Professional athletes can never beat father time, but they sure can fight it. Whether it be out of sheer stubbornness or superior athletic ability – or maybe a combination of both – some of the best athletes can prolong retirement but never block its phone calls.
On Monday Jerry Rice, a future Hall of Fame wide receiver and boyhood hero of many (including myself), finally admitted that the game had passed him by.
It was the best route for Rice, who told the world with teary eyes that he enjoyed “the ride” playing in the NFL for 20 of his 42 years. Who could blame him for getting choked up at his press conference aired on ESPN: Retirement in the cruel world of sports is the sugarcoated way of saying you’re washed up. The signs that Rice’s time had come were obvious. He was buried beneath four others on Denver head coach Mike Shanahan’s depth chart (a popular hangout for special teams players). His fast footwork and uncanny sense of balance are things of the past, and he couldn’t even make it as the Broncos number four wide receiver – a tough pill to swallow for ol’ number-19. Ouch.
Sure, Shanahan offered Rice a chance to play for Denver, but many, including ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski, saw this offer as a friendly way of saying, “Sorry Jerry, it’s just not going to happen.” At least Shanahan was respectful to Rice – he left the cards in Jerry’s hands to deal.
Following the 2000 season, Rice was not as prized as he once was for the San Francisco 49ers and was released to either look for playing time elsewhere or throw in the towel. Rice was not ready to retire then and donned a different jersey instead. He followed the examples of Emmitt Smith, Johnny Unitas and Bruce Smith in extending his career in a new city, regardless of his waning talent.
Now in 2005, after playing in five Super Bowls and claiming every significant receiving record including career receptions, career receiving yards and touchdown receptions, Rice’s career has finally ended. I cannot help but wonder why Rice held out until now rather than taking the off ramp that so many other NFL legends have taken and quit when he was at the top of his game.
This move tends to yield one of two public reactions. The first is acceptance, best illustrated by John Elway, who called the final snap of his career while winning Super Bowl XXXIII. The second is bewilderment – who wouldn’t have loved to see Joey Harrington hand the ball off to Barry Sanders. Amidst trade negotiations and losing seasons in Detroit, Sanders announced his retirement at age 31, despite being in his prime and within a decent season’s worth of yards at catching Walter Payton on the all-time rushing list. Hall of Fame fullback Jim Brown also ended his career prematurely, but for the sake of both losing interest in the game and never wanting to play professional football without being in top physical condition.
Although some of the happiest times of my life growing in Orange County were spent watching Rice help the 49ers win three of five Super Bowls, I have to admit, I will not miss seeing him in action on Sundays. I don’t miss seeing an aging Arthur Fonzarelli hit on high school girls and I didn’t care for seeing Marcus Allen run for 1-yard touchdowns at age 37 and being called “amazing.” Muhammad Ali did not look like the greatest when he was being obliterated in the ring at age 39, and Michael Jordan grew less impressive when his game changed from dunks to lay-ups while playing in Washington.
Rice is the definition of class on the field. He walked the walk and refrained from talking the talk – he didn’t need to. When he graced the end zone he always celebrated as if he had done it before and never let his talent turn him into a franchise nuisance, like another certain ex-49er now playing in Philadelphia.
I supported Rice’s decision to retire on Monday just as I supported him when he played in San Francisco. He retired out of love for a game, which he can almost no longer play. He rode his career to its literal end, and that’s an admirable thing to do.
“I never thought I would see this day,” Rice said on Monday.
The feeling is mutual. Thanks for the memories Jerry.

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