SPORTS November 12, 2007 Issue

THE HERO WITHIN

JIM BENCIVENGA

THE FOUR SLEEPY PASSENGERS on my 6:22 morning train to Boston were obviously not commuters—a mother, father, and their two young sons. They were bound for City Hall Plaza. There was a victory celebration later that day for the New England Patriots who had just won their third Super Bowl in four years.

My question was obvious. Since the event didn't start until noon, why leave so early? (The two boys, sound asleep, were rocked by the motion of the train.) The father's answer still resonates: "All kids need heroes, and they'll pick the good or bad." Of course, he wanted to secure front-row views of the US champion football players, but perhaps the real reason for dragging his family out of bed before the sun was up was to make sure he and his wife had a say in the types of heroes their boys would choose.

What appealed to me about this approach was how practical and wise it was—a modern version of the time-tested advice given in the Bible's book of Proverbs: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (22:6).