I am fully aware that my age is showing when I use quotes like “Show me the money!” and “You complete me” in class and none of the students have any idea that I’m referencing a sports movie. How can we discuss the route to becoming a sport agent if students are unfamiliar with Jerry McGuire? Where else can we witness the struggle between a flourishing or failing sports career based on successfully managing a celebrity personality?

At least when the tagline “Be Like Mike” is mentioned, a few students will make a connection to Michael Jordan—they’ve seen something about this guy. I thought streaming services were supposed to fill these voids and open up access to all the wonderful things that occurred before my students were born. Unfortunately, that would require an attention span longer than three minutes! But I digress with sarcasm and woes about the current generation I’m attempting to engage in the classroom. Let’s move on.

For many of us, the concept to “Be Like Mike” conjures up a memorable jingle admiring Jordan’s basketball skills, work ethic, and other qualities…the idea that if we just hydrated with a specific sports beverage or wore the right brand of shoe, we could all have dreams of being named MVP multiple times. Because of the success of this ad campaign, a generation knew what it meant to aspire to greatness, in sports and in other areas of life. To Be Like Mike. But in today’s post, I want to offer another option that might surprise you—to Be Like Fred.

Recently, a colleague loaned me her copy of Five Mere Christians in which Jordan Raynor and Kaleigh Cox offer mini-biographies of five people who changed the world by simply accepting Christ’s invitation to Follow Me. Christians whose influence changed the world in subtle but profound ways. One of those stories belongs to the creator of a television show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In the late 1960s and early 1970s when “[t]he country was riddled with hate, fear, and racial division—qualities that had no place in the kingdom of God,” Fred Rogers demonstrated to the world how inclusive life could really be; and he accomplished this through a tv show designed for children.

While a mention of Mister Rogers likely brings to mind a cardigan sweater, a town called Make-Believe, a red trolley or King Friday, what Raynor and Cox offer is an insight that perhaps our aspirations would be better served if instead of striving to Be Like Mike we chose to Be Like Fred. Rogers, in his own unique way, did his best through kindness and inclusion, to “communicate the gift of Jesus Christ to anybody.” What Rogers demonstrated on camera and in life was what it meant to Be Like Jesus. The authors share, “if Rogers were here today, I’m confident he would remind us of two things. First, Jesus—not Fred [or Mike] is the hero of the story. Second, the same Holy Spirit that empowered Roger’s extraordinary life now lives in you and me. So, we modern Christians can glorify God [and enjoy Him forever] through our work in much the same way as Rogers did.”

To Be Like Fred was to live an Unhurried Life. “It wasn’t just a sense of belovedness that let Fred to demonstrate otherworldly kindness to others. It was his extraordinary lack of hurry…You and I will glorify God when we model Jesus’s lack of hurry so that we can extend God’s love to those we work with. And Fred Rogers shows us how to do that in a more modern context.”

To Be Like Fred is to understand the Power of Presence. “Not only did Fred not hurry, but also, when someone entered his presence, he offered them the gift of feeling unhurried. There was no checking his watch. No glancing at the mail on his desk. When Fred was with someone, regular time stood still, ‘Fred time’ began, and ‘urgency seemed to dissipate,’ as Fred made the other person feel like the image-bearer of God they were. You can do the same today by silencing distractions and resolving to be fully present with who you’re with.”

In a world that aspires to be the famous athlete, noted for numerous achievements and awards, what if instead more of us chose to Be Like Fred? To be fully present, to be kind, to be inclusive, to help others feel a sense of belonging…are those not some more desirable qualities to achieve than flying through the air to dunk a basketball? Perhaps it would be more fun to “Be Like Mike,” but if I choose to follow Jesus, then maybe it might be more meaningful to Be Like Fred. What do you think?

References:

Gatorade. (2024, October 16). 1998 Michael Jordan Gatorade Be Like Mike Commercial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgANwv1mAJ4&t=5s

Raynor, J. & Cox, K. (2025). Five mere Christians. Harvest House Publishers. (borrowed from BeLinda Creech) (December 2025)