The 50 Plus Male

On October 17th, in our News You Can Use post, I promised you a special upcoming treat–an introduction to the art of crafting the perfect cocktail–a practice held near and dear by many 50 plus males as a prerequisite for enjoying one of our favorite social activities, the cocktail hour. While imbibing our favorite beer still (happily) remains a cornerstone of the “happy hour” past-time, entry into the 50 plus age category is often accompanied by an inclination to quench our thirst with more cosmopolitan offerings.

We are privileged to have Josh H., the author of his own blog, Spirited Cocktails, and very good friend of The 50 Plus Male, serve as guest contributor for this post. Spirited Cocktails is ”dedicated to the craft of the perfect cocktail” through introducing you to some of the country’s most renowned  mixologists, along with Josh’s own expertise gained through completion of comprehensive course work in the field, such as BarSmarts Live and classes/seminars at the International Culinary Center.

As Josh states in his blog, “what reason is there to drink if not for your own enjoyment?” Beer, wine, and the basics (ex. gin & tonic) deservedly serve as the “standard bearers” of cocktail hour, but your palate may be missing out on a world of creative experimentation that can only heighten that enjoyment. Josh makes all of this accessible without the slightest hint of pretension, aptly underpinning his motto, “there are drinks, and then there are cocktails.” Resulting from my  discussions with Josh, we thought it best to begin with The 50 Plus Male readers learning how to perfectly concoct one of our more stalwart cocktails, the Martini; without further adieu, here’s Josh…

One of the best parts of writing about cocktails and spirits is that the audience is nearly universal. I actually come from a technology background where, with a few exceptions, there wasn’t much diversity in the crowd. But writing about spirits on Spirited Cocktails, I’ve met so many people from so many different backgrounds and walks of life, and it truly enriches my experience.

All of that being said, there are a few mainstay groups of the cocktail world, and one of them includes men of the baby-boomer generation. When I meet these guys at various bars and events around New York City, they’re generally the type that appreciate the classic cocktails – Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Gimlets and so on. And of all the cocktails that the 50 plus male seem to appreciate, none comes up more frequently than the Martini.

There’s a folk lore surrounding martini. It’s probably something we should blame on James Bond, but it seems that everyone has their own recipe for the perfect martini. To be clear, though, in my mind, a martini is not any cocktail served in a martini glass (Appletinis are most certainly not martinis). Again, in my mind, a martini is a cocktail made with gin, not vodka. Many of you may prefer vodka, and that is certainly your choice, but if you’ve never prepared a classic gin martini with a quality gin, I strongly urge you to give it a try.

So for those of you who may not be used to preparing your own martini, I wanted to share two variations that might help you get started.

The first is the classic dry martini. This recipe dates back to around 1895, and is my preferred method when preparing martinis for my guests. The recipe is as follows:

1.5oz gin (I prefer a London Dry gin, such as Beefeater 24)
1.5oz French dry vermouth
1-2 dashes orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with fresh ice, stir well to chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a peel of orange or lemon.

Those that prefer the extra dry variety may prefer this more modern recipe:

3 oz gin
1/8oz French dry vermouth

To make this extra dry, add ice and the vermouth to your mixing glass. Swirl to coat the ice with vermouth, and strain off the excess. Add your gin, stir well to chill, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. The traditional garnish for this variation is a pitted Spanish olive.

A few notes:

-Yes, I said stirred. The general rule of thumb is that any cocktail made with only spirits (no citrus juice, sugar, etc.) should be stirred. A shaken martini is a cloudy martini, and probably a bit too watered down as well.
-The orange bitters in the classic recipe may be unfamiliar to you, but trust me – it’s a worthy addition. A dash or two of bitters in any cocktail can go a long way towards providing the depth and character that makes a good cocktail great. If you can’t find orange bitters in your local grocery or liquor store, you can order them online from my friend Greg at Cocktail Kingdom. 
-As with any cocktail (just as in cooking), the quality of ingredients matters. Use a cheap gin, and you’ll get what you paid for. Gin has seen a wonderful resurgence in the past decade, and there are some wonderful, high quality gins for you to chose from. For a martini, a classic London Dry like Beefeater or Tanqueray probably works best. But some other brands worth trying for your home bar include Plymouth, Hendricks, and my favorite hometown gin, Blue Coat (distilled in Philadelphia!)

