Heroes? I don’t think so.

Iam, most firefighters are working class. I realy do not see a connect with class. Steve Redgrave won gold at five consecutive Olympics, brilliant achievement, he is not working class and not a hero. Beckham was worshipped, working class, Andy Murray won Wimbledon twice, the first British male to win since 1936 and tennis players have to train do hard, he is brilliant, he is not a hero.

Skills/talent do not make heroes, if so do we class the Brontes, W H Auden, Orwell as heroes ?

Men who went to war are heroes, not footballers , and for me calling footballers heroes takes away the true meaning of a hero

hero
ˈhɪərəʊ/Submit
noun
1.
a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
"a war hero"
synonyms:brave man, champion, man of courage, great man, man of the hour, conquering hero, victor, winner, conqueror, lionheart, warrior, paladin, knight, white hat;

As pointed out several times by others there are different kinds of hero .

Iam64 What does class have to do with it? How do you define firefighters, mountain rescue and others fighting the fires? The underclass, or middle class - and really does it make any difference.

Riverwalk this team was a new, young in fact the youngest team in the World Cup, and fairly inexperienced team so although I haven’t enough knowledge to tell you what they are paid I m presuming they are not in the Rooney/Renaldo league at all

Anniebach, sorry if my post wasn't clear. I was not criticising the young men for not being good enough to be hero's because they're working class. I was asking whether the fact football is generally played by working-class boys (and girls) does this lead to the way the players and supporters are often seen as not good enough.
I do see this team as hero's. In a totally different league than the firefighters on our moorland, or the cave rescuers but hero's non the less.

Jane very few of these players are well paid, most play for insignificant clubs

er Charley I think ya might be a bit out of the loop here!

Funny, Eddie the eagle was, a long time ago, seen as a hero although he used to come last but he was a hero in the fact that he kept picking himself up and trying again and again even though many were laughing at him he didn’t give up and in the same way England very young, inexperienced team played a dignified game Gareth southgate got rid of all the highly paid prima donnas and played some up and coming young players and they got further than England had done in the last (was it) 28 years Now that may not make a hero in your eyes but in many sports lovers eyes it was and why not

Yes BlueBell, that is to be admired and is good sportsmanship, doesn’t mean they are heroes though

That was unkind Iam, class has nothing to do with the making of a hero. Surely we can expect sportsmen/women to set a good example of behaviour or do you think young working class men are not capable of this

Sorry that was in reply to Anniebach your post hadn’t appeared Iam64 when I posted

Well surely it’s more about playing to the best of their ability and with dignity, being good losers and accepting defeat in a friendly manner without bitterness, doesnt that make more of a good sportsman than just winning

'just entertainment'. - we can't have that can we, people's lives being enhanced by entertainment!

By the way, of course the cave rescuers are hero's. The firefighters, Mountain Rescue, Woodland trust and other volunteers working tirelessly to contain the fires on our moorland are hero's.

that doesn't mean the word can't be used to describe young working class men who have 'entertained' so many and set good examples of behaviour, team playing and so on.

Could it be that because football is a traditionally working class sport, its 'hero's'. just aren't good enough?

But sports heroes win surely

I guess they are sports heroes I suppose the word can be adapted to fit different situations Thry certainly aren’t heroes in the sense of rescuing a life but I guess they could be considered heroes in a more open sense

Just because it's written in a book doesn't make it true! 1962 and 1983 are not exactly bang up to date.
These people seem to have played well (and so they should, its their job to) and have cheered people up by doing so. That's it. They didn't experience danger or save lives. Football is just entertainment.

OUP c.1962:
hero: man of superhuman strength, courage or ability;
illustrious warrior;
man of extraordinary bravery, fortitude or greatness of soul.

The English team played well and did much to restore decency and sportsmanship to football, but they are not, by older definitions, heroes.

Collins 1983:
hero: a man who is idealised for possessing superior qualities in any field.
This definition would seem to be used now.
(Pedant, moi?)

£200,000 per week is my idea of well paid Charleygirl! That's what that Harry Kane is paid for example. I can only assume that the other England players earn roughly similar amounts. The World Cup pay out for competing semi finalist teams is in the millions too. Madness!

Good grief Luckygirl, did you make yourself a cuppa whilst pondering on that , collective soul !

Unfortunately those with zero interest in football have no choice but to hear about it!! - someone on the radio this morning said something about it having "stirred our collective soul" - phew! That's heavy stuff. My soul seems to remain unstirred!

Monica Heroes indeed.
Putting the lives of others first.

The heroes are those divers who put their lives on the line (one did die) to rescue those 12 boys and their coach from the caves at Chien Mai.

Jane very few of these players are well paid, most play for insignificant clubs unlike some of the Croatian team who work for premier league clubs such as Juventis and Real Madrid.

I am Scottish but I watched every game that these fellows played and I am really proud of their achievement considering they were not expected to do so well being so very inexperienced.

Yes just a game played by extremely well paid professionals sportsmen.
I repeat the objection to hero in that context. You could so easily say 'star' or 'idol' instead to describe them.
I'm with katek on this one.

Ooh-er, someone is very offended.... bloody hell, it's just a game.