Good Old Days

By Pierre Narcisse

It’s a great time to be old in America. The San Antonio Spurs are the oldest team in the NBA and was overlooked for most of the season. They managed to avoid their nemesis, and heavy favorite Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks were shocked in the first round by the Golden State Warriors. The ancient Spurs were able to outlast a dynamic Denver Nuggets team led by superstars Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson in the first round of the playoffs. Then the Spurs really showed their poise and leadership against the Phoenix Suns in the second round. This series turned when Robert Horry of the Spurs collided with Steve Nash of the Suns. No one got up from the Spurs’ bench area and got suspended. The same could not be said for the Phoenix Suns. They lost Boris Diaw as well as their best big man Amare Stoudemire. As a result the Spurs went on to win the series and faced the upstart Utah Jazz, whom the Spurs would easily dismantle. They are now on the cusp of winning their fourth championship in nine seasons.

Old is also the way to go in baseball. Roger Clemens is being paid a record pro-rated salary of 28M this year to be the Yankees’ savior. He did not have to go to spring training. He missed two months of the regular season. Clemens does not have to go on road trips when he’s not pitching and can also go home to Houston when he wants to. Basically, Clemens is calling the shots at age 45. This is an age where most pitchers are long retired, but for Clemens it’s a record contract and a sweetheart deal.

It’s also a special year for Barry Bonds. He is on pace to be the all time homerun king this year. Bonds is a sullen, defiant 42 years old. Barry Bonds foray into baseball immortality is shrouded with the whole steroids mess. A once in a lifetime achievement is now a running joke. In fact, the very classy Henry Aaron who will soon be the ex homerun champ will not be there to “pass the torch” for when Bonds breaks his record. The homerun chase is now secondary. There’s an obsession for signs of cheating. The press, commentators and fans compare his physique from fifteen years ago to now. They look to see if his head is bigger than normal. Some even speculate about his testicles being smaller as a result of steroids. Some in the media will try to dig out this information, which is definitely crossing the line.

Don Imus makes his millions by crossing the line. I would listen to his show and think that he will someday get in trouble. Imus called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy headed ho’s.” There is a tendency to make stupid remarks when one does not know what they are talking about. Imus does not know anything about sports despite working for an all sports station. I suspect he knows even less about African American women. His commenting on a women’s basketball game was a disaster waiting to happen. Imus tried to show contrition by appearing on the reverend Al Sharpton’s program. How does someone show remorse when one does not understand what they did in the first place? Let’s just say that the appearance on the show did not go smoothly. The thing that surprises me the most is that Imus is 65 years old and rich beyond belief. If anything his shows has become edgier as he grows older. It’s one thing if it’s some punk jock trying to get on the map. How does “nappy headed ho’s” become a part of a 65 year old man’s vocabulary? There were repercussions over the comments. Imus got fired from his simulated telecasts and has cost himself quite a bit of money. He has become the poster boy for racist, stupid, insensitive comments. It’s ok to try to be young and hip but certain things carry consequences whether you are young or old. It just looks more ridiculous when the person is old. The old saying happens to be true, “There is no fool quite like and old fool.”

Joey Crawford is an old fool. He is known for being one of the best referees in the NBA. He got suspended for the playoffs for challenging the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan to a fight after he saw Duncan laughing at him on the bench. Make no mistake, Duncan was clearly laughing at Crawford and showing him up. This is certainly not a classy thing that Duncan did. But challenge to a fight? Whatever happened to looking the other way and being a professional? Joey Crawford is 55 years old and should know better. Crawford obviously thought that the playoffs would be cancelled without him. It was great that basketball commissioner David Stern threw the book at him, and kicked him out of the playoffs. Referees should be held to the same if not higher standard than the players. In fact Crawford still has to meet with Stern to return to his post next year.

The sports world mirrors the issues of society. Everyone wants to be new, young and hold onto the past for as long as they can. Plastic surgery, viagra, cosmetics, performance drugs are just a few things that help older people feel and look younger. However there is a critical role to be played by the older generation. They must help out the younger generation with their wisdom and experience. This is not possible if they are obsessed with being younger. The old and especially the elderly are to be respected and revered by everyone. Old age should be something to look forward to not something to avoid at all costs.