If you’ve got a favorite recipe for a classic martini, I’d love to hear it. You can reach me anytime via my blog (Neal has provided links above and in his Blogroll).

Cheers!

-Josh

I’d like to sincerely extend a “toast” to Josh for sharing his wisdom and enthusiasm with The 50 Plus Male. We eagerly look forward to future visits with Josh to gain expertise on a variety of basic and exotic cocktails!

-Neal

I recently heard an announcer on one of our local sports talk radio stations initiate a new call-in segment with the listening audience called “I Just Don’t Get It.” He limited his list to sports personalities and storylines and kept his listeners within the same parameters. This got me to thinking about news items and personalities “I just don’t get,” while confining my choices to topics and people revolving around 50 plus males. 

These are some items that make me scratch my head in wonderment; please feel encouraged to submit any that you think of to The 50 Plus Male by clicking on the “Leave a Comment” link at the top of this post…

1. How has the Geezer Bandit (as I compose this post) alluded the FBI?

2. How anyone, let alone a 73 year-old, has run 400 marathons?

3. How did Tom DeLay last more than one week on “Dancing With The Stars?”

4. How Clint Eastwood continues to make movies that are qualitatively better than 99% of anything else currently playing AND composes his own movie soundtracks?

5. How does a 73 year old (must be some kind of magic number) Japanese guy become a leading porn star in his country?

6. How does Jack LaLanne keep going…it can’t be the Power Juicer?

7. How has Senator Byrd (D-WV) kept his seat in Congress all these years?

8. Whenever we think of Michael Douglas being married to a much younger Catherine Zeta-Jones, a rakish smile crosses our faces while a “not so small” tinge of jealousy emotes from our gut; whereas thoughts of Madonna and Jesus Luz produce outright laughter and guttural disgust.

9. Why some graybeard rock bands (Rolling Stones, Aerosmith et. al.) still carry on like they are in their twenties?

10. How ex-President George H. W. Bush (aka 41) still has the cajones to skydive every five years or so on his birthday? (Tip of the hat to him…)

11. Why guys over 50 are generally thought to lack technical prowess by the younger set, yet many of the kings of Computerland, USA (Silicon Valley, Redmond, etc.) like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, and Larry Ellison are over 50 years of age?

12. Now I’m reading that we may begin losing our financial smarts after the age of 53…anyone ever hear of Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, Paul Volcker, Paul Krugman, Jamie Dimon?

This list could stretch on ad infinitum; the point is…“I just don’t get it.”

-Neal

The topic for this post was prompted by one of my recent tweets on Twitter–Sad sign of the times represented by the new oxymoron in financial markets: “jobless recovery;” explain that to the unemployed. No doubt many of you have heard this phrase uttered by various financial pundits, and have read newspaper articles on this subject matter. My hometown paper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, had the following quote from the chief economic strategist of an investment firm in the Business Section of a recent Sunday edition: “What we’re seeing is a validation of the idea that a jobless recovery is perfectly on track.”

If you’re thinking that’s only one example, a locally circulated newspaper in my county, The Intelligencer, in the November 10th edition, lead the Business Section with an article entitled “Dow  jumps 204 to high for year.” Immediately to the left of this headline in the Money Wrap column, the first article was “J&J to lay off 174 in Lower Gwynedd” referring to Johnson & Johnson letting go of 174 employees at its research and development center in Lower Gwynedd, PA as part of its layoff of 8000 workers worldwide.

