainly showcase the wrong doings and such of the soccer players. Many household names such as, Rooney, Crouch, Terry and Ronaldo have all been followed by the infamous paparazzi and have been caught having sex scandals, breaking the law, and even peeing in a dark alleyway. Now among the soccer world opinions are divided on whether these should be allowed to be published. However, before we look at this we need to first understand why this is so important. There are two vital reasons why these cases cause shock waves in the footballing world. The first reason is that these footballers are role models to hundreds of millions of people around the world, myself included. Now if one were to read reports about their idol breaking the law or doing morally and ethically wrong things, then one would subconsciously start lessening our moral standards to fit these into it. We would slowly start believing that it is all right to do such things. It is embarrassing for any soccer fan who has lived through at least 4 generations of soccer stars to witness such a thing. I cannot count myself as one of these people, but my grandfather who has watched the first world cup till now, the 20th world cup, can testify to this. During the 1970s to 1990s one would have to wait for years before they could see two events of soccer players breaking the law, such was their discipline. However now, it is a weekly event, where some soccer player is found to be taking drugs, having numerous affairs, running betting rings or connected to the mafias. This has in fact become so mundane that people hardly even care nowdays.
Recently a famous soccer player and also ex-coach, has given his view stating that having your life published by the media and having no privacy is the price to pay for international superstardom and the money that is received out of soccer. He gives some very good points and states how the paparazzi is a double edged sword. If one were able to have a clean image and play breath taking football then you could manipulate the paparazzi and spread your fame and influence wider. However having any secrets or problems and trying to hide them from the paparazzi is nearly impossible with nowdays modern technology.
I believe that the media is starting to take over football with it affecting the results of games. Rather then just the players playing the game and deciding, the media has now assumed total control over football. It has the ability to make a player shine or destroy his reputation. It may not seem like it, but one great example of how the media can affect someone is through the story of Wayne Rooney. He netted 34 goals last season a personal high for him, and made himself into one of the stars of the world. However after a ridiculously poor performance and several sex scandals, both of which were widely focused on by the press for weeks, he has had trouble scoring and has only managed one goal in the last 5 games. The media also has the ability to sway the minds of easy supporters who believe everything they read. Therefore in conclusion I think that the media is getting to much power over the footballing world and the real attention has been drawn away from the game, and more towards the drama.
4 comments:
I agree with you about the fact that soccer celebrities should be a role model for us but I think they should have more privacy, as long as they don't break the law. However, I think sometimes the paparazzi leaves them no room for privacy and doesn't respect their personal lives. Who the stars are sleeping with isn't most important; we should focus on their performance on the fields.
I think the media can be beneficial to soccer players or harmful instead. Media is great at promoting famous soccer players so people around the more are more aware and more likely to be interested and become fans. Media can promote soccer players and make them more known, but at the same time, the media is notorious for breaching celebritie's privacy. Personally, I don't care about a celebrity's personal life as long as they do well in their job. A lot of the news that media presents is very bias and most of the time just plain old rumours that aren't even true. So, I think what can be harmful about the media is that they like to exaggerate and poke their nose into celebrities' private lifes. I think soccer players deserve respect and should be evaluated by their abilities in their performance in soccer rather than than how they have made moral and ethical wrongs. So, I agree with you that the media is drawing the audience's attention from the real game and towards drama instead.
-Vivian
Sometimes I think celebrities get paid such exorbitant sums of money that they should just shut up about the media. Perhaps professional athletes may be exempt, but it is the public that chooses movie stars and singers. We made them rich by watching their movies and buying their albums. Then again, we pay athlete's salaries by watching them play...
I also agree with you that celebrities should have more privacy. It is sad to think that the more you are famous and glamorous, you are more exposed, and therefore you don't have much privacy.
Post a Comment