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Greatness or the Graveyard?....© Shane Andy Youngblood
Jan 20, 2000
I can't say that I blame the finest athletes of our time for wanting to play as long as they possibly can, despite a marked erosion of skill. Athletes who go out at the top of their game do tend to leave a lasting impression with us (John Elway being carried on his teammates shoulders hoisting the Super Bowl Trophy....Michael Jordan's game winner against Utah.....etc..). At the same time, I have a lingering image of those athletes who perhaps stayed a season or two longer than they should have (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ozzie Smith to name a couple...).
Besides the obvious financial rewards, most professional athletes hold a genuine love for the game. You think Michael Jordan returned to the Bulls after a stint with the Birmingham Barons because he needed the money, then you are in serious need of a complete physical examination, complete with the green, glow-in-the-dark Kool-Aid they give you for X-Rays.
I am not among the many media types who demands that this person or that person MUST retire. A Hall-of-Famer like Dan Marino has earned the right to do whatever he damn well pleases, and if he thinks he can still help out a team in whatever capacity possible, then he should do so. Not because you or I tell him it is okay, but because some team's talent evaluators can see that Marino still has some quality minutes in him. Marino will walk away from the game because either he is tired of the grind and wants to walk away, satisfied with an amazing career, or because no one wants him. It is simple as that. And if Dan wants to finish out his career as a back-up, as troubling as that image may appear, then he has certainly earned the right to do so.
Some decisions to stay in the game another year defy common sense and medical reasoning. I don't know the full extent of Steve Young's concussion problems, but I can tell you this much: If it was me, then I would ride out into the sunset, Super Bowl ring, good looks, law degree, and fat bank account intact.
However, I am not Young and I don't know the circumstances behind his condition, so if he thinks he can squeeze another Super Bowl run out of the aging 49ers, then more power to him. Michael Irvin almost certainly looks done with his neck/spine injury and he should be satisfied with a career that includes three Super Bowl rings. Emmett Smith is another name that I hear being thrown around as a player who is "done", but that is ridiculous based on what I saw of him this season. While not the player he was in the mid-90s, Smith still has the legs to rush for 1,000 yards and the durability to eat up carries. If I were Dallas, I would plan on squeezing a couple of more seasons out of Smith, but draft a running back now so that youngster can get one of the greatest backs to ever play the game as a mentor for at least a few seasons.
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