Please bear with me here, but I need to vent a little bit.  I was watching TV over lunch today,as I using do, flipping through the channels and I came across ESPN.  They were replaying the July 4 Nathan’s National Hot dog Eating Contest.  Of course I was captivated and had to watch a bunch of people shove hot dogs down their throats.  It was disgusting and fascinating all at the same time.  Part of my brain was telling me to turn the station but I could not seem to make my finger hit the channel button.  For over 6 minutes (luckily I missed the first 5+ minutes) I watched people frantically eat hot dogs.

Apparently you have 12 minutes to eat as many hot dogs as you can and keep them down.  The record is 53 set by a Japanese man named Takeru Kobayashi.  Apparently he is the best.  Anyway, I am watching this and the announcers (yes…there were actually announcers) were talking about this American who was giving Kobayashi a run for his money.  Actually this American was leading Kobayashi for a large portion of the contest before he finally faded and Kobayashi won; downing 53 1/2 hot dogs; breaking his own world record.

But that is not what I want to vent about.  After the contest the announcers were praising this American and then they said this:  "America is looking for their next hero and I think they found him."  WHAT!  NEXT HERO!  ARE THEY SERIOUS?  If America’s hero is some guy who can eat a lot of high fat hot dogs (and buns mind you) then we have a problem.  Hero?  I certainly hope not.  Part of me says these guys were joking, but they kept going on about this guy. 

Our heroes should be those people we can truly look up to, not someone who is dumb enough to eat 50+ hot dogs in 12 minutes.  That is not right.  I wish I could talk to those announcers and tell them about some real heroes.  People of faith who stood up for what they believed.  Leaders who have made difficult decisions in the face of opposition.  Parents who raised there children with a tough love to keep them free of drugs.  These are the kind of people to look up to; ones that make a difference in the world.

Heroes are all around us we just have to look for them; and they are not the hot dog eating variety.  Set your standards a little high than this.  -EDH-