Seemingly every offseason there is a huge story in every sport about who is going to retire. Depending on which player is contemplating whether or not to hang it up, the media goes crazy over the story. But so many times we see a veteran come back when he can’t quite keep up with the rest of the league.
When is the right time to retire? It’s a tricky situation. Often, players want to go out with a championship. But it’s not always that easy. When veterans keep coming back they risk tarnishing their entire legacy.
Michael Jordan is widely regarded as the greatest basketball player of all time. It’s tough to argue when you look at the stats and his overall contribution to the game. Winning six championships in a row has nothing to do with luck. Michael Jordan was just that good. After winning the sixth and final championship of his career, he decided to call it quits and go out on a high note.
But he should’ve left it there instead of coming a few years later for the Washington Wizards. It wasn’t the same Jordan that we had seen and although it didn’t destroy his legacy by any means, he didn’t leave the game on a good note like he had the first time he retired.
Speaking of coming back from retirement, Brett Favre has certainly changed how he’ll be remembered in history. Of course, we will remember how he has almost every passing record imaginable and hardly ever missed a game. But he will also be remembered for the multiple off-seasons of questioning if he would come back or not and ESPN reminding us of “Favre Watch” constantly.
His goal was to get another championship before he retired. Instead he got a controversy on his hands when he decided to send some graphic text messages to a woman. He pushed the envelope too far, and I don’t think Brett Favre will be remembered quite as well as he would’ve been had he just remained retired from Green Bay.
Of course, trying to win a championship before you retire can sometimes work out well. John Elway showed how a veteran could know exactly the right time to retire. After years of not being able to quite get the Super Bowl ring he so desired, he finally made his dream come true. After many speculated it would be the last of Elway, he decided to come back. He proved to be still at the top of his game and won his second Super Bowl before deciding to call it quits.
More and more I see players trying to linger in their sport too long. These once great players are going from team to team trying to get another championship even though they can’t compete at a high level anymore. I can imagine it would be tough to leave a game that your whole life has been based around. But I think the best thing for the athlete and his or her legacy is to know when to call it quits.