The age of the enduring superstar

I don’t know if the sports world is adequately appreciating a current class of superstars whose reigns in their respective sports presumably cannot last much longer.

According to ESPN, Cristiano Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat trick in the FIFA World Cup at the age of 33 years and 131 days on Friday for Portugal against Iberian rival Spain. Ronaldo was brilliant on the world’s largest stage years after most athletes hit their peak.

I regularly remind those around me of the ridiculous nature of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s unquestioned status as the world’s greatest soccer players for more than a decade. That is not normal.

I first really began as a fan of soccer during the 2006 World Cup. Ronaldo and Messi featured in Germany at the ages of

21 and 19, respectively. Zinedine Zidane retired after the World Cup and Ronaldinho’s dominance atop the world’s game began a steady decline.

Ronaldo and Messi asserted themselves as the best in the world over the next year. Their status has been unchallenged for the past 11 years.

LeBron James, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ronaldo and Messi are part of a generation of superstars who refuse to go gentle into that good night. I think we appreciate each of these superstars on their own, but we are all privileged to be able to enjoy their genius as long as it lasts.

James may not be able to overcome the Golden State Warriors dynasty with the Cleveland Cavaliers and he has to ice his knees after games, but he gets out on the court at the age of 33 and moves like the

19-year-old we all anointed as “King James.” He played in all

82 regular season games this year for the first time in his 15year career and followed it with

22 games in the postseason. Williams has only been slowed in her dominance of the women’s tennis world by pregnancy and the birth of her daughter. She won her first Grand Slam tournament in 1999 at the age of 18 at the U.S. Open and her last at the 2017 Australian Open while two months pregnant. The Australian Open likely will not be her final Grand Slam title. Her 23 titles rank second all-time.

Federer won his first Grand Slam tournament in 2003 at the age of 21 at Wimbledon, and he won the Australian Open in January at the age of 36 for his 20th overall, the most in men’s tennis history. He will enter next month’s Wimbledon as one of the favorites.

Nadal has dominated the French Open since 2005 when he was 19. He has won 11 of the last 14 French Opens, and his 17 Grand Slam titles ranks second all-time among men.

Federer and Nadal have combined to win the last six Grand Slam men’s titles, almost a decade after that makes any sense.

Even Tom Brady is defying age norms as quarterback for the New England Patriots. He was 24 when he won the MVP award at Super Bowl XXXVI, and he threw for 505 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in February in a losing effort to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII at the age of

40.

It is not just that these superstars are at the top of their game well into their 30s and past the prime of most athletes. It is that each of them have sustained their place at the top for so long.

Many of the greatest athletes in history either took time to grow into dominating players or age caught up with them earlier than today’s stars.

Ken Griffey Jr., is my favorite athlete ever. Injuries robbed him and the rest of us of the latter

part of his career in which he would have chased much of the most revered numbers in baseball.

Larry Bird was wracked with injury trouble in his final seasons. His rival, Magic Johnson, famously contracted AIDS and retired a first time after 12 seasons.

Albert Pujols’ numbers took a steep dive when he hit age 33. It is the natural order of things for most athletes not named Barry Bonds.

James has had an argument as the top player in the NBA for more than the last decade save for a few stellar seasons by a veteran Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant or two years when Steph Curry shot better than any human being has ever shot a basketball. Curry himself took several seasons in the NBA to put up numbers in his mid-20s comparable to what James was doing in his first three seasons at the ages of 19–21.

I have more enjoyed the dynamic in tennis and soccer in which more players have staked their claims to be the best, only for the reigning stars to outlast them. They are also sports in which players historically peaked at an earlier age.

Novak Djokovic, now 31, has been the best among the challengers. He has 12 Grand Slam titles to rank fourth all-time, and yet even he took several years of battling Federer and Nadal to carve out his claim. Injuries have stifled his play for the past two seasons as Federer and Nadal have re-emerged.

Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Andy Murray, 31, and Stanislas Wawrinka, 33, have held off multiple generations of new challengers. What we are lacking is a next wave. No new shining stars are getting their chance in the spotlight.

The revolving door in soccer has been much more exhaustive. Even casual fans may know of fantastic seasons by players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, James Rodriguez, Alexis Sánchez, Luis Suárez and Neymar.

It is fitting for Ronaldo and Messi to take center stage in Russia this month, as most major sporting events this year have featured long-term superstars still at the top of their game. It is doubtful we will see them feature for such talented soccer nations again in four years when the World Cup is held in Qatar. At this point, though, we probably should not doubt them either.