For the millions of people unemployed or employed but seeking new jobs/careers, this thinking has to hit you in the gut on many levels. If you’re a 50 plus year old male, it’s almost incomprehensible to conceive of a rising stock market while the unemployment levels reach highs not seen in over twenty years, especially considering that the approximate 10% figure currently reported does not include those  of us who are only working part-time or have given up looking for work altogether. Include these economic segments and the 10% unemployment figure almost doubles…

• Now I don’t mean to appear naive in a strict financial sense; obviously it’s all about the dollars. Joel Naroff, a well-known economist, said "…survival meant cutting costs as rapidly as possible and fulfilling orders with the fewest number of workers” in another recent  article on rising productivity and falling employment. It’s a given that controlling the cost-side of the ledger is an integral function of both nascent and well-established employers; but our economy is kidding itself if growth is to continue resulting from only exercising a sharp pencil or through M&A activity…what about organic growth, that is increasing actual sales. This is a surer sign of real growth that can lead to decreased unemployment levels, as companies would hopefully have the basis to expand and hire.

If you’re of that certain age (50 plus), a healthy economy and low unemployment levels always went hand-in-hand. It’s a new world out there that requires a new (not necessarily better in a moral sense) way of thinking.  I alluded to this in my September 24th post “Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks.” Finding work and/or changing careers is particularly challenging for our age group and one of the more demeaning hazards so puzzling to us is the utter lack of courtesy encountered during the job application and interview process.

How many times have any of you dealt with one or all of the following roadblocks:

1. You get an email about a position from a recruiter who has come across your online resume/you reply stating your interest/the recruiter never gets back in touch with you.

2. You reach the first interview stage (now generally done via telephone)/are told you’ll hear from the company re: scheduling a second interview/you never hear from them again even though you’ve appropriately followed-up to the initial interview.

3. You have an in-person interview and come fully prepared, through conducting research on the prospective employer, with a list of pertinent questions that you hope will highlight your appeal/you’re not given a chance to ask all of your items because the interviewer has too many other people to see that day.

4. You just completed what you felt was a terrific initial in-person interview and your interviewer obviously responded in kind because he/she says" “I’ll call you in a couple of days to schedule the next interview so you can also meet (insert other employees of the prospective firm here)”/you again follow-up appropriately, but don’t receive the call or an email, so you continue to follow-up and the interviewer continues to pull a disappearing act…

What has happened to basic common courtesy?! I understand the sheer volume of applicants for a given position may preclude a prospective employer from responding the way they should, but sometimes even an automated response is better than none at all. To all employers I would simply state “try putting yourself on the other side of the equation.” Lack of decency and empathy are sadly the new order of the day, and while reflecting poorly on the prospective employer, I would extrapolate this to society at-large.

George Carlin had an extremely funny, witty routine on oxymorons; I would have loved to heard him riff on “jobless recovery”…

-Neal

This posting is a follow-up to my August 3rd post in The 50 Plus Male, “Refining The Physically Fit Male—Surviving The Urban Jungle.” I regard that as one of my more important editorial pieces since it revolves around improving our health, specifically in the “newly” recognized area of functional fitness.

While the August post dealt with the MovNat fitness philosophy, today I want to introduce two specific pieces of fitness equipment that many 50 plus males may prefer to utilize as an addition to or in lieu of use of free weights. First we will discuss TRX suspension training, followed by a brief discourse on working out with bands.

The TRX (total resistance exercise) system was invented by ex-Navy SEAL squadron commander, Randy Hetrick,  when he was seeking a way to keep his men in shape with an apparatus they could use in any type of environment. The TRX is basically two industrial-grade nylon straps with cam buckles sewn to rubber handles (for your hands) and foot cradles, attached to an additional anchor strap/carabiner that you can connect to a beam, tree limb or any other type of firm anchor . The entire piece only weighs a couple of pounds and can be kept in a companion mesh storage bag.

