Why can’t the best athletes ever figure out the right time to sail off into the sunset?
Remember when Michael Jordan came back for the Wizards in the early 2000s?
Or when Brett Favre retired about six different times over the course of his last three seasons? Sure, Jordan probably had way more game than any 40-year-old on earth when he joined the Wizards, and sure, Favre could actually still kind of sling it, but wouldn’t it just have been a little bit better if they had just stayed retired?
In 2015, we are witnessing another pair of legends that are hanging around a bit too long.
Peyton Manning, arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, will be the league leader in interceptions heading into week seven of the NFL season.
He will also most likely be in the bottom five in QB rating (although who really knows what that is or how to calculate it) kicking back with the likes of Ryan Mallett, Ryan Tannehill, Nick Foles and Jameis Winston. His noodle arm can only get the ball to travel about six yards per attempt this year, and what once was line of scrimmage brilliance followed by pinpoint execution now looks like a nearly middle-aged man dancing poorly behind his offensive line and throwing a one hopper to an open, and discouraged, receiver.
Yes, I know the Denver Broncos' record is 6-0. But do not get their winning confused: The Broncos are winning in spite of Manning, not because of him.
With the NBA starting in just over a week comes another aging legend that will be breaking our hearts in front of our own eyes.
Last season, Kobe Bryant averaged 22 points per game, but he also averaged 20 shots per game and shot 37 percent from the field.
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He had close to six assists per game, but he also averaged 3.7 turnovers. Now, hopefully, these numbers will look better with the improvement of the Lakers supporting cast. But, even if Kobe averages 15-20 points, and makes the right passes to his teammates, the Lakers could still be at the bottom of the Western Conference. Is this how we want to remember the "Black Mamba?" This guy scored 81 points in a game. This dude averaged 35 a game in a season. He has five rings.
Today, thanks to injury and father time, Manning and Bryant are shells of their once sensational selves. The media and fans love them both for their unequaled work ethics, their attention to detail and their untamable desire to win. The sad part, though, is another common characteristic between the two is that they are now hurting their teams more than helping them.
Kobe signed a deal in 2013 to make him one of the highest paid player in the league a year after suffering an injury that almost nobody has ever come back the same from at age 35. Now, in 2015, the Lakers are in rebuild mode, and an overpaid, aging superstar that will play about 50-60 games in a perfect world does not exactly fit that scenario.
Kobe and Peyton are both beloved, and they are both legends of their respective games. But, they have also both hung around a little too long, it may be time to say goodbye.
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