What's Your Take on Sports? Survey Says . . .
Michael Jordan hasn't played basketball for years, but lots of kids say he's their favorite athlete.
(By Chuck Burton -- Associated Press)
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There are lots of polls these days, with questions such as "If the election were held today, who would you vote for?" or "How would you rate Barack Obama's performance as president?"
It is not very often that folks taking polls ask kids about anything, especially about sports. But Sports Illustrated for Kids, a monthly magazine, surveyed more than 1,000 kids ages 8 to 14 as part of its July "Kids Take Over" issue.
Favorite athlete: Even though he played his last NBA game on April 16, 2003, more than six years ago, kids named basketball great Michael Jordan as their favorite athlete. Some other favorites were: New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, football quarterback Brett Favre, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
What, no Tiger or LeBron? And what about the Williams sisters or Shaq? Around Washington, kids are crazy for the Capitals' high-scoring forward, Alexander Ovechkin.
Athletes as role models: Kids may have favorite athletes, but they don't see athletes as role models. Only 3 percent of the kids in the survey said their most important role model was an athlete, while 78 percent said a parent was their most important role model. I guess kids understand that just because Michael Phelps can swim fast doesn't mean he's perfect.
Parents' behavior: Kids don't think parents are perfect, either. Seventy percent complained that parents yell too much at their games. Kids also didn't like it when parents argued with the referees and the coaches.
Cheating: Eighty-six percent of kids in the survey said athletes who have used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs should not be allowed in their sport's hall of fame. Even though kids are mad at cheaters, 20 percent of the kids in the poll said they know a kid who cheats regularly in sports. That's way too much cheating.
Video games: Kids admitted that they spent a lot more time playing video games -- both sports and non-sports varieties -- than playing actual sports. That's too bad. I think it is okay to play video games every once in a while. But it's much more fun and better for kids to play sports. Whether it's shooting hoops at the playground, swimming at the pool or tossing a football around, the real fun is in the real games.
I don't need a poll to tell me that.
Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.
