I’ve been writing this blog Aging Gracefully for two years. It was conceived as a way for me to humorously (I hope) grapple with the inevitability of aging, using a name for the blog that was for my life, facetious. It’s about how I navigate the back nine of life, whether it’s childhood memories or just the day to day stuff we deal with that seems ridiculous or funny or sad. Or now harder than it should be.
And then the Mike Tyson fight happened. What a perfect topic for Aging Gracefully. Is Tyson’s attempt for one more moment of glory and a big payday, at 58 years-old, Aging Gracefully or is it a dangerous, vainglorious way to age gracelessly?
I watched the much-hyped Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Netflix, as many people did, knowing it was a spectacle, but with fascination about how this would go down. For those of us who were big fans of Mike Tyson’s dominance in the 90s, where every fight was a must-see event, there was so much curiosity.
Could someone who is age 58, and not just someone, but the ultimate warrior and self-proclaimed “baddest man on the planet,” still fight with a 27-year-old? And while the youngster, Jake Paul is not one of the top fighters is the world, he is still pretty ripped and bad-ass.
But for people in their 50’s, people who’ve ever competed in anything, including pickleball, it had much more meaning than just boxing.
A victory or at least a strong showing for Tyson would be a victory for all of us aging weekend warriors who still think in some way, on some particular day, that we still got it. Fifty-somethings that are fighting physically and mentally against the forces that have grounded us or slowed us down since our glory days - whether your glory days were a stellar NBA career like mine (ha!) or just being in excellent shape in your 20s and 30s and feeling like you could do anything. That we could summon the athleticism from our youth for one more special moment, if we had to.
Well, unfortunately. aging won. As it always does. Iron Mike looked more like Leather Mike and he could not come close to doing any damage on a fit 27-year-old boxer.
Tyson looked like a statue, simply not having the reflexes, speed or legs to compete. And it became a situation in which we were all thankful that he didn’t get knocked out.
It was Mike Tyson, of course who famously said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Ironically, I’m sure he had a great plan, but the minute he got hit by the speed and power of Jake Paul, the plan went out the window. I guess landing punches on people on airplanes (Mike Tyson Punches Man on Plane) is easier than in a boxing ring.
In the end, I have to respect him for trying. For finding a renewed purpose in life and for getting up everyday and training for hours on end to get in good-enough shape to at least not humiliate himself. And with his journey, he reminded us that while some (many) things simply may not be possible at age 58, having a purpose, working your butt off, and putting yourself out there to take a shot at something is a noble pursuit.
Aging Gracefully, for sure.