WP: Answers To an Age-Old Question

[bubba9497]

Answers To an Age-Old Question

By Thomas Boswell

Saturday, January 17, 2004; Page D01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23612-2004Jan16.html

You're only as old as you feel, it's said. But in sports it would be far more honest to say that you are only as old as you are perceived to be. Fashions change. If the definition of what is "too old" changes, then you change, too.

For the moment, a reprieve has swept the whole spectrum of pro sports. Age is the rage. Bald is beautiful, or at least bearable. "Old School" is a movie and an attitude, too. And "retirement" is suddenly a four-letter word.

Every few days somebody fabulous or fascinating, someone we thought was off the radar screen forever, comes back into view. So far this week, 41-year-old Roger Clemens, the only man to win the Cy Young Award six times, and 66-year-old Lenny Wilkens, who has more wins than any NBA coach in history, have both returned.

Last week, of course, Joe Gibbs returned, bringing with him a cast of colorful old coaches. "I'm 36 going on 22," said Joe Bugel, the man who coached and nicknamed The Hogs in the '80s. On Tuesday, Gibbs scored a coup by hiring a 68-year-old who had a stroke a year ago. How often do those two ideas fit in the same sentence? "He didn't have to twist my arm," said legendary offensive guru Ernie Zampese. "It's great to be back."

Just days before the Gibbs blockbuster, Pete Rose, 62, begged to be allowed back into baseball and told the world how much he'd still like to manage the Cincinnati Reds. Many shuddered, but nobody laughed at the notion that Rose might be too old for the job. After all, the leader of this reverse revolution is Jack McKeon, the 73-year-old manager of the world champion Florida Marlins. Suddenly, Sparky Anderson, 69, looks spry and Davey Johnson, 60, might be worth another whirl. As for Tom Kelly, who is retired and all but forgotten despite winning two World Series with the Twins, it's now a virtual certainty he'll get job offers. Kelly is, gulp, only 53.

So, who's next? Is there any doubt that each of these "un-retirements" makes the next one more probable, more palatable, less peculiar? Our games are a youth culture that, even more than the business world, often push retirement on the able bodied and, in some cases, even on the best. For example, the Yankees have been nudging Joe Torre toward the door. Will they notice that, at 63, he is the same age as Gibbs? Maybe they should be giving him a five-year contract instead. As with any hot trend, if "everybody" is doing it, then it must be permissible, even preferable -- both to do the hire and to make the comeback without seeming desperate.

How long can Jimmy Johnson hold out? The man is only 60 and his hair can do pushups. Compared with 67-year-old Dick Vermeil, whose Chiefs were in the playoffs, he's just a pup. In fact, the old Cowboys coach makes the new Cowboys coach, Bill Parcells, 62, look creaky by comparison. Jimmy, come back! The "L" in NFL now stands for "legends."

When will Michael Jordan get the itch to play again? Lord, he must have it already. Nobody will sell him an NBA team or let him run one. How much bad golf can one man play? Air is only 40 and averaged 20 points a game last season for the Wizards. He never missed a game, played more than 3,000 minutes. His old coach Phil Jackson has a starter on the Lakers -- Karl Malone -- who is exactly Jordan's age.

When Air sees that The Rocket is back, how can he keep his hand from creeping toward the phone? "This is M.J. You guys need a shooting guard for a title run?" Okay, granted, Jordan usually only comes out of retirement in odd-numbered years ('93, '95 and '01). But this is a special occasion. Make an exception.

The Redskins need a tailback . What's Barry Sanders's phone number and do the Lions still own his rights? He's only 35 and the mileage on his odometer is low. Impossible since he just became a Hall of Fame finalist this week? Never say never. How many thought Gibbs would ever sleep at Redskins Park again? Remember the old tailback, lured out of retirement by Gibbs, who once said, "I'm bored, I'm broke and I'm back."

As John Riggins discovered, retirement is often a special hell for super achievers. As they're suffering for success, it seems like an oasis in a dessert of demands and sacrifices. But, for many, when they get there, the cool refreshing water is an illusion. They long for the old rat race. And especially the company of their fellow rodents.

The instant Gibbs called Bugel, the Boss Hog nearly jumped through the phone to sign on as an assistant, even though he'd been an NFL head coach and never needed to work another day.

"We're goin' home," Bugel says he boomed to his wife.

"Isn't this great!" she beamed without a second thought.

Never deny the power and the value of work, in and for itself. Gibbs always grasped that. During contract talks, he would call in players and ask them the simplest question, "Why do we play?"

"Your agent would tell you not to go in there because it might cost you money. But I always did," said ex-Redskins wide receiver Gary Clark. "Joe would talk about the team. He'd say, 'The money is a gift to you. You are a competitor. That's what matters to you.' "

The famous coaches and athletes who are returning these days are not doing it primarily for money. Perhaps they sense something that Yeats wrote: "All things fall and are built again, And those that build them again are gay."

Certainly we have a lot of gleeful old faces in sports at the moment. "We want to get the spirit and camaraderie of the Redskin back," said Bugel, who's typical of the returning old breed. "There are too many damn personal trainers in this league. Come to 'our house' at Redskin Park and work out. If Joe sees you're there, he'll come out and spend 10 or 15 minutes teaching you a new technique, a way to improve something. He's a hands-on teacher."

Just the thought of that teaching, that hands-on hard work, that wonderful thing called Not Retired Any More, lights Bugel up. " I can't wait to get back," he says. "Gotta kick 'em and cuss 'em and hug 'em."

[BCS:BraveCaringSoul]

Yeats wrote: "All things fall and are built again, And those that build them again are gay."

I won't say it. I'll think it, but I won't say it.

[panthro]

Originally posted by bubba9497

Answers To an Age-Old Question

"There are too many damn personal trainers in this league. Come to 'our house' at Redskin Park and work out. If Joe sees you're there, he'll come out and spend 10 or 15 minutes teaching you a new technique, a way to improve something. He's a hands-on teacher."

Culture shock! Wonder how many guys in the NFL are willing to buy into this. Those who do will win - those who don't will see burgandy adn gold running over them. :hump:

[Skeletor The Invincible]

"Gotta kick 'em and cuss 'em and hug 'em."

And that's just about all that needs to be said.

Yes, the Yeats quote is gold.

Too easy, BCS.