General: For a healthy diet, simply remove Madison Avenue

Sports posters are a multi-million dollar industry, and while there are good and bad role models in every profession, I caution parents to monitor which images are plastered on their child's bedroom walls.

Children need to dream and aspire for greatness, and some athletes deserve the attention and adoration they receive.

Some may even allow the child to live vicariously through them.

Perhaps the glossy image of a sports figure may give the child the incentive he or she needs to accomplish their personal goals.

Being aware is the key.

Remember one important thing -- whether the athlete is a second baseman, a wide receiver or a hockey goalie, the sports poster signifies the one percent of all people whose efforts were recognized by somebody else lucky enough to be discovered by the media.

The media will always favor itself.

In today's society, superstars do not have to be super people.

There is no price tag or morality put on fame. There is no entrance exam on stardom, and there is no college degree required to succeed.

In other words, unlike us, pro athletes do not have to qualify for the positions they hold.

Many of these "heroes" who tell us which tennis shoe to wear, or which sports drink to guzzle are often not held accountable for their own actions. Because of their wealth and fame, they can hire their own entourage to do their civil, moral and social work for them.

Let's try not to glorify these people.

While the average working parent will never have his or her bust displayed in Cooperstown or Canton, we, the unrecognizable can go home from an honest day's work, turn on the evening news and watch the likes of Lawrence Taylor be forced to pay back child support, or perhaps witness Mike Tyson receive a new prison sentence.

If you look hard enough, Taylor and Tyson posters are obtainable.

Make no mistake, for every Lawrence Phillips, O.J. Simpson and John Rocker out there is a Tony Gwynn, Doug Flutie and Vin Scully.

Professional sports in itself should not be blamed.

Madison Avenue can take credit for twisting our children's minds by feeding them a steady diet of who they consider to be a role model.

In reality, by the time we grow up, mature and become somewhat cynical to the world around us, we no longer find ourselves collecting baseball cards or dream about scoring the game-winning basket.

For that reason, sports commercials do not cater to thirty-five year old adults.

Personally, I think it is great to have heroes.

In fact, looking up to anybody who has obtained personal or professional success is healthy, regardless of age.

We need a larger population of people who strive for excellence to be in the cameras eye.

As a young boy, my walls were filled with photos of professional athletes.

If I had to do it over again, I would have a hard time finding a poster of my favorite high school history teacher.

Webster's dictionary describes an idol as a false god.

If that be the case, I hope my daughter never idolizes me.