I Got A Big Ego - The Problem with the Answer( and most men that are past their prime)

Happy hump day ladies and gents. Its one week before Thanksgiving, which means the clothes your wearing now probably won't fit by this time next month. Can you believe that Tha King's mama actually started making dishes for turkey day yesterday? That don't make no damn sense. Tha King really needs to get back in the gym.

As I stated before, Tha King tends to shy away from sports related topicsbecause of the largely female following that this blog has(hey ladieeeees). Many of whom don't know the difference between a homerun and a touchdown. However this topic involves someone who, at the high of his career, was a pop culture icon. His current situation is also a microcosm of what all men seem to go through as they get older.

Pictured above is Allen Iverson, if you didn't know that then click the back button on your browser immediately. For the past 10 years Iverson has been one of the most popular athletes in pro sports. He's one of the people that popularized the whole rows and tats(Cornrows and Tattoos for the slang impaired) phenomenon. Iverson made a name for himself by calling his own shots. He played his way, with all his heart, and the people loved him for it.

Sadly no man can escape time, and The Answer has lost a step or two on his trademark quickness over the years. The younger players are proving that basketball is a young mans game. After brief stints on other teams, AI was cut from his latest team yesterday. Not because he's washed up, Iverson is more than capable of being an effective role player on a team, but because he's not willing to come to terms with the fact that his days as a superstar have ended. Instead of being the OG on a team, taking the young guns under his wing and sharing his experience, he wants the young guns to fall back while he does his swan song.

This attitude is not uncommon amongst men as they get older. In business, on the block and on the court or field, older men never want to come to terms with the fact that they've past their prime. Instead of being a mentoring figure to the younger generation, they feel the need to challenge their youthful counterparts. Fear of being replaced and forgotten I suppose. It only makes them seem bitter and as a result when the younger generation does replace them they feel no need to pay homage because they weren't welcomed in the first place. If the OG's were to embrace their position and mentor the young guns they would realize that they would never be forgotten.

Tha King is a fan of AI, he respects him for giving 110% every time he stepped on the court. Iverson hasn't taken a game off since he turned pro, but the 50pts games and the superstar status is over. Now its up to him, and any other man in this situation, to realize that its time to shallow their pride and become a mentor, stars die, teacher and mentors live on the people they've touched. King out.