Up Another Rung on the Old Man Ladder

I think I’ve officially started down the path of becoming an old man. The proof is what I did last night. It was Friday. It was 9:00 PM. I was lying in my bed, watching old sports highlights on my laptop. And that was 100% what I wanted to do. With the entire internet, every streaming service, a house full of hobbies, and a car that could take me anywhere, I wanted to watch an old video of Nadal winning a semifinal tennis match at a small tournament from twelve years ago. And I’d do it again.

Here are some characteristics of this “old man” state of being. First comes a nostalgic feeling that what you saw or experienced years ago was somehow better than what is happening today. Since I started with Nadal and tennis, I’m going to keep the analogy in that lane.

The Nadal and Federer rivalry, and their nonstop winning was the greatest stretch in tennis history. That’s probably not accurate, and pretty ridiculous to declare for a sport that has only been around for roughly 56 years (in its modern form). But who cares, I’m an old man who has hardened beliefs! Just try to change my opinion. No really, I’d love to talk about this all day with anyone interested.

So there it is. The first thing that happens is your devotion to a specific time period, person, or series of events. Maybe it’s the Beatles, the Chicago Bulls, or the Super Nintendo that feel superior. Perhaps you have hard opinions on what the best sandwich era was. It doesn’t really matter what, it’s just the conviction you hold for it.

Step two. This deep affection can’t be held in. That is why old men usually find ways to slide their convictions into any conversation. The further the opinion is from the context of the conversation the better. Were we discussing the best route to drive to Seattle? Well I’ll tell you what Seattle really needs, the Sonics back in Key Arena. How stupid were those owners, selling the team to Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant should be the greatest Seattle sports icon we ever had!

If an old man can bump into another old man, that is gold. “How could you ever insinuate that about Durant when we had Ken Griffey Jr. in our city,” says the second oldie. Now those two will verbally box it out, yelling about nothing with the intensity of a presidential debate. The only thing these men can agree on is that their era was better than today. Try to suggest otherwise and you will see these two mortal enemies tag team a fiery assault on your intelligence.

The third step is enthusiastically reliving the past. This is made especially easy with YouTube. I remember the day I showed my dad how you could type literally anything into that search bar and find a video of it. You want to see a Yes concert from 1978? Type it in and I bet there’s some grainy footage waiting to be consumed by old hippies just like yourself. That is the well I find myself drinking from more and more as I get older. And it's only going to get better for these young whippersnappers as they age, now that everything is filmed in 4K.

I know this nostalgia about the past is just one rung up the ladder of becoming older. And I’m ok with that. Getting older has as many benefits as it does detractions. Sure the body is degrading, but the mind is getting wiser. I care less about the stuff that isn’t important, and I’m better at discerning if something truly is. And I have much less FOMO. Sure, that show everyone is talking about seems interesting, and I know there is a concert happening a few miles away that is probably awesome. But you know what, I’m happy to rewatch Nadal winning an old match again. Because I’m confident there won’t ever be anyone like him again.