Who remembers The Sandlot? A classic movie about teenage adolescents playing ball on an empty sandlot in middle America delivering so many quotable lines that are still used in pop culture today. Today, I’m reminded of one in particular. The one where Babe Ruth visits Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in a dream and tells him to jump over the fence, face the beast, and return with the ball featuring Ruth’s john hancock. If you haven’t seen it before, check out this clip.
“Remember kid – there’s heroes and then there’s legends. Heroes get remembered. Legends never die.”
This is apropos for because it’s Babe Ruth Day. It really got me thinking… how does one get to be a hero or a legend? What is the difference between the two? Is one better than the other as the quote maybe suggests? I thought we should explore this in the Weekend Word.
he·ro
ˈhirō
noun
- a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.
leg·end
ˈlejənd/
noun
- a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but unauthenticated.
- an extremely famous or notorious person, especially in a particular field.
adjective
- very well known.
It seems to me that the major difference between a hero and a legend is popularity. And while a hero can be a legend, not all legends are heroes. Since National Free Comic Book Day is also around the corner, let’s pull from our tales of superheroes for a couple of examples. The Joker, Lex Luthor, and Green Goblin are all legendary villains, while Batman, Superman and Spiderman are all legendary heroes – and the former are never seen as heroes.
A hero is admired for acts of courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities, while a legend is simply a legend for being well known. Babe Ruth’s quote seems to suggest that it’s better to be a legend, but in my opinion – it’s heroes that save the world. So which would you rather be – a hero or a legend?
While I may never become a legend, the nuns, teachers, Father Mugagga and I will continue to be a hero in the eyes of the children at our schools, and you can too. Make a donation today and be a hero to a child in need. hope4hearts.org/donate.
Heroically Yours,
Cristen
