Yes, and there is something to be said for the wisdom of the outsider. At a certain point you count your blessings--and quit.

Ed Yetman, III
YetmanBrothers.com

Ed, now really, you have no true idea what motivates Dara Torres to continue swimming, do you?

Indeed, Ed, your statements in this thread are a bit understandable to me, I guess, because you have apparently NEVER done any serious competitive sports in your entire lifetime.


Chess Fan

When I was a young man I was a top-flight scholar. I was approached by an established professor who asked me to co-author a book with him. It took me another 12 years to get my M.A., after which I quit grad school. If you think sports are competitive, you should try grad school.

Why? Because even as a young man I began to see that I was worshipping at the feet of an idol. Fame, in any field, is fleeting and empty. Just ask Bobby Fischer. Or Mike Tyson. Or Muhammad Ali.

Or Al Toon, if he can remember.

Ed Yetman, III
YetmanBrothers.com

There is no need for you to get defensive here, Ed, I was certainly NOT trying to put you down in any way at all here, my friend.

I am just pointing out, that, while you are certainly entitled to your opinion concerning Brett Favre, you also are not automatically right in your opinion that Favre should retire now, rather than continue playing football.

And, I was also just saying that you, Ed, can NOT really fully understand Favre's personal reasoning in all of this, seeing that you have never been a top-level athlete like Favre is.

Hey Ed, playing competitive sports does NOT mean that you are automatically "worshipping at the feet of an idol."

It all depends on your own personal mindset about those competetive sports that you participate in that determines whether or not that they become an "idol" in your life.


Chess Fan

CF, Aristotle discusses this very topic in his Nicomachean Ethics. We engage, he says, in activities for two reasons: one, for the thing itself, the other to achieve a certain end. The second, he says, is superior to the first, since the attainment of the end is superior to the activity. One may play sports for the love of it, or one may play to achieve an end, wealth or fame or some such. No one engages in sport to become crippled, or brain dead, or one thousand other bad things. One always goes after the good.

When the end, however, becomes destructive of the good one seeks, then yes, one is worshipping at the feet of an idol. Consider the pathetic spectacle of Muhammad Ali in his declining years. Even after his defeat at the hands of Larry Holmes (which must have been a terrible experience for Holmes) Ali continued to pursue...what? Fame? Glory? Wealth? He had all of those things. By hanging on long after the best was gone he only succeeded in ruining his reputation. Favre risks running the same risks. Suppose he is taken of the field a paralytic. Will you say then that it was all worth it?

Favre can gain nothing, absolutely nothing, but playing another season. He does stand to lose everything. He should quit now, while the goals he sought to achieve are still his to exult.

So you see, CF, this is not a matter of me just having an opinion. I have objective reasoning here. What reason can Favre put forward? I think he cannot let go. I think that is the only reason.

And it is a pitiable sight to contemplate.

Ed Yetman, III
YetmanBrothers.com

And, Ed, IF Brett Favre DOES happen to run into bad circumstances IF he does play this coming season, then, well, that was the choice that he made for himself.

In a way, Ed, I know what you are saying here, in that, yes, Brett Favre possibly could end up having something terrible happen to him on the football field this coming season.

But, I guess that Favre is willing to take that risk in order to continue to play the sport that he loves to play.


Chess Fan

All the more's the pity, CF, that he would value the game over his health. It reminds me of a drug addict or a compulsive gamber or an alcoholic, who loves the thing destroying him more than his own God-given self.

Ed Yetman, III
YetmanBrothers.com

Here's a story to love: where is Felhaber finding all this money? How can I get some?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080728/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/buried_millions

Ed Yetman, III
YetmanBrothers.com

@Ed:

A bit "over the top" on the 'ol hyperbole here, don't you think?


Chess Fan

Nope. I read an article penned by a former bookie. He wrote "all degenerate gamblers are men and they all bet to lose." There is a certain masochistic streak in them. The same is true of top sports stars who can't quit. They will keep going and going, long after their powers desert them and their health is irreparably damaged, until, finally, no one will pay to watch their pathetic performances. Favre had a great season last year. If he comes back he will probably have a crappy season, like he did two seasons ago. He should, like a gambler, quit while he is ahead. If he won't he will keep going until he is just a shell of himself.

Ed Yetman, III
YetmanBrothers.com