The Laurels that haunt us

Contrary to what I think is popular belief, most people love past glory. One contemporary maxim goes, “The older I get, the better I was” and it evokes courtesy laughter from most audiences when stated. Letting go of past success is the topic today and all topics are neutral until you start running your mouth about it right? So here we go.

Brett Favre played 16 seasons in Green Bay posting Hall of Fame numbers and cementing his legacy in the lore of the National Football League. Now he’s in his 18th season and plays for long-time rival turned gainful employer, the Minnesota Vikings. Favre has been at the vertex of sports talk with his flirtatious gestures toward retirement. He’s retired twice, I think, to be exact but at 39 years old, number #4 is still slinging that thing from under center.

Marvin Harrison is of similar interest for today’s post as he searches for a team following his release from the Indianapolis Colts. At 37 years old and with past injuries slowing him down, Harrison is currently not being pursued by any NFL teams. He’s the second leading receiver in the NFL all-time and set a record for catches in a single season in 2002. He’s made untold amounts of money as has Favre but neither that nor their ages is why I care.

You could insert seasoned veteran from any sport and arouse my concern on this issue. Why does John Smoltz (pitcher-St. Louis Cardinals) still pitch at 42 or Kurt Thomas (NBA-Spurs) play at 37 in a high impact sport like basketball? It’s the laurels that haunt us and the glorious past that afflicts our future.

Sports, TV, Music…they all have pretense to them as a matter of fact. I’d likely struggle with the some identity issues if I were in the spotlight. How does one stop doing what they’ve always done if what they’ve done is how they’ve always defined “Who they are”? Nobody wants to retire anymore. No one wants to promote to the next phase of life because of fear that an identity will be lost. But the truth is that when you divest yourself by passionately using your divine gifts, the work done is not only indisputable; it is etched in history. The apparitions of your heyday can stifle everything that lies ahead if you let it. Somebody tell Brett Favre he’s not old and that he’s more than a football player.