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Former basketball coach Bobby Knight liked to point out to pesky sports reporters that we all learn how to write, but most of us move on to more important things.

It may be time to turn that around. We all learn how to dribble a basketball, throw a football and hit a golf ball – maybe we need to convince ourselves that those really aren’t the most important things in the world.

This would be a good step, because our worship of athletes is way out of control. Marveling at their skills is natural enough. You can admire their talents the way you might admire an artist or a musician. But somewhere along the line, we started thinking of them as role models.

If a guy can whack a golf ball and make it land in the right spot, does that make him a superior human being? Or just a great golf ball hitter?

It’s a strange preoccupation, this athlete worship. We all wanted to be sports stars in high school, and apparently we never get over the idea that this would be the most wonderful thing in the world. But we had a lot of ideas back then that we have since jettisoned, many with the help of psychotherapists or district court judges.

If you still participate in sports, that’s a fine thing. And if you want to improve your skills, that’s admirable. So naturally you think of a superstar as someone to observe and learn from. That’s debatable. Most of the greats in any field have worked extremely hard, but they also started life with one or two gifts that the rest of us just don’t have.

They know exactly how to do amazing things – but they often have no idea how to pass that knowledge on. You might be better off getting advice from somebody who had to battle his way up from terrible to so-so. He can relate.

So far, so harmless. But then advertisers see us fawning over sports heroes and decide that they would make great product endorsers.

Come on. Show me the link between a great backswing and a great shaving experience.

If a guy with amazing hand-eye coordination pretends that he spends some of his millions on Buicks, so what? If you don’t already know just as much about automobiles as he does, you can quickly close the gap via Cars.com. Remember, a sports hero will be happy to endorse anything from soda pop to underwear, as long as the check clears. Just like you would.

The most mystifying part of the whole love affair is the idea that great athletes should also be moral beacons. Some may be. But let’s see – we’re talking about people who have devoted their lives to one thing, succeeded at it and been treated like royalty because of it. Does that sound like the best way to develop a rounded and grounded personality?

Look at it from the celebrity’s point of view and listen to your moral compass start to spin. Imagine signing autographs as you finish up a day at the office and head for the parking ramp. The first time would be a delight.

What about the hundredth time? Would you still look at the crowd as fans who share your interests, or as a bunch of saps with no lives of their own?

We turn our best athletes from wide-eyed young hopefuls into jaded pros who expect special treatment. They travel the country with loads of time to kill and quickly find lots of people who are eager to help them kill it.

Maybe that’s the part some of us really envy, even more than the trophies and paychecks. The American dream these days seems a little short on meaningful accomplishments and awfully heavy on playtime.

It’s a hazardous lifestyle to shoot for, because that’s where assumed virtue collides with reality.

Most of us don’t live a life brimming with temptation. We never realize what a blessing that is.