by Peter L. Bosch

Created on: July 27, 2009

In the current sports world, fans and media have an opinion about everything, including how one should live their life. There is the perceived notion that an athlete can stay too long. The idea that one player might hold on to glory for too long is in fact a myth. While a player can have a memorable finish such as Ted Williams did when he hit a home run in his final at-bat of his career, seldom do we a hold bad finish against a truly worthy athlete.

Michael Jordan's clutch game-winning jumper at the end of Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals had become a signature for going out on top. That was until he came back in 2001. Does anyone remember Jordan's true last shot in the NBA now? It does not matter. Neither does it matter that in his first comeback game against the Knicks, he missed what would have been a game-tying three pointer. He also missed 14 out of his 21 shots. It also doesn't matter that he missed a lot of big shots in his comeback, including some big ones in the 2003 All-Star Game. Michael Jordan is the best, and that is all anyone needs to know. Even if CEO John Rogers did beat him in a one-on-one matchup (you can check YouTube).

So why is there all this fuss about Brett Favre possibly going to the Vikings? It takes guts to keep playing when everyone tells you to stop. These are athletes used to cheers their whole lives that are now becoming spectacles. Yet they still do it. It is because of the "itch" as Jordan called it. Why stop playing while you still got some gas in the tank? When we talk about Maddux's 355 wins, do we put an asterisk next to them because 40 of them came after he had clearly lost his prime?

We don't really remember the ending unless it was good, anyway. If Clemens retired in 2003, then he would have left a CY Young award, a World Series appearance and 44 wins on the table. The only thing spoiling Clemens' comeback is not the thud he made in his return to New York but the drug allegations against him.

Sometimes staying too long can make new bonds. Not much came out of Patrick Ewing playing beyond the Knicks except that he got to play a year for the Orlando Magic where he formed an identity with the team. He was welcomed back as a coach in 2007 and he went on to make the Finals for the third time in his career, this time on the coaching sidelines. He even made news by accurately guaranteeing a Game 7 win against the Boston Celtics in the 2009 Eastern Conference semifinals. With the Knicks showing no interest in Ewing, he would

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>