Sports and Retirement
A tragedy is a play dealing with tragic events resulting in an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character. In the play Romeo and Juliet, the hero suffers a tragic death. The play is a tragedy because the death could have been avoided at several points throughout the play. As a result, a tragedy can result in one’s life being altered forever. The same principle can be applied to retirement. One could argue that after retiring, one’s life is altered forever. Retirement is the starting of a new life, after working for long, agonizing years. In some cases, a retirement is luxurious however in other cases a retirement can be seen as a death wish. In the anthology “The Best American Sports Writing …show more content…
Larry Bird in the article “Gifts that God Didn’t Give” and Boris Becker in the article “Broken Promises” proves that retirement is not a tragedy because one can take the time to pursue other interests post retirement. Larry Bird is described as the perfect teammate, ‘”but more than that, he is what the creator had in mind when he invented the teammate”’ (sjsj). Larry Bird is a spectacular teammate because he is compared to what ‘“the creator”’ (sjjs) had in mind when creating him. He is shown to be a team player, which is an important attribute in life after sports. Larry sees basketball as ‘“his natural habitat”’ (sjsj) which shows that basketball is a big part of his life. He is compared to ‘“a dancing partner”’ (sjsj) through the way he handles the ball, which shows that he is rhythmic. This can be a crucial skill if he wants to pursue an interest that involves movement. Moreover, Bird’s mental skills are complimented, ‘“Bird may not be the best player on the court…but no one playing the game today can do as many different many things on the court as well as Larry Bird”’ (sjsj). This proves that he is smart on the