After her final occasion within the Olympics, Simone Biles was requested if she would compete within the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Her response: “By no means say by no means. However I get actually previous”. She is 27 years previous.
I began writing for Pounding the Rock virtually ten years in the past in October of 2014. My first put up was about after I coached towards Gregg Popovich. That occurred after I was an assistant coach at Claremont McKenna School, and Pop was the pinnacle coach of our rival college, Pomona Pitzer. Each colleges had been and are glorious Division III packages simply east of Los Angeles.
I’ll get again to Pop later on this put up, however for now I’ll inform you that I used to be in my 50s after I wrote that first put up in 2014. Should you do the maths, you’ll be able to determine what decade I’m in now, ten years later. Perhaps that and different stuff is why I’ve been considering extra about growing older.
Different “stuff” that has occurred this summer season included my pretty bride Linda and I attending a Bruce Springsteen present on the Fabulous Discussion board, house of many Laker wins and championship. Bruce and the E Road Band placed on an lively and joyful present for all of us in attendance, a lot in order that Linda — not an enormous Bruce fan like I’m — mentioned it was among the finest reveals she had even attended. For functions of this put up, the essential quantity is 74. Springsteen is 74 years previous and placed on a stunningly nice three-hour rock and roll present. My buddy Mighty Max Weinberg, drummer extraordinaire, and a yr youthful than Bruce, performed his magical drums for your entire three hours — drummers are the one musician within the band who by no means get a break.
Typically, a little bit of age — and pleasure — is healthier. As demonstrated by the “Outdated” Simone Biles, who completely radiated pleasure all through, and the Springsteen live performance, age doesn’t defeat pleasure.
As a result of this can be a basketball put up, I additionally want to speak concerning the two basketball gold-medal video games. Each had been joyous affairs, even for the dropping groups.
The lads’s gold medal sport went first, and the 2 greatest gamers on the gold medal successful USA squad had been two of their oldest gamers, in each the semi-finals and the finals. Age doesn’t defeat pleasure, and LeBron James and Steph Curry had been each magnificent and joyous in what is going to absolutely be their final Olympics. LeBron’s quote earlier than the gold medal sport suits completely right here:
“I imply, I’m 39 years previous, going into my twenty second season. I don’t know what number of alternatives or moments I’m going to get like this, to have the ability to compete for one thing huge and play in huge video games.”
Steph’s taking pictures efficiency in each of the medal video games, and specifically his final 4 three-pointers within the gold medal sport, fully justified his sheer joyous celebration, particularly the shot clock buzzer beater with a minute left that had no likelihood to go in — however did anyway.
The dropping French workforce, who destroyed the 17.5 level unfold for the sport, competed evenly with the vastly extra gifted USA workforce. The French workforce had a reliable shot to truly defeat the 2024 model of the Dream Staff — USA generally had 4 former MVP’s on the ground collectively. In fact, the French had Victor Wembanyama (20 years previous) going toe-to-toe along with his elders. Sure, that helped, and introduced a lot pleasure to French followers and Spurs followers everywhere in the world. And even in defeat, Victor and his teammates had one of many highlights of the Video games. In the course of the medal ceremony, all of them sang their nationwide anthem (many with tears of their eyes) together with the house crowd. That too was a joyous and unforgettable second. We’ve a saying in my poker sport: “They don’t play your anthem for the silver”. In Paris, they did.
The USA girls had been additionally anticipated to blow out their French counterparts. The Vegas line was 16 factors. Absent some nice free-throw taking pictures by USA down the stretch (each made free throw didn’t contact the rim), France may need damaged the USA girls’s 59 sport Olympic successful streak.
I actually loved USA level guard Kelsey Plum, who made 4 consecutive clutch free throws down the stretch. She additionally did one thing that I haven’t seen — earlier than every free throw, she flashed a joyous smile. She was genuinely joyful to be taking pictures these free throws in a gold medal sport. I additionally consider she smiled as a result of she completely knew she would make every one, and that every would assist her workforce win gold. She did, and her workforce did. Very cool. (She has made 86% of her free throws this yr within the WNBA.)
After I first considered penning this put up, I envisioned a a lot darker piece about individuals in all walks of life getting older however refusing to maneuver on, refusing to acknowledge that their time had handed. That was really the topic of a wonderful Invoice Simmons podcast with the great Derek Thompson, a author for The Atlantic and host of his personal podcast known as “Plain English” (extremely really useful).
That subject made me query whether or not my former colleague Gregg Popovich is holding on too lengthy — is he too previous to be teaching an 82-game NBA season? I’m not asking that query. Just like the “previous” Simone Biles, the LeBron James and Steph Curry exuding pleasure on the 2024 Olympics, Pop nonetheless has it. Like me persevering with to play full-court hoops twice every week with a lot youthful gamers, teaching nonetheless offers Pop pleasure. Certainly, he smiles rather more now than he did when he was youthful. And he is just one yr older than Bruce Springsteen, who clearly additionally nonetheless has his fastball.
When teaching not brings him pleasure, and he’s not nice at it, Pop can and may stroll away. However that has not occurred but. I’m wanting ahead to extra seasons with Coach Gregg Popovich on the Spurs bench, joyfully teaching up the younger Spurs gamers.
I’m dedicating this put up to my mom who joyfully turned 85 this summer season. We spent her eighty fifth birthday visiting the small Oregon city our household lived in when all three youngsters had been younger. I wrote about Silvertown, Oregon in my Successful After Shedding put up final yr:
My first distinct basketball reminiscence got here after I was 9 years previous. We lived in Silverton, Oregon: a city of solely 4,000 individuals whose lives revolved round the highschool sports activities groups, the Silverton Foxes. Whereas we had state champion wrestling groups, the basketball workforce was … not good. However on wet winter nights, which was all of them, we went to the video games.
Within the sport that I keep in mind most, the Foxes had not gained a sport all season — I believe we had been 0-18 on the time. However that night time, towards a workforce from an identical Oregon small city named Sandy, issues regarded a bit brighter as the house workforce stored the sport shut. And with the rating tied 46-46, one of many guards (whom I keep in mind as sporting glasses) made a free-throw line jumper on the buzzer. Pandemonium! The gang cheered and cheered, after which cheered some extra. Somebody obtained the thought to go to the native church and ring the bell — and so they did, 48 instances, one for every level that made the workforce now 1-18 on the season — however the Foxes had been 1-0 that night time.
My mom in all probability gained’t be capable of learn this when it first comes out — she is taking the prepare throughout Alaska with my brother Mark to go to Denali and Fairbanks, two locations she has by no means been. By the best way, my mom’s identify is Pleasure.
