“Father Time is Undefeated”

This is a line I once heard Charles Barkley utter during one of the NBA playoff basketball games. He was referring to the difficulty NBA players have performing at a high level as they age; and it is a truism that sports fans come to understand as they watch the performance of their sports heroes slowly degrade as they age.

When I was a young, like a lot of boys I wanted to grow up to be a professional athlete. I would look for every opportunity to play baseball, basketball, and football with my friends and on my school teams – and I would spend hours watching the Red Sox, Celtics, and NFL football games on the television. As I got older I realized that very few people have the skills to make it to the big leagues, but I never lost my love for playing sports and I continued to compete and have fun playing on various company and city baseball, basketball, and volleyball leagues until my late 30’s.

I remember the moment when I realized that it was time for me to give up playing team sports. I was in an evening  basketball league and we played against a team that was made up of  kids in their early 20’s and just out of high school. They ran my ass all over the court and were making moves that left me two steps behind the play. I was so winded that every third time up the court I had to stay back and rest just to catch my breath. I thought back to those days when I could run all day without getting tired and understood that my days of playing competitive team sports were coming to an end.

That was hard for me to admit and it made me thankful that I never realized my boyhood dream of becoming a professional athlete. Someone once said that there is nothing sadder than an aging athlete. Most professional athletes are worshiped, honored, and given special treatment for their athletic talent – from the time they are young kids until their middle age. Their sense of self-worth and their economic prosperity are tied up in their ability to perform at a high level. Unlike the rest of us with traditional jobs, athletes reach the pinnacle of their careers and economic prosperity when they are young and immature. They often do not take into account that most athlete’s careers are short and that the end – when it comes, will come quickly. It must be a terrifying moment of truth for these athletes when they can no longer perform, the spotlight fades, they are no longer put on a pedestal and they can no longer support the lifestyle to which they are accustomed.

The plight of retired professional athletes was explored in an episode of the ESPN documentary series “30 on 30” called “Broke“. The episode highlighted a number of retired athletes who made millions of dollars during their careers but who were now broke because of profligate spending, bad investments, child support obligations for multiple mothers, gifts given to support their “posse” and overall lack of financial planning. What compounds their problems is that many of the retired athletes do not have the education or skills to transition to a normal lifestyle and job that will pay a comfortable living wage.

Statistics presented during ESPN “Broke” documentary

What I take away from all this is: 1) Sometimes it is good when your dreams don’t come true (as Bob Dylan once said “Dreams never worked out for me anyway, even when they did come true“; 2) Time catches up to all of us – as the Bible says “Make hay while the sun shines” – we need to make the most of our talents and abilities today because they may not be there tomorrow; 3) Adapt to the changes in life – at the same time I made the decision to stop playing team sports, I made the decision to take up solo activities like running, bicycling, and hiking that allowed me to still exercise but at my own pace; 4) Prepare for what comes after – being prepared for the expected and unexpected  changes that come with life is a sort of freedom, it provides peace of mind to know that no matter what life throws your way you will be prepared to handle it.