NATION: King of Lakers' "Showtime" Dies

Longtime owner of my favorite sports team, the Los Angeles Lakers, passed away on Monday, February 18, 2013. The Los Angeles Times has an excellent article on Buss' fascinating rise from poverty to innovative showman. One of the things that I admired most about Dr. Buss was that he always remained humble, attributing his voluminous success to "hard work and luck", as well as to the talent and motivation of his players, coaches, staff and the fans. He always deflected the admiration he received to the Lakers staff and not himself.

As much as I love the Lakers, there is frequently a philosophical theme to my posts (except when they are labeled "Just For Fun!"). In this instance, the theme is to not automatically treat  our favorite entertainers and athletes as role models. My simple reasoning is that there are better role models out there for our children to admire and pattern their lives after. Entertainers (including athletes) receive acclaim for their talent and hard work, and not necessarily for their ethics. We should watch the athletes and entertainers perform, and enjoy their joy and love of their craft, BUT if you don't want to be disappointed, it should end there.

Note that entertainers and athletes CAN be role models, depending on how they live their lives. Alternatively, certain aspects of their lives can be seen as worthy of admiration, while their less admirable characteristics can be dismissed as undesirable and receive no further attention. For instance, in the case of Kobe Bryant, one of my favorite basketball PLAYERS of all time, I admire his immense work ethic and motivation for continuous improvement; I just ignore his person behavior, ranging from a somewhat arrogant personality to occasional moral failings. 

In the case of Dr. Buss, he rose from the poverty which he was born into in Utah, eventually earning a PhD in Chemistry and becoming successful in real estate investment. That success eventually led in 1979 to the purchase of the "Fabulous Forum" in Inglewood, Calif. along with its tenants, the Lakers and the Kings. In this instance, Dr. Buss' story is a classic American tale of a child born to poverty rising above the difficulties of such a position to become successful - a scenario that has become increasingly difficult in California and the nation for a variety of reasons, including lack of education and stifling rules and regulations that limit innovation and competition.

My greatest role models were my grandparents, Bob and Irma Waag, who demonstrated a loving and genuine way to live. They were not perfect, as we are all flawed, but they truly believed in their religion along with the philosophy of "doing the right thing for your fellow man". Their caring nature and gentle approach to life allowed me to see that I am measured by what I give back to others, and not what I have achieved or accumulated for myself.

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