Age Old Question

Watching the Super Bowl half time show by Tom Petty, who was pretty fantastic, I couldn’t help but notice how old he is. And there’s just something funny about seeing these old guys rock. The Stones, Springsteen, Aerosmith, Neil Young, U2, The Eagles, and the rest of ‘em. Hell, Madonna is almost 50 now. And then I started wondering if we’ll see rappers sagging their pants on stage, grabbing their crotches and rhyming when they’re grandparents. Will Snoop tell us about Gin and Juice when he’s 55? Will Eminem play "Lose Yourself" when he can no longer control his bladder?

I’m not sure if it’s really cool that these guys haven’t ever really grown up, or if it’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. When we see an athlete play past his prime, and we’re forced to see a guy who has become a shell of what made him great (think Jordan) we wish they had hung it up and left us with the fond memories of their greatness. When actors age, they can no longer play the same roles. Just look at Al Pacino, think he could pull of Michael Corelone or Scarface now? No way, and no one wants to see him try.

It isn’t that all the talent is gone, but what’s really the point? When Van Halen or the Police get together for a cash cow tour, aka a “reunion,” no one is going to see hear new stuff. It’s all for the sake of nostalgia, and I wonder if that really works. Remember the old Van Halen video, where they had actors playing the guys as kids, I think it was “Hot for Teacher.” I imagine that seeing them now is like seeing actors play the guys as old farts. Where in that is the warm fuzzy feeling of remembering yesteryear?

Why is this important? Well, now I’m a parent and I’m not sure if it’s possible for a parent to actually be cool. Do we just give up, admit we’ll never be cool again, and if we’re hoping to remain cool, is it because we actually are, or is it just for nostalgias’ sake?

Keep on rockin’ in the free world, bitches.

***

So Congress is now taking an interest in the NFL/Patriots’ “Spygate” scandal. Are you serious? They have an awful lot of time and energy invested in whats going on in professional sports, and seem to have zero trust in how both leagues are being run. Why should they? The NFL and baseball are setting income records every year, and the nations economy is headed for the shitter. The only thing they should ask of either league is, “how?” How do you make all that money? How do you guys get things done? How can we run our nation like you run the NFL or baseball? They don’t need to check up on cheating or scandals. Cheating and scandals are two areas thing our government could probably give lessons on.