by Ethel Smith

Created on: April 18, 2007   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

I think that perhaps we are all a little jealous of the highs that celebrities have when they are on the way up. Wouldn't we all like to have more cash, to look fabulous and want for nothing?. Why not me?, we ask ourselves. Then, all of a sudden, you are reading the local paper one day, and discover that Mr X is on his way down. There is no magic formula, after all, and he is just a regular guy suffering from lives ups and downs. Then again, if say the celebrity has been arrogant and rude, perhaps we can see some poetic justice.

Somehow or another watching a celebrity's decline, whilst we know it is cruel, is very addictive. You can end up feeling superior to someone who once was idolised by you and everyone else. It's somehow reassuring and reinforces your ideas that there is more to life than just fame and wealth. There can also be that feeling that maybe they did not deserve all of their successes. If they had they would have looked after their life better. It also makes you realise that things are transient and you are often richer, in other senses, by far.

Over the years in England various sports personalities have had more than their fair share of fame and fortune, only to hit the skids and never recover. For many alcoholism has played a part. George Best, who was perhaps one of the most famous British footballers of all time, famously crashed and burnt on more than one public occasion. I remember seeing him on a chat show where he arrived drunk and made an absolute fool of himself on screen. It was very cringe worthy but compulsive viewing. Georgie fought his love affair with the bottle for many years but lost and in the process lost his exceptional footballing talent. Oliver Reed did a similar drunken performance on more than one occasion but, somehow, his seemed funnier and less sad than people such as George Best and Paul Gasgoigne. Maybe sports personalities just seem sadder when they have wasted all that natural talent and flair.

No matter what field the celebrities are from though there have been plenty over the years that have spectacularly fallen from grace. Whether the public watch with glee or feel sorry for them seems to vary. However deep down we all seem to love to watch their collapse, even if we do it secretly. I guess it makes us realise that they are only human after all, no better than us and, as such, their fame and fortune could be attainable, after all.

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