It's Over

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The first sports star that really captured my attention as a kid was Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt was a huge man who just sort of shook the sports world with his ability. I was a Lakers fan because of him. When he left that team was no longer my favorite.

There was also O.J. Simpson - he was the best running back in the league and he was always smiling and it you were from Buffalo you just loved him. His fall from grace, of course, showed us what it means to love these guys.

But we do anyway.

Then there was Jim Kelly of the Bills. He came into a town that was suffering and immediately there was hope. I loved his arrogance, his lack of fear and the fact that the Bills went to the Super Bowl 4 times while he was here. When he quit, I felt like it would be a long time before the Bills were good again.

Yet above all of those guys was Don Mattingly when he was on the Yankees. He didn't win a World Series. But Donnie Baseball was the favorite of all of us as we grew. We stopped family gatherings just to watch him bat. I recall plenty of days when my brother Jeff would call me with a recap of the game:

"Yanks are down 8-7 but Mattingly is 3 for 4 with 5 RBI."

To this day there is not another athlete who has held my attention for so long. Mattingly finally played in a playoff game in his very last season as a Yankee. He homered in a huge spot and I can still hear the announcer saying:

"Deep to right! Hold onto the roof!!"

I had tears in my eyes. I was happy for the guy who was so important to our family. He still gets the loudest cheers of them all on old-timers day.

And he's still my favorite athlete of all-time and my kids know it.

"He never won a title!" They'll scream at me.

Didn't have to.

And then there was and is Derek Jeter.

He won plenty. He's the all-time Yankee hit leader. He's a great guy by all accounts. He mugs with the kids. He always says the right thing. We watched him grow from a kid to a 40-year old man.

I never thought he'd get old.

"That's it," I said to Sam when we caught Jeter on television over the weekend. "I'll never idolize another sports star."

The boys started throwing names out at me - guys they perceived as 'good guys' with a lot of talent.

"Pick your favorites," I said. "But it's over for me. I'm too old to be swept up in all of it again. There's too much money involved and I'm not all that swayed by any of them."

I'll still watch the games, of course.

But you know what I mean, right?

Looking up to a sports star?

It's kinda' over.

Two more weeks of Jeter and then all those greats will have stepped aside.

When does O.J. get out of jail?

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