When the Best Get Old
Hello Heathens,
I think I’ve talked about it from time to time on the show, but I am a fan of F1 racing. The recent season has been marred by controversy on and off track which makes the whole sport look bad, but that isn’t the focus on the short post today. I’ve noticed something while listening to Lewis Hamilton interviews recently. He’s trapped in the same downward spiral every other “Greatest of All Time” person hits when their time has finally passed. Everyone around them must constantly remind them that they were the best, even after it’s clear their career highs are over. Lewis spends every interview talking about 2021, how he should be the 8 time world champion, and how he’s actually faster than Max in an equal car.
Yes, Lewis is one of two 7 time world champions, and Lewis has more race wins than anyone else. There is no disputing that he was a great driver. For the last year, Lewis has been consistently outperformed by his teammate who is driving a car that was designed for Lewis. It’s baffling how you can dictate the entire design philosophy of a car, and still lose to your teammate by embarrassing margins. This is a perfect showcase of the self-entitlement stage of this downward spiral.
The next stage is the realization that their prime is over, they aren’t the same athlete as before, and someone younger has come to snatch the crown. In some sports, it’s a direct one-time confrontation like in boxing; in other sports is more like how a wolf hunts prey, a long slow march of the hungry wolf wearing down the goat until the goat would choose death over continuing to struggle. For instance, Mike Tyson had a really good moment talking about this.There is a personal reason for writing this; I saw the process of the long slow grind chase down happen in my own family.
My dad was the number 1 person in his sport when he secured an unprecedented 5th win in the early 90’s. He’s the only person to win in 3 different decades, and was the only 5 time winner. My dad retired from the sport in the early 2010’s due to health conditions caused by long term cold exposure required for the sport. He felt he couldn’t handle the burden of responsibility required to keep his team safe and made the right call to retire. I saw the self-entitlement of justifying a single minded focus on your legacy unfold in real time. Missing events in our lives because he was training or racing. I don’t blame him, or hold anything against him for it, and despite being somewhat estranged from my dad now I still love him and recognize the sacrifice he had to make for his career. I spent the better part of 20 years watching him chase a 6th win that just never materialized, and this year the first 6 time winner was crowned.
Part of this process is losing sight of everything outside of yourself and the pursuit of your own ego. The effort other people have to put in to make your success happen, the other things in life you are missing out on to chase success, and the planning for what comes after your career is over. I’m not entirely sure what the closing thought is here other than you should always be thinking about the next stage of your life, and preparing for a day where you aren’t who you were anymore. Time comes for all of us, and even if you are just the best person on your team at work, you will eventually have to face the reality of time.
Keep Heavy The Sabbath Day
Timeless Ones by Counting Hours
Beyond the Chemical Doorway by Job for a Cowboy
Exist for War by Keres
AT THE HEART OF ALL THINGS BROKEN by Ihsahn
Things I’ll Never Do by Madder Mortem
Hearken the End by Hulder
Psalms to Shout at the Void by Sgàile
Born on a Battlefield by Nemedian Chronicles
The Isolating Lie of Learning Another by Vitriol
A Sorrow-Filled Moon by Job for a Cowboy
Leviathan by Keres
Dusk Sang Fairest by Upon Stone
Fouled Sanctity by Volcandra
The Hissing Moor by Slimelord
Nantucket by Fall Of Leviathan