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Youth and gold medals are wasted on the young
© by Mike Keenan 
The Beijing 2008 Olympics are finally exhausted. The most publicized athlete was USA's swimming sensation, Michael Phelps. He won eight gold medals to augment his previous six plus two bronze acquired in Athens. So what? Put his picture on a box of Wheaties; let him open up a jewelry store. And what's with the Chinese? I know that Asians are stereotypically regarded as "little people" stemming from centuries of courteous behaviour, ritualistically bowing whenever they encounter anyone, and there are millions to encounter in those parts. The pixie gymnasts, supposedly 16 years old? Gimme a break! I've seen bigger leprechauns. And Jamaican runner, Usain Bolt, who strolled to a world record 9.69 seconds to capture the men's 100 metres event? My friends run faster when chased by cops.
The 2008 Olympic Games, historically guaranteeing a time of world peace, (another illusion) was a major disappointment for my age group, except for one shining star, Canadian Ian Millar, born January 6, 1947. Yes, 1947! Millar won a silver medal (to match his hair) as a show jumping medalist. Do the math. The guy is 61! How many that age can mount a horse let alone jump over a bunch of silly obstacles? Okay, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry maybe. But, bless his heart, Millar made an otherwise boring Olympics truly dramatic with his inspiring victory. Somebody once said that youth and gold medals were wasted on the young. Probably Winston Churchill; he had lots to say. It's true. Let's see Mr. Phelps in the pool when he is 61. Rather, it's Ian Millar to be admired. His picture should adorn the All Bran box. The average age of Olympic champions throughout the world is 23-25 depending on the continent. Think back, if you can, when you were that age. Do you remember the delusion that you were invincible? Precisely. Anyone between the ages of 16-31 can accomplish pretty much what they want to, but let the ravages of age taint their aura of invincibility and see what happens. If you want to celebrate Olympic-size athletic achievement, toast people such as T. E. Smith, George "The Fossil" Blanda, Archie Moore, "The Old Mongoose," and Leroy "Satchel" Page. Except for T.E. Smith, you must admit that they all enjoyed great nicknames. Blanda, born in 1927, was a tremendous quarterback and place kicker for 26 seasons of professional football, most in the sport's history; he scored more points than anyone at the time of his retirement. Could Michael Phelps play in the bruising NFL at age 50? Nowadays, players are lucky to last ten seasons. Archie Moore, born in 1913 was light heavyweight world boxing champion between 1952 and 1959, again in 1961; he had one of the longest professional careers in the history of his sport. How would you like to get in the ring and take a punch at 50? It gets better. Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige born in 1906 was an American baseball player who first pitched in several different Negro Leagues thanks to racial prejudice and then in MLB from the mid-1920s until 1965. Try throwing a fastball when you are 59; forget about the curve. It will damage your wrist. Paige appeared in the All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953. T. E. Smith? An ardent duffer, Smith claims the most exceptional record of all. He first shot his age on June 19, 1984, when he fired a four-under-par 68 at the Moorhead Country Club in Minnesota. At age 90, Smith did it again. In between, he accomplished the feat 2,722 times-more than any other golfer in history! Think about that Mr. Phelps and all of you great young medal winners from Togo and Tunisia and Trinidad & Tobago. Compared to Canada's Ian Millar and his peers, you are a mere asterisk in the compendium of sport history. |
