It started in May with the "Fight of the Century" between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. There was little to no chance the fight would live up to its tremendous level of hype. However, I don't think anybody expected the dud we got. Mayweather toyed with Pacquiao for twelve rounds and won by a comfortable margin via unanimous decision. The few flurries of punches thrown by Pacquiao were easily countered by the bigger Mayweather, and it was clear Pacquiao's last couple fights were not flukes. His time as a dominating force in boxing was over.
It continued in early June on two different continents in the same week. In my hometown of Dublin, Ohio, Tiger Woods teed it up on Saturday afternoon of the Memorial. Throughout his career, Woods has dominated the tournament. Huge crowds followed around the multiple time winner, hoping this would be the tournament to jumpstart his run at a long awaited major championship. Instead, patrons were treated to Woods shooting an 85, the worst round of his career. A few weeks later at Chambers Bay, Woods would fail to break 80 in the first round. Hopes of passing Jack Nicklaus' mark of 18 majors seemed faint, event among the loyalest of Woods' worshipers, before the season. Now, I would wager many of them are seriously questioning whether he can even capture one more.
Across the Atlantic, Rafael Nadal faced off against Novak Djokovic in a French Open quarterfinal. Even the least knowledgeable of tennis fans know of Nadal's mastery of the red clay at Roland Garros. Although his play had been on the decline in recent years, Nadal lost in straight sets, a result nobody would have predicted. It was only his second lost in the tournament. Previously, he had racked up 70 wins. Djokovic is arguably the best player in the world right now, but to watch him remain one shot ahead of Nadal during the entire match was an unexpected spectacle. Questions about Nadal's future soon replaced plans for another coronation for another French conquest.
I bring these events up to illustrate the unfortunate, yet inevitable, decline of greatness. It happens across every area of life and to everyone, but in sports, the fall from grace takes on a different character. At the first sign, we try and rationalize the event as an outlier. It won't happen again, we tell ourselves. He'll bring his A game next time around. Then, another defeat comes along. Is this the new normal, we wonder. Is it because of an injury? Finally, we accept that one of our legends is no more. They might still be competing, but it's fueled by a need to write the epilogue of their story, not a burning, competitive drive to win. The chapters of greatness came and went right before our eyes. We long to go back and add more treasured tales, but time's steady crawl has closed that door, leaving YouTube highlights and memories as the only options to relive the glory days.
In individual sports. there are few casualties besides the athlete. A decision to finally call it quits can be made at any time, and there's a good chance no fans will abandon the athlete until the last game, match, or tournament. Woods, with his sex scandal in addition to his decline, attracts TV ratings and followings any other golfer would dream to experience. In team sports, though, many people can suffer from a decision to refuse mediocrity has replaced excellence. Whether it be a player, coach, or executive, the choice could potentially doom future seasons, cripple relationships between teammates, or lose the faith of fans. Last year, Derek Jeter played his final season with the New York Yankees. He played the worst season of his career (especially if you're a fan of sabremetrics), and since one of the wealthiest franchises in sports stuck with the legendary shortshop throughout his farewell tour, they prevented themselves from moving on and acquiring a replacement with their checkbook. Of course making Jeter ride the bench last year would not have gone over well- I get that, and I get Didi Gregorius hasn't lived up to his billing this season. Still, if more athletes and coaches would decide to go out while they're still on top, or at least near the top, it would greatly benefit their respective team.
This brings me to a precarious case for one of my own teams. The South Carolina Gamecocks spent much of their football history as an afterthought. That all changed, however, when they convinced Steve Spurrier to come coach in Columbia. Now, nearly eleven years later, the program has been taken to unprecedented heights. Double digit win totals are now expected by Gamecock fans. Revenge against long hated rivals has been joyously felt numerous times. Recruits want to experience the thrill of Sandstorm and 2001. New facilities and stadium renovations seem poised to keep the program near the top of the SEC East. This all was the case even in light of a disappointing 7-6 campaign last year. Before the season, I remember reading articles predicting an SEC title, and a trip to the College Football Playoff. Afterwards, hindsight showed the fact losing the most successful quarterback in school history and several defensive stars was too much to overcome to attain those lofty goals. Gamecock fans accepted the season for what it was and were ready to have their team make a statement in 2015 that the defensive collapses of 2014 were nothing more than an inconsistent blip on the team's radar of things to come.
The road got a little more complicated when the Head Ball Coach made an off the cuff remark about not knowing how much longer he wanted to be the Head Ball Coach during this past bowl season. Recruits and opposing coaches took notice of this, and commits soon jumped ship. Spurrier would eventually retract his statement, but the damage was already done. Then, this past week, ESPN insider Travis Haney shared Spurrier wanted to call it quits last November on the Paul Finebaum Show. It took close family and friends to convince him to not give up on his love of football. This is a much more troubling sign of things to come in Columbia. I am rather bearish on the upcoming season of Gamecock football. The defense has to improve (right?), but the offense will likely experience growing pains behind whatever quarterback lines up under center (Actually, in this day and age, stand five yards behind the center). If Spurrier isn't showing the fiery energy and enthusiasm that has taken college football by storm ever since his playing days at Florida back in the 1960s, one more middling season might lead him to decide on working on lowering his handicap full time.
South Carolina will not and should not fire Spurrier. That would be a ludicrous move and horrible treatment for the winningest coach in school history. However, trying to devise a contingency plan to provide easy relief from this conundrum would be incredibly beneficial. Whether that is to have talks with Spurrier about finalizing his personal plans for the coming few seasons or hiring a coach in waiting and giving Spurrier freedom, ushering in the post-Spurrier era needs to be done seamlessly. Attracting a big time coaching commodity, who will keep the recruiting pipeline flowing, will be a much easier task than it was a decade ago, all thanks to him. However, letting the respect for South Carolina football slide back towards pre-Spurrier levels would be crushing to these tasks and to a fanbase now grown accustomed to winning.
It's possible the Gamecocks will find a way to return to the decade's earlier successes this season. It's possible I'm overanalyzing nothing more than an unlucky stretch of thirteen games. However, it's possible last season was Steve Spurrier's first step on an inevitable journey away from college football. The 2015 season will be one of the most important seasons in team history, whether it functions as adding to Spurrier's successes or laying the path for the program to move on from him in the future. I pray it turns out to be the former. Should it be the latter, hopefully one of my favorite personalities in college football will realize handing off his headset to a qualified replacement, rather than spending a few more frustrating seasons spiking his visor into the ground, will let Gamecock fans see his legacy continue to blossom in Columbia, South Carolina.
J. Nave
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