Legacy > Longevity

With Peter Forsberg coming out of retirement to rejoin the Colorado Avalanche, there’s only one thing that comes to my mind.

Why, Peter, why?

Why are you doing this to yourself, to your body, and more importantly, to your legacy? After several stellar seasons in the prime of his career (including a Hart Trophy in 02’-03’), Forsberg has suffered through tons of nagging knee and foot injuries. From the 03’-04’ season on, Forsberg hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season. Although he had some success in the point column (65 points in 57 games while splitting time between the Flyers and Preds in 07’), anyone who watched Forsberg in his prime knew he wasn’t the same player in his last few seasons.

At his best, Forsberg was one of the most exciting players to watch. He had all the tools; he could skate, stick handle, and it was nearly impossible to take the puck off of him. Forsberg could both set up his teammates and snipe for himself, and he was the kind of player that you just loved to watch. However, he was never the same player during his “comeback seasons”, and this is what makes his most recent comeback attempt so sad.

It seems as though more and more, star athletes just can’t seem to retire. From Brett Favre’s teary eyed temporary retirements to Jerry Rice donning a Seahawks jersey in the twilight of his career (seriously, how wrong did that look?), players just can’t seem to hang ‘em up. It doesn’t just stop at football players though. Michael Jordan attempted a pretty sad comeback with the Wizards (lowering his career point average), and Sammy Sosa tried, without much success, to hit a few more bombs with the Orioles once his time was up.

In all these cases, the player’s comeback attempt did nothing for their career. In fact, it did exactly the opposite. I’m not even talking about stats or the physical toll it takes on their body. I’m talking about something that’s more important than that. I’m talking about something that, when their careers are finally over, is the most important thing an athlete has left.

Their legacy.

An athlete’s career can only last so long; hitters lose their bat speed, high-fliers lose their hops, and receivers lose a step. It’s inevitable. When it comes down to it, an athlete’s career is measured by the legacy he leaves on his sport, and by the thoughts and memories he evokes. This is why last ditch comebacks are a mistake. Athletes need to learn to leave at the right time, or risk tarnishing their legacy forever.

When we think of MJ, we remember him soaring above the rim, or hitting the game winner against the Jazz in 97’. We remember him with that last fist pump, the perfect end to a perfect career. Sadly, however, this wasn’t the end. He decided to try to make a comeback a few years later, and believe me when I say that we’d rather not remember the Wizard years.

When we remember Jerry Rice, we think of four great words. Touchdown, Montana to Rice. We don’t want to remember the fourth string wide receiver,  Seattle Seahawk Jerry Rice. We want to remember Rice for what he was in his prime and for most of his career; the best receiver in football.

Luckily, the careers of these two superstars were too memorable to be tarnished by a few sad, past their prime years. However, as everyone knows, not everyone is Michael Jordan or Jerry rice. In fact, nobody is. The brilliance of these two superstars, and others like them (think Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur) allow them to be unaffected by late career fallouts. Sadly though, not all players are this lucky.

Even the greatest athletes have expiration dates. And just like the moment you know that the milk has gone bad, athletes need to know when their time is up. If Peter Forsberg tries to come back again, he will only further tarnish what was an incredible career. The younger generation of hockey fans might remember him as a slow, injury prone, past his expiration date old timer; instead of as the incredible, elegant playmaker that he really was.

They say that the star that shines the brightest burns out the fastest, and this is what all athletes must remember. While it’s nice to think that you can play forever, the reality is that no one can. You let that star burn bright while you can, and when it burns out, it’s time to call it a career. Because while a couple of extra years might keep you in the news for a little while, a legacy lasts forever.