Guys, We're Losing Our Sports Heroes

This week, we saw Kobe Bryant and LeBron James face-off for Kobe’s last trip to Cleveland. In the next-to-last battle between generational titans, the score didn’t matter. For the 44^th time this season, the Lakers took the loss, but were more focused on the upcoming loss of the kid from Philly.

As we hit the NBA’s All-Star break, we are more than halfway into the Black Mamba’s final ride. We won’t see Kobe retire with a new ring, as if he needed any more; and on April 13, 2016, after a game against the Utah Jazz, I will watch the man who has been playing professional basketball my entire life move into the next phase of his.

Our generation’s hero loss started in 2013, with Ray Lewis riding off into the sunset with a second Super Bowl trophy and a thank you to the nation. The man who was the most feared player in football had been a stalwart on the Ravens’ defense since he was drafted seven months prior to my birth.

After Ray was gone, the dominoes began to fall. One year and nine days later, Derek Jeter announced through his official Facebook page that the 2014 MLB season would be his last. First we lost Ray Ray, and now we’re wishing the Captain farewell; who could be next?

As it turns out, the Mamba himself. On November 29, 2015, Kobe released his poem, “Dear Basketball.” It detailed his love of the game and announced his retirement in one fell swoop.

Some had dreaded this day for years, but others had wanted it to happen for a while. A big fear that sports fans have is watching their heroes no longer be heroes. Like Harvey Dent said, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

Nobody wants to see a star fade; it’s been painful to watch Tiger Woods’ mediocrity of the past few years. It was the same with Ray Lewis, who dealt with injuries and the ever-present influence of time. Derek Jeter wasn’t the same kid who flipped the ball to his catcher to get Giambi out. Like them, Kobe isn’t the same man who dropped 81 points in Toronto in 2006. In reality, Kobe Bryant should have retired a while ago, and we’ve all had to watch his decline and injuries.

As I write this article, I can only hope Peyton Manning looks at Ray Lewis’s goodbye and says, “Yeah, I’m okay with retiring on top.” I love Peyton Manning,;for as long as I can remember, he’s been football to me. It’s the same way for a lot of people my age, and we’ve had to watch the old sheriff get pummeled by defenders hoping that the next sack isn’t the straw that breaks his back. I’m reluctant to give up my heroes, but I do want to give them up in one piece; I want to see them retire as heroes.

Everyone goes through this point in their lives. As we get older and closer to the “real world,” we begin to see our sports idols’ careers drop like flies. Let’s be honest, it hurts; but like many other things that hurt, it’s a part of life that we deal with. The familiar faces of our youths give way to the bright, shining faces of the future.

Down the road, my son will mention guys like J.J. Watt, Neymar, and Bryce Harper the same way I looked at Kobe, Derek Jeter, and Peyton Manning. Stars who were so ingrained in our consciences and lives that seeing them retire was like losing a member of the family. It’s a sad moment when they’re gone, but the best thing is to remember them fondly, and celebrate the marks they left on our lives.

And besides, like half of them end up in broadcasting, so it’s not like they ever truly leave.