Walking Away

Sporting Legends Black Caviar and Michael Jordan

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run. – The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

It’s an old story we’ve all heard a million times. The once great athlete who doesn’t know when to retire and ends up sticking around too long, a shell of their former selves, trying to reclaim past glory or perhaps the last few dollars they can make in their athletic career.

The most obvious examples of this happens in boxing when guys stick around well into their 40s, often because they lost their money and because they don’t realise they don’t have it anymore. Usually it ends with them being knocked out by a younger fighter and finally realising it’s over. In rare occasions like George Foreman, the old guy returns and actually succeeds, but not everyone is so lucky.

There are also many examples of players in team sports hanging around trying to catch on as a role player on a contending team trying to win a championship. Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton are great examples of players who had plenty of money but just couldn’t walk away when they probably should have.

Of course this leads us to Michael Jordan. The greatest basketball player of all time has already had one comeback that most people would like to forget when he played two seasons for the Washington Wizards, which at the time he part-owned and worked for. This weekend His Airness turned 50 years old and is the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. Many pundits and even players spent the week discussing not only Jordan’s past, but also whether he could contribute to the Bobcats right now. In most cases this conversation would be 100% hypothetical, but most cases aren’t Michael Jordan.

Wright Thompson from ESPN wrote an incredible insight into Jordan this week and you can see how the hunger to play and compete is no different at age 50. He still beats the young guys on the Bobcats at 1 on 1 and whilst I doubt he does it, I don’t think he is kidding when he thinks about returning to try and improve the Bobcats on the court.

Personally I’m very torn on this idea. There is a part of me that would love to see Jordan lace up his Nikes again and see just what he has left, even if he could just play 10 minutes a game and jack up a few shots. The other part of me still mourns seeing him play for the Wizards when he wasn’t really His Airness anymore. Michael Jordan is the guy who changed hands mid layup and hit that championship winning shot over Byron Russell. Michael Jordan shouldn’t be the 50 year old man coming off the bench of the team he owns, because they don’t have enough good players without him.

All athletes, or at least all the really good ones, are hyper-competitive by nature and that’s what allows them to reach that success. It’s that same nature that leads to their downfall by sticking around too long or coming out of retirement when their body can’t perform at the levels their brain expects. Michael Jordan is that athlete mentality on steroids (calm down, metaphorical steroids not real ones).

But what about when the legendary athlete isn’t human?

Black Caviar is one of the greatest racehorses of all time and certainly Australia. Last year she just barely held on to her undefeated streak by winning the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in England, which cemented her legacy as it was a massive race and not on her own turf. The great mare was injured during the race and due to that, as well as jockey error, she only just managed to hang on.

At the time I thought the owners and trainer Peter Moody would call time on her career. There was nothing left to prove, she had made everyone involved very rich and she had an undefeated streak that shouldn’t be jeopardised by bringing her back, especially after an injury. Of course the biggest concern is that the race horse doesn’t get to make her own decisions and they are risking her health by continuing to run her as well.

Last Saturday Black Caviar made her return to the track and looked great. She won convincingly in a race named after her. I must admit I was worried going into the race about how she would do and it was a relief to see her perform the way she did. But with nothing left to prove and a horse at risk of injury every time she runs, I still feel like the connections should let her retire now. The risk outweighs the reward at this point.

I am glad to read that they will not enter her in the Newmarket Handicap where she would be carrying a whopping 61.5kg of weight. She will instead run in the William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley on Friday, March 22. Whilst it’s a better choice than risking her streak in the Newmarket, I still feel like this ‘farewell tour’ they seem to have planned of letting her race in different cities so people can see her before she retires, is a bad idea.

I worry it will take her finally losing one of these races she is supposed to win for them to decide maybe it is time for her to head to the paddock. I want the great mare to retire with her record intact, not to mention her legs, but what is the real difference between 23 wins and whatever number she ends up on?

I really hope we don’t see Black Caviar wearing her equivalent of Michael Jordan in a Wizards jersey, because she doesn’t have the option of making that decision herself.