LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. – It’s hard not to be jaded.

Professional athletes disappoint us all the time. We hold them up to unrealistic expectations and when they fail as role models, we shrug that we’re not surprised.

It’s hard not to be spoiled.

For a city that often wears its sports frailties as a badge of honor, we have a Stanley Cup, a World Series championship, a Super Bowl trophy and six NBA titles over the last 25 years.

Likewise, it was probably hard for some Chicago Bulls fans to give more than a passing glance to Tuesday’s announcement that Derrick Rose had been named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. Not only was it the worst-kept secret in town, but the Bulls are coming off an ugly Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the conference semifinals and Rose’s sore left ankle would seem to be of more pressing concern.

And maybe it is.

But on Tuesday, it took “a little kid from Englewood” to remind us how lucky we are.

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