  The result is a highly efficient suspension system that uses your own body weight for resistance. When your feet are suspended, you are forced to engage your core muscles. You can adjust the straps and the position of your body to develop your own personalized workout because these actions will  increase or decrease the level of difficulty for a given exercise. Don’t worry if the idea of even minimal suspension seems too daunting; you can just grip the handles and lean back to perform multiple exercises that cover the major muscle groups. By enabling you to increase your strength, flexibility and balance simultaneously, you are provided with a well-rounded functional fitness routine that allows you to better handle life’s daily mundane requirements such as lifting and climbing. For more information you can visit the TRX web site, www.fitnessanywhere.com.

Many of us, especially when we were “south” of 50 years old, only equated strength training with free weights. Nothing else was considered other than grunting and sweating while we pumped iron.  Well, I’d like to remind you of another type of strength-training apparatus, elastic bands; basically  surgical-grade elastic latex tubing (found in premium band systems) of varying lengths and colors attached to plastic handles encased in foam, with a door anchor component at the other end.  Length and color denote the varying amounts of tension when the tubing is stretched. The handles will have carabiners attached (once again, only in high-quality kits) that enable you to instantly click on various combinations of the tubing to enlist a multitude of resistance-level choices. 

The bands allow you to mimic almost any type of sports movement and can provide many benefits:   increasing your strength/boosting your aerobic conditioning/adding muscle/reducing your chance of sports-related injury. You’ll find yourself burning calories much more efficiently while improving cardiovascular fitness. As with suspension training, band training can pretty much be done anywhere. This is particularly beneficial for those of us 50 plus males who travel extensively for business.

I can recommend two band systems for you. The first is made by Bodylastics, found at www.bodylastics.com. (For full disclosure purposes, I must note  this system is also offered through The 50 Plus Male Store, but I’m not pushing this system over any other; it’s ultimately up to you to decide). The second system is the SuperBand system (www.ihpfit.com), developed by J.C. Santana, M.Ed., C.S.C.S., of the Institute of Human Performance in Florida. Mr. Santana is one of the country’s leading authorities on band training, and has been written about in Men’s Health magazine. One final note of caution: care must be taken when exercising with bands in combination with the door anchor component.  Please make sure the bands are securely anchored in the door; if not and the bands break free from the door, they can snap back and hit you—possibly resulting in significantly painful injury anywhere in your lower extremities (guys, I’m talking about a major ouch and discoloration; you won’t have any “spring to your step” for a couple of days).

Folks, I don’t presume to present myself as a fitness expert…my sole intention is to educate you on proven functional exercise alternatives to your current regime. Both the TRX system and exercise bands are used in many fitness facilities throughout the U.S., which provide utilization and safety guidance. For use at home, premium-grade systems will offer an instruction book supplemented with a training DVD.

-Neal

For many of today’s 50 plus year old males, fifty is regarded as “the new forty.” For the rest of us, fifty is fifty–plain and simple.  There are, however, decidedly different personal viewpoints that arise once we gentlemen hit the “big 5-0.” The most telling sign that our perspectives change is when a friend injects the comment “That’s not the way we used to think about it” during a conversation.

So, in deference to the inevitable, I present you with a list of some of the more poignant moments that capture these contradictions—please read in an across direction:

When you were younger than 50 years old…         Now that you’re 50+ years old…

“Nuff said…”

-Neal

Departing the “Single/Never Married” demographic group and entering the “Married” category didn’t occur for me until I was one month shy of my 36th birthday. This tidbit holds importance for two reasons: I dated for 18 years before meeting my wife, and I can honestly say I was ready to marry when the big day arrived. There’s a somewhat puzzling dynamic present within these two stages of my life, and I wonder how many 50 plus males join me in laying claim to this incongruity…during my dating years, I would often cook dinner at home for my “female companions,” while my married years have produced a notable dearth of kitchen activity on my part.

