Any Top Athlete Go Out On Top?

Joe Louis was 75 years old when they fought.

Annika Sorenstam.

Elway

Zyzz

Michael Jordan’s second retirement is the epitome of “going out on top” in my opinion. Kobe Bryant has a chance to do the same thing if he continues to play the way he has been playing recently in a few years and wins a championship.

I think the athletes who do “go out on top” balance an equilibrium between transitioning their type of play to accommodate their age (to continue high level performance) and a recognition between how much that adaptation counteracts with the natural decline from wear and tear (age, injuries). Kobe Bryant for example has transitioned his game to become more finesse and perimeter oriented, as compared to his earlier days when he was high-flying and dunking on people. LeBron James is approaching the age where he has to start considering changing his game if he wants to continue to be a dominant force in the league.

Moreover, high performance athletes that “go out on top” are probably mindful of the future long-term effects of injuries on their well-being, which they are more prone to as they age. Such a theory would explain why there are more examples of these types of athletes in football where injuries can be serious and have longer term effects. I’m referring to concussions, severe muscle tears and bone damage. Other “big” professional sports where injuries are on the mind of ageing athletes are boxing and MMA.

[quote]DBCooper wrote:
How about Bill Russell? The Celtics beat the Lakers in the Finals, he was a huge part of the championship (10 pts and 20 rebounds per game) and he simply walked away after they won.

Steffi Graf retired when she was still #3 in the world and had just made (and lost) the Wimbledon Finals a couple months prior to her retirement.

Bjorn Borg was pretty much still the shit when he retired. I think he lost to McEnroe in the U.S. Open Finals in 1981 at the end of the ATP season and then walked away as well. I’m pretty sure he was still #1 in the world at that point, or at least he was going into the Open that year.

And for those of you who I’m sure are thinking “tennis isn’t a fucking sport!” ask yourself this: is there really a better example of a pure one-on-one matchup in sports? I mean, the coaches can’t have any contact w/ the players or anything like that during the game, so it’s completely up to the player to execute and/or adjust the strategy entirely on his own throughout the match. And some of these matches can be real grinds where the player’s athletic AND mental prowess are put to the test.

Shit, what about Sandy Koufax? He didn’t win the Series his last year in 1966, but he finished that season with an ERA of about 1.73 and 27 wins and he DID make it to the World Series. That’s gotta be the best season ever for a pitcher in his last go-around.

And how about Teddy BallGame? Williams hit .316 with 29 bombs in 1960 and he hit a homerun in Fenway Park during his last at-bat, in which he also chose the moment to flip off the Boston sportswriters as he rounded the bases, a last little fuck-you to the media who had been so rough on him throughout his Boston career.[/quote]

I agree. People who say tennis isn’t a sport but consider golf or baseball sports are idiots.

Tennis players are some of the best athletes on the planet. How many guys in the world can maintain good hand-eye coordination, endurance, strength, flexibility and lightening quick lateral movement for 4-5 hours.

Watch the Djokovic-Nadal 2012 Australian Open Final to see a brutal slugfest.

[quote]flipcollar wrote:
Here’s a good one: Magic Johnson[/quote]

This is a great one. When he announced, it was assumed he would be dying soon but all I could think was “come on Magic, just give us one more season”. Just watching that guy dribble was awesome.

[quote]behexen wrote:
It depends how you view it. I would say that Marvin Hagler, Joe Calzaghe, Lennox Lewis, Kurt Warner, and Eric Dickerson all could have stuck around and played/fought at an elite or top tier level. [/quote]

Along those lines, Howie Long had plenty left in the tank when he retired.

[quote]cubuff2028 wrote:
Elway [/quote]

Elway went out on top as superbowl champion but he had nothing left. He was like a stock car blowing a head gasket and having wheels fly off in every direction as it crossed the finish line.

[quote]on edge wrote:

[quote]cubuff2028 wrote:
Elway [/quote]

Elway went out on top as superbowl champion but he had nothing left. He was like a stock car blowing a head gasket and having wheels fly off in every direction as it crossed the finish line.[/quote]

exactly. he left it all on the field, victorious. I see your point though. He was on top, but he would have been very unlikely to maintain his position on top the following season.

[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
I agree. People who say tennis isn’t a sport but consider golf or baseball sports are idiots. [/quote]

Pretty positive that no one – anywhere, at any time – has ever argued against tennis as sport.

Kobe plans to only play in the NBA during his prime.

It’s a we’ll see at this point

[quote]chillain wrote:

[quote]Gettnitdone wrote:
I agree. People who say tennis isn’t a sport but consider golf or baseball sports are idiots. [/quote]

Pretty positive that no one – anywhere, at any time – has ever argued against tennis as sport.

[/quote]

That’s what I thought until DB said some people may not consider it a sport (the text I quoted in that post).

[quote]chillain wrote:

Pretty positive that no one – anywhere, at any time – has ever argued against tennis as sport.

[/quote]

There are really only three sports: baseball, basketball, and football. Everything else is either a game or an activity.

Then you have tennis. Tennis is very trendy and very fruity, but it’s not a sport. It’s just a way to meet other trendy fruits. Technically, tennis is an advanced form a Ping-Pong. In fact, tennis is Ping-Pong played while standing on the table. Great concept, not a sport.

–George Carlin

The rest of his rundown on sports can be read here: Read about George Carlin's views on sports

[quote]therajraj wrote:
Kobe plans to only play in the NBA during his prime.

It’s a we’ll see at this point[/quote]

x2

We’ll see if he really does retire when he starts to drop off.

[quote]postholedigger wrote:
Technically, tennis is an advanced form a Ping-Pong. In fact, tennis is Ping-Pong played while standing on the table. Great concept, not a sport. [/quote]

Enjoyed that, thanks for the link.

As far as sports-determining, I’ve always been partial to the “play it and see for yourself” criterion. Note how it amply provides the contrast between stuff like bowling/darts and tennis/carrying-your-own-bag-for-27-holes etc