Saturday, September 15, 2012

Yeah, I guess we're getting old(er)


I enjoyed your post about sports heroes that have moved on, Ed, and it coincided with an ice breaker at our church group the other night that involved the question, "Who was your childhood hero?"  

As far as sports is concerned, the one that comes to mind for me is Bobby Hansen.  I was a big Hawkeyes fan as a kid, just like you guys were, and for some unknown reason he was my favorite guy.  I wish I still had that autograph that I got from him after the exhibition game in Oelwein circa 1982.  Can you believe that the Hawks played an exhibition game in Oelwein??  Anyway, Hansen retired from the NBA after winning a ring with the Bulls in 1992.  Brad, if you see him around campus this winter, tell him I said hello.

On the football side of things, I bounced around a lot until I finally settled on the Steelers.  I remember liking the Cowboys when I was little, with Too Tall Jones, Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, and Randy White.  In Junior High it was the Dolphins with Dan Marino and receivers Mark Duper and Mark Clayton.  Who couldn't love the 1985 Bears and the Superbowl Shuffle?  One of my many school age hair disasters was going to Baker's Barber Shop with a picture of Jim McMahon and telling them I wanted my hair to look like his.  Somehow the cutting edge hair fashion pros in there couldn't quite figure it out and I walked out of there looking like what I can best describe as a baby bird.  McMahon retired as a back-up quarterback with the Superbowl champion Green Bay Packers in 1996.  Dan Marino retired in 2000 after the worst AFC loss in playoff history (62-7 to the Jaguars).  Don't get me started on Brett Favre!

In pro basketball, all the guys that I loved to watch from the "golden age" of basketball are gone.  There are too many to name, but I suppose of all the pro sports, basketball is the one that I've followed the most.  I know that I always loved Charles Barkley, especially when he was with the Suns.  The guy averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds per game during his 16-season career, and shot almost 75% from the free throw line (Shaquille O'neal shot 50%).  Barkley retired in 2000.  You can check out his views on the 2012 Presidential election here.

Okay, can't forget tennis…  My absolute favorite stars have in fact moved on.  I loved Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, but my most favorites were Lindsay Davenport and Todd Martin.  They were both really class acts and great tennis players.  Davenport had a lot more success than Martin, who never managed to win a Grand Slam.  He was runner up at an Australian Open to Pete Sampras, and a runner up at the US Open to Andre Agassi.  Sampras retired in 2002, Agassi in 2006, Martin in 2004, and Davenport is still technically a player.  She didn't play at all in 2012 due to the birth of her third child, and she only plays doubles now.  Who knows if she'll be back again. 

What was the title of this post?  Oh yeah, about getting older.  Professional athletes come and go, but if anything makes me feel old, it's when athletes who were born in 1982 (Andy Roddick) retire.  I'm 12 years older than him!  On a side note, Andy Roddick is like the Utah Jazz of tennis.  He was a really really good tennis player, but unfortunately his best days were during the reign of a legendary tennis player named Roger Federer.  If you look at his career stats, he was runner-up to Roger Federer in 3 Wimbledons, a US Open, and 2 Masters Series tournaments (end of tennis year tournament).  

So who are the favorites now?  NBA: Kevin Durant.  NFL: Aaron Rodgers (since Hines Ward is now retired).  MLB: San Diego Chicken.  NHL: Chris Pronger (Captain of the Flyers).  MLS: Ronaldo Consuego Hidalgo Pena Smith.  NASCAR: Tony Stewart.  ATP: James Blake and Andy Murray (yes, bandwagon pick).  WTA: Anyone playing one of the Williams sisters (yes they are awesome but I don't like them).  WBA: who cares.

I'm not old.  42 is the new 22.

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