These last few months have been an improbable combination of the films “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Cocoon.”
You remember those. In the first, the protagonist ages backwards. In the second, geezers in a retirement community discover a pool with these weird pods on the bottom, swim in it, and recapture their youth.
That’s what life feels like in 2020 and 2021.
It actually began in the middle of last year when the 74-year-old incumbent president was the younger of the two who were vying for the job. The other guy — the one who won — was 78 when he was inaugurated last week.
Of course, every ageist in America (and sadly there are lots of those) immediately branded him as having senile dementia — including his 74-year-old opponent. And said opponent — who, at this moment, is luxuriating at Mar-a-Lago in Florida — is a fine one to talk. Palm Beach isn’t exactly known for its youthful clientele.
Here I am, 67 years old, and I figured that by now, we’d be electing people who were younger than me. Guess not.
But look at what happened Sunday. A 43-year-old quarterback who used to toil in these parts is going to the 10th Super Bowl of his Hall of Fame career. Imagine that. Ten! That’s not simply more than any other quarterback in the game’s 54-year history. It is a landslide. Next on that list is John Elway, with five.
Not only does Brady lead in appearances, he leads with six titles — two more than either Joe Montana or Terry Bradshaw. Time will tell whether he gets seven (he and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have a tough time with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs), but it hardly matters.
He is 43 years old and is going to his 10th Super Bowl. What else do you need to know?
What’s next? Are Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr going to team up and go on the road? Will they take the remaining members of the Moody Blues with them? Will the Rolling Stones open?
Don’t laugh. That’s not as far-fetched as you might think. Ask someone who knows (certainly not me) if these guys, even if they’re approaching 80 — well, Ringo’s already there — would command more money than a Backstreet Boys reunion.
Long ago, back in 1964, someone asked Paul McCartney — then a cheeky 22-year-old Liverpudlian — whether he could see himself being a Beat-tle into adulthood and beyond.
“Nobody wants to see a creaking Beatle at 80,” said Macca. Oh yeah? Wanna bet? Paul is 78. If he came to Manning Field tomorrow, the line for tickets would go all the way down Ford Street and then down Boston Street to Cumby’s.
It reminds me of the time in 2012 when my wife and I went down to Mohegan Sun to see the Moody Blues — then, collectively, a youthful nine years younger than they are now. Even then, there was enough silver in their hair (well, except for Justin Hayward, who was still as platinum blond as he ever was) to stock a mine in Las Vegas. All of a sudden, this garage door opened, and in rolled this wave of fans on Hoveround scooters. It was hilarious. I guess you’re never too old to rock ‘n’ roll.
Let’s turn to other aspects of show business. Betty White just turned 99. If she did a one-woman show at City Hall, it would be sold out in five minutes while Sarah Silverman and Kathy Griffin would be sitting in the balcony together.
The more you look, the more experience is winning out over rawness and potential. A team like the Bucs doesn’t have the patience to wait for a kid like Jamis Winston to develop — not when a guy who was born when Jimmy Carter was president is still operating at top level.
Look elsewhere in the NFL. Since 1992, the Green Bay Packers have had two starting quarterbacks — Bret Favre and Aaron Rodgers, who was the kid yesterday (he’s 37) in the game against Tampa Bay. They called Ted Williams “The Kid” too. He was 19. Sid “The Kid” Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins was 19 when he acquired the nickname too.
In two weeks, Brady will go up against a real kid. Mahomes is only 25, yet he will try to do what nobody since TB12, in 2003-04, has done: go back-to-back.
See? Life is just one big circle, with the same themes repeating themselves. And this year, it all seems to be revolving around Tom Brady.