Michigan Hero of the Game. What does it mean?

I’ve attended almost every home game of the Michigan basketball team this season, and will continue to do so throughout the season as I have for all but one season since 1977-78. This year, the constant show that is a Michigan basketball game, throbbing through every time-out and intermission with entertainment that even Ed Sullivan would have regarded as junk, includes a Michigan alum with some connection or other to our armed services (there must be a lot of them because we’ve been continually at war since 2001 when we bombed, and then invaded, Afghanistan) has been honored as hero of the game.  Possibly some, but surely not all, fit the Merriam-Webster first definition of hero, which is how I’ve always understood it. “a :  a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, b :  an illustrious warrior, c :  a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities, d :  one who shows great courage.”

 

Most of the honorees have made quotidian contributions to our war efforts. This doesn’t mean that they are not honorable soldiers, sailors, etc. But that they are not really heroes. It is apparent that their connections to the military, however tenuous, are being used by the Crisler Arena entertainment juggernaut to instill unearned feelings of goodness in the crowd, a shabby treatment for a current or former member of the military, not as damaging as our monumental failure to keep faith with returning combat veterans by “honoring” them with such earned benefits as prompt and high-quality medical treatment, reeducation for civilian life, and adequate pay.

 

According to http://www.mgoblue.com/fanzone/hero-of-the-game.html the short spot is sponsored by Applebees. I wonder how much of the fee paid by the sponsor goes to the honoree or other members of our military. I can’t find anywhere the names of honorees although there have been, I believe, ten of them so far.

 

This diatribe was motivated by having read (partly, not yet finished) James Fallows’ article, “The Tragedy of the American Military.” 

 http://www.npr.org/2014/12/29/373835100/james-fallows-on-the-tragedy-of-the-american-military

So tomorrow, at the Illinois game, I’m not going to stand and applaud, unless the honoree truly fits the definitions above. I’ve refused for a few years now to stand, applaud or cheer during the introductions of Michigan players at these games because the house announcer goes through the opponents’ starting lineup as if he were presenting over-ripe limburger cheese, and treats every Michigan player as if he was the Messiah come again.

 If you think I’m an old grouch, you’re probably right, but that doesn’t make me wrong.