This was a really interesting week in sports.
On the one hand, we got to see Union College take down Minnesota for the NCAA Hockey Championship, a somewhat bitter reminder of what could have been. I know I’m going to have to get over that eventually, but I’m not there yet.
On the other hand we got to see Bubba Watson win his second Master’s tournament in just three years. While Bubba was the one who got to slip his arms in the green jacket, it seemed like the bigger story of the tournament was the young gun, Jordan Speith, who nearly took the jacket for himself. So why is the face of the loser the cover story?
How about the fact that he’s only 20 years old and would have been the youngest player to ever win The Masters. More than that, the current record holder, Tiger Woods, wouldn’t have had a thing to say about it as he missed the tournament with an injury.
The truth is that while Tiger Woods has been the face of professional golf for what seems like a lifetime, people have been looking for his successor for some time now.
Rory McIlroy, the man who was thought to be the next up-and-coming golf star, finished even on the tournament in a tie for 8th place. Speith, however, despite his lack of PGA experience and pedigree that McIlroy exhibits, took second in the tournament and showed that he may be the person the golf world has been waiting for.
The world is ready for a new generation of all-stars in every sport.
The shocking thing is that, all of a sudden,the players we are so fond of admiring are younger than we are. That kick in the head came when phenom Bryce Harper entered the MLB, just days younger than I am. All of a sudden my high school accolades weren’t quite as impressive.
Along comes Mike Trout, Anthony Davis and Jordan Speith, and the world is looking at its new breed.
With the MLB pumping out prodigies left and right, and the NCAA’s one-and-done policy heading into the NBA, it really isn’t a surprise to see ages dropping drastically in sports. It’s a new age in sports, where young marketable players have become the faces of their respective games.
No longer are the seasoned veterans the big ticket items on the agenda, and instead it is their replacements that people are looking to see.
I like the evolution of fandom. While it may be weird to get used to admiring and fawning over athletes who are actually younger than us, it shows a willingness by fans to accept new champions into their sports, and to recognize that the world of sports is an ever-changing entity, with newer and more exciting players entering the scene every year.
The same is true everywhere, including DU. Before you know it, Chris Udofia, Sam Brittain and all of your beloved Pioneers will have been replaced by younger players. While the comparison isn’t necessarily fair, the point is the same. Sports are never stagnant, and the older players must at some point make room for the young.