Inviting a woman home for dinner only occurred after we had enjoyed a few “standard” dates (going-out for dinners, drinks, movies, and shows) and reached a level of comfort and trust with  one another. I had taken Chinese cooking lessons in the evening at a township-sponsored course for adults for this very purpose. Wok cooking was relatively simple yet appeared fairly impressive; as long as I stuck to two or three tried-and-true recipes, I was master of my domain. Ethnic-style cooking only added to the aura of the evening.

A “time-out” is called for here; if you think I was cooking just to highlight my creative side, you’d be mistaken. If you think the effort was solely meant to underscore my growing feelings for the lady, you’d be half-right. I was also hoping the effort of preparing an exotic home-cooked meal presented under candlelight ignited the ultimate aphrodisiac…in other words, ”exotica for erotica.” Hey, if any of you guys are shaking your heads about now, you can quit kidding yourselves; admit it, many of you have tried the same…but as long as you remained a gentleman throughout the evening, couching this ulterior motive in thought only was basically harmless.

Flash forward through the past twenty-one years and you can count on two hands how many dinners I’ve prepared for my wife. I’m not even daring to count preparing simple pasta meals or being the self-proclaimed BBQ grill-master of the household; I’m referring to preparing a full-blown dinner from scratch. I do my share of the dishes and other clean-up chores, but for some reason, I have ceased to don the apron. I have a good friend named Frank, deservedly proud of his Italian heritage, who is a whiz at exhibiting a passion for cooking that would make his kinfolk proud. A sit-down at one of his (and wife Ina’s) dinners is akin to passing through the gates of Italian food heaven. My only problem is that my dessert many times consists of guilt topped with a layer of shame from a lack of similar effort on my part at home.

Don’t kid yourselves guys; take-out doesn’t count either in lessening the cooking load for your better half. At most, it grants you a day off from addressing the issue. But you’ll please excuse me if I don’t think about that now, I have to run out and pick-up the Chinese for dinner…

-Neal           

Author’s note: The 50 Plus Male recently was the recipient of some very exciting news! I have now become a contributing author to one of the ten largest internet portals dedicated to the “boomer-generation,” Boomer-Living.com. A mutual friend and fan of The 50 Plus Male blog graciously introduced me to Doug H. Fitzgerald, Ed.D, the President and Founder of Boomer-Living.com. The outcome of our initial discussion was that Boomer-Living.com would pick-up some of my blog posts and publish them on their site.

  According to Dr. Fitzgerald, “Boomer-Living.com was started to help baby boomers as they confront life’s challenges aging in the 21st century. I feel strongly that aging now is nothing like the aging of our parents.  It’s a whole new mindset. Most of the boomers I know want to remain active the rest of their lives. Many have chosen to continue working or become entrepreneurs, while others elect to travel.  Whatever the case may be, times are different, and Boomer-Living.com provides guidance and direction so that our members can make more informed decisions related to their own personal and family lives.  Our objective at Boomer-Living.com is to become the most trusted and reliable resource available today for baby boomers.”

Dr. Fitzgerald and I have begun exchanging ideas for future posts and look forward to a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. I have provided links to Boomer-Living.com for you above and under the Blogroll section found in the right-hand sidebar of each page in The 50 Plus Male. My listings in Boomer-Living.com can be found under their “Coffee House Blog” sub-header link.

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  The 50 Plus Male is proud to introduce a new feature to the blog, The 50 Plus Male Store. The store was formed by becoming a third-party affiliate of Amazon.com. This means that any purchases you make in the store will be entirely processed through Amazon.com (this is done automatically; you do not have to undertake any additional steps), so you may rest assured of the functionality and security earmarks built into the store. Initial product categories being introduced are books and magazines pertinent to the 50 plus male.  Additional category offerings will gradually be added. Once again, if you look at the right-hand sidebar on each page of this blog, you will see a small square entitled “The 50 Plus Male Store” immediately above the calendar—this is the link that will gain you access to the store. Even if you do not have any current purchase intent, I heartily invite you to peruse the items so you can get a feel for the look of this new feature. As always, I welcome any feedback and want to sincerely thank you at the outset for your support.

