Why I love athletes

If I had the choice, without any doubt I’d pick to have lunch with a famous athlete, over some business magnate, however rich and famous.

“Athlete” is a broad term. There are pro athletes; some achieve stardom. There are college athletes; most of them do not become professional athletes. There are junior athletes, working hard and dreaming big. There are amateur athletes of different ages and abilities.

In this story, I have in mind professional athletes, but I love all athletes!

Because:

• It’s 100% guaranteed that they know what hard work is. With business or wealth, you can be born into privilege. It’s harder to discern between luck, hard work, and privilege. With sports — you absolutely have to go through a lot of pain and be disciplined to be any good.
• They are mostly humble because it’s guaranteed that in their journey they’ve been humbled and humiliated, no matter their talent, and their actual trophies.
• They are strong and healthy. In this day and age, when so many of us are glued to our screen and devices, when we constantly fill our stomachs with snacks and junk food, there is something pleasantly primeval and timeless about athletes.
• They are superhuman in many ways, but they are human. They make mistakes, they have emotions, they misstep. They lose. They go through ups and downs.
• They inspire kids. There are few things more touching than a kid shooting three-pointers or scoring goals…