If only the cobbler would stick to his last
What is it about professional sportsmen insisting on trying their hand at other professional sports once their careers come to an end?
Is it boredom? Do they not want to be at home? Can they not adapt to life after sport?
Most carve out successful careers in a sport of their choice. Then, after many years of travelling and training, decide to call it a day because they want to spend time with their families, only to surprisingly return to the international arena in a different sporting code ... only to fail.
So many sportsmen have ruined their legacies with an ill-fated switch to a different sport. One just has to think of former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. What a talented cricketer. What a rubbish boxer, or should I say alleged boxer even though he won his solo four-round bout on points? Rugby stars Quade Cooper and Sonny Bill Williams have also both tried their luck in the ring. Were they the worst boxers? No. But they certainly weren’t the best, nor will they be remembered for their boxing when they call it quits.
The list goes on. Basketball legend Michael Jordan never mastered baseball, nor did American sprinter Justin Gatlin the NFL while serving a doping suspension.
Locally, the late heavyweight boxer Corrie Sanders never shaped as a golfer despite hitting a long ball off the tee, nor did former Springbok flyhalf Lance Sherrell cut it on the fairways after a solid rugby career. Former Proteas
Trevor Stevens
all-rounder Johan van der Wath, who played an underrated role in the 438 game with an 18-ball 35, is still trying to carve out a career on the Sunshine Tour. Unless he wins a big tournament, he’ll always be known for his seamers and sixes, rather than his birdies.
Some of the sport swapping is more subtle. Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor crossed over to boxing to face Floyd Mayweather Jr, and made a suitcase full of dollars for 10 rounds in the ring in Las Vegas. All Black centre Sonny Bill jumped from rugby union to rugby league and then back again on more than one occasion, making a name in both codes. Their switches were a little closer to home, which resulted in making it more worthwhile and credible. I tend to believe those temporary switches can work, especially in creating a buzz for the sport, as long as it is not done too often.
Former wing Jeff Wilson scored 44 tries in 60 Tests for the All Blacks, made half-a-dozen one-day international appearances and earned a T20 international cap for the national New Zealand cricket team.
He started with cricket in 1992/93, played rugby, and then returned to cricket. But you also have to take his crossover with a pinch of salt because the reality is that there just aren’t that many cricketers to choose from in New Zealand.
The latest to push the boundaries is former Leeds, Manchester United, West Ham and QPR defender Rio Ferdinand. Licence permitting, the 38-year-old is launching a new career as a professional boxer as he takes part in online betting firm Betfair’s “Defender to Contender” project. He retired from football two years ago.
There must be plenty of people lining up to give Ferdinand a lekker klap, but what’s the chances of the former England international of 81 caps making a success? Judging by how easily he fell to the ground on the pitch, not great, you’d think.
It’s a case of jack of all trades... master of none.