Finally, as promised in an earlier post, we will soon have a good friend of The 50 Plus Male, Josh, from Spirited Cocktails (Dedicated to the Craft of the Perfect Cocktail), serving as a guest contributor for an upcoming blog posting on a social rite holding great significance for 50 plus males, the Cocktail Hour! Josh is an expert on providing step-by-step instructions for creating one-of-a-kind cocktails that will quickly become new favorites in your arsenal.

-Neal

“Oh no…this just can’t be happening” I thought to myself.

So I clicked on the play button and watched the video a second time. “Oh no, no, no” I silently repeated, simultaneously shaking my head from side to side for further emphasis. As soon as my second viewing ended, I could feel the same look of stupor that had crept across my face after the first viewing begin making its curtain call.

I was tempted to call my wife into the office so she could see the video, but after 21 years of marriage, I knew what Nita’s reaction would be; “see…see, now you know what women go through every day.” I would fully understand such a response, but it would have done nothing to allay my unnerving over what I had just seen.

The video in question was made by VideoJug, a British company (with offices in the U.S.) that produces online informational video content on a far-ranging variety of topics. Most of their videos offer step-by-step guides, and in all honesty, they are well-produced with a combination of tongue-in-cheek quirkiness tinged with humor, while providing clear concise instruction.

My problem with this offering was immediately evident in its title: How to Use Make-up–A Gentlemen’s Guide. No, don’t go back to re-read the title, you correctly read it the first time. A Gentlemen’s Guide!  I can’t state whether I was more agitated over the topic itself, or the voluminous amount of “tools” required to follow the regimen detailed in the video, to wit:

• Exfoliator
• Moisturizer
• Toner
• Cosmetic pads
• Concealer or Foundation
• Fine Make-up brush
• Matte powder
• Lip balm

As a 50 plus male, maybe I’m just experiencing a generational gap with my younger brethren. I am, after all, familiar with the fairly new-coined concept of “metrosexuals,” men who are pre-occupied with their appearance and pursuit of a hip urban lifestyle.  Like many of you, I keep myself well-groomed, but I know where to draw the line. I’d also like to believe our generation has enough experience and adventure under our belt to remain curious about new life experiences (travel, restaurants, books, music, et al.) that can be encountered at our whim if so desired, as opposed to  feeling pressured in order to satisfy the social criteria set forth by so-called arbiters of good taste.

While the video furnished the benefits resulting from daily use of the aforementioned products, I am still dumbfounded at the whole idea of men following what is typically thought of as a female practice. At this point, I have to ask, “are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Maybe my discomfort partly arose due to the perceived overt homosexual nature of the subject matter rather than completely stemming from feeling that some of the steps suggested were outlandish and unnecessary. I truly have no intent of opening up “a bucket of worms” here, no disrespect is meant toward any of you who embrace a gay lifestyle. To each his/her own—as long as no one is getting hurt, live and enjoy; but let’s be frank with one another, this isn’t the first time that “metrosexual” and “homosexual” have been used in the same sentence…albeit without any real basis.

If you are a consumer of male cosmetic products (boy, the mere mention of this as a product category causes me to shift in my seat) and reap the intended benefits, that’s great. Just don’t succumb to the barrage of advertising found in most male-oriented magazines or feel bound to bow to apprehension of keeping up with the latest grooming requirements as dictated by any of the media mavens or even your immediate social circle.  “Manning-up” means sticking to what’s right for you.

-Neal 

Many of you have no doubt read your portion of the flurry of articles dealing with the “sandwich generation,” those of us who provide care not just for our children, but our parents as well. A sizable slice of boomers have willingly accepted this dual responsibility, while others have shunned aside any efforts to do so and view the situation as a dilemma they either don’t have the means to handle and/or desire to engage.

