My mom claims that I pointed to a Pittsburgh Steelers coat in a store when I was a little boy and told her that I wanted it. I don't remember that incident, but I do remember rooting for them in Super Bowl IX in January of 1975. I was nine years old at the time and all through my childhood I rooted for many of the same players: Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier, Lynn Swann, Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Andy Russell, Mike Wagner, John Stallworth and many others.
As they got older and began to retire one by one, I was really bummed out. In a way, it marked the end of one season of my life and began a new one. The same can be said for all of the tennis players I followed, and Kansas City Royals players I grew up watching and listening to on the radio. As one wave of players retired, new ones always took their place and eventually I accepted them and rooted for them too. That's the way it is supposed to be, but every time it happens, I feel older.
This coming weekend, my beloved Steelers play the Seahawks in Super Bow XL. Jerome Bettis, the great running back for the Steelers will probably play his last game this weekend and once again, it'll feel like the changing of the guard is in full swing. Especially as I look around at other athletes, like Andre Agassi, I've been following for years who are nearing retirement. It's probably a little odd to mark the passage of time this way, but not seeing somebody on the field or court that I'm used to seeing there makes it more real somehow.
Oddly, I don't follow sports nearly as much as I used to. I follow my favorite teams and athletes, but I don't have time to sit and watch other teams or athletes merely for entertainment. So, I've reached a good compromise. Maybe that's one of the benefits of getting older—you learn to compromise and you learn to appreciate what you have because you know that tomorrow, it might very well be gone.