According to an article by Sheri and Bob Stritof, authors of The Everything Great Marriage Book, who have furnished expert counsel in numerous publications, there are estimates that upwards of two-thirds of our generation will be taking care of at least one aging parent over the next ten years. Combine this possibility with other everyday concerns many of us face (ex. marital, finances, our own health) and you have a cocktail that is equal parts anxiety and bewilderment. 

Any of the major internet search engines will yield a bounty of resources on this subject. One aggregate site you may find helpful is at CNNMoney.com, which covers various facets of the puzzle such as social, legal, health, and financial planning.

My wife and I do not have any children; hence we are only dealing with one side of the equation—concern for our surviving parents. This is reason enough for why I’m reluctant to proffer any personal recommendations, along with not being an expert in the field. There is one piece of advice I can offer as a result of practice, however, and it stems for pure common sense:  communication is integral. It has to flow in every direction with all children, spouses and parents serving as road-markers. If you’re not broaching the subject out of fear, guilt, or general lack of obligation, nothing but trouble lurks ahead. Granted, not all parties may be amenable to the discussion, but you need to press on…

Family dynamics can be tricky, but the “sandwich generation” needs to remain cognizant that this is a minor obstacle compared to the difficulty and sometimes overwhelming responsibility of the choices that may lie ahead.

-Neal

“Happy times are here again”…no guys, I’m not singing the familiar refrain from the tune of the same name written in 1929 that served as FDR’s Presidential campaign song in 1932, has appeared in countless movie soundtracks, and is best known by our generation as the unofficial theme song of the Democratic party.  I’m in an upbeat mood because my hometown baseball team, the Phillies, clinched the National League Easter Division crown last night and are headed for the playoffs.  Let’s face it, October baseball is played at a much more entertaining and intense level than any other part of the season. 

This is the third straight year the Phillies have accomplished this feat, a mark of consistency generally not occurring  with great frequency in the world of sports these days.  Yes, we’ve had our  teams of each decade:  for example, the ‘70’s crown belonging to the Pittsburgh Steelers in football, and the ‘90’s crown resting with the Chicago Bulls in basketball.  The true kings of consistency in sports, possibly for all-time, are the Red Auerbach/Bill Russell-led Boston Celtics and the venerable New York Yankees of yesteryear baseball lore. I raise the consistency theme because it’s doubtful we will ever see real dynasties in sports again.  Nowadays, if a team is fortunate enough to win two consecutive championships, “dynasty” begins appearing in our sports columns.

While many of us 50 plus males have yet to reach senior-citizen status, we are old enough to remember when the makeup of our hometown teams’ personnel didn’t vary from year-to-year nearly to the degree it does today.  Now, in the era of big-money sports where owners and fans alike are thinking “what have you done for us lately,” we find ourselves in many cases rooting for this year’s rent-a-team, as player loyalty is no longer defined by playing on a specific team for the long-term; today it’s all about the dollars and serving as hired mercenaries to the highest bidders (admittedly, sports agents are major culprits here too). 

So, while the good times have arrived for fans of the eight playoff-bound baseball teams, how many of you are truly emotionally vested in the outcome?  Unless the core of your team has been home-grown through its farm system and buttressed with maybe a couple of key trades through the years, as opposed to the wholesale annual personnel moves that have become the norm, asking for your ardent loyalty isn’t warranted.  There’s nothing wrong with having passion for the game; sports after all provides a primary outlet for us to live our dreams though the pros and vent by the water cooler.  Yes, many towns still have rabid team fans, particularly for football domestically and soccer world-side, but we 50 plus males know the difference between frenzied behavior versus indisputable sentimental loyalty.

-Neal  

note:  “Happy Days Are Here Again” song facts courtesy Wikipedia