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Do we all stop playing, because we get old? No. In the surprising comedy “Uncle Drew,” NBA star point guard Nate Robinson as Boots says, “We get old because we stop playing.” “Uncle Drew” stars NBA All-Pro Kyrie Irving and retired Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. Kyrie, Shaq, and other retired NBA All-Stars don prosthetic makeup to play 68-year-old street ballers reunited in their final basketball hurrah. Boots’ poignant confession reveals after Shaq’s Big Fella collapses from a heart attack on the basketball court during their game.
We really do get old because we stop playing; when we stop doing what we love to do. I didn’t expect “Uncle Drew” to have that kind of resonance for me.
No, “Uncle Drew” isn’t one of the best movies of the year. Not even in the same zip code. Honestly, “Uncle Drew” was the most fun I’ve had at the movies in 2018. Kyrie plays legendary streetballer Uncle Drew, who mysteriously disappeared after his Team’s tragic fail in the Rucker Tournament back in 1968.
In the faux ESPN 30 for 30 opening clip, legendary Uncle Drew dunks over his one-on-one basketball opponent while holding a ham sandwich in his right hand. The Man. Mostly, the Myth. Yeah, you gotta love “Uncle Drew”.
“Uncle Drew” rules in its over the top absurd. Uncle Drew and the Old Guys get schooled by the State Girls Champion Team in a pickup game. At the club, Uncle Drew and the “Boys” throw down in the hip-hop dance battle with kids old enough to be their grandkids. I was laughing so hard.
Kyrie elevates this seemingly “one joke” comical farce into this whimsical elegy of growing old with grace in his touching gravitas as Uncle Drew. His off-the-wall poignancy and sentimentality had me both in stitches and in tears. For Uncle Drew and the Old Guys, basketball was their first great love. Basketball gives them life. It gives purpose.
At the narrative arc, Uncle Drew says, “It’s about the love, Youngblood nothing else.” That landed home for me. We all get older. Yet, love what you love to do, regardless of age. For Kyrie and Shaq that’s basketball. For me that’s Aikido. Aikido is my great love.
I’ve given 28 years of life to Aikido. I’ve taken thousands of falls. I’ve practiced with hundreds of partners. My knees hold up for the most part. My back aches. I need lots of rest before practice. I take my time recovering from practice. Older, I’ve gotten smarter in how I train. I know what can, and what I used to do. My body is fucking older. Yet, Aikido keeps my mind and spirit young.
I do Aikido because I love it. Aikido was my first love. I began my love story of Aikido with Sensei Dan 28 years ago with the possibility of discovering the greater within me. As long as I improve just some or discover something new, it’s worth enduring. Aikido fills my heart, fills my soul.
Yeah, we really do get old when we stop playing, when we stop doing what we love to do. That’s the love for the game. That’s your love for your life.
Echoing hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, Uncle Drew says, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” It’s also what Theodore Roosevelt said in “The Man in the Arena.” Strive valiantly and dare to fail greatly. Live life on the court, in the arena, not in the stands. Play all heart. Leave it all on the court.
Love something so much that you’re willing to endure mind, body and spirit. You dare to fail bravely. You dare for greater than. Do what’s in your heart, Youngblood! That’s legacy.
The way I see it: You take your shot in life. It’s 50% in. It’s 50% out. What if you miss? What if you don’t? I can live with that. I think you can, too.
For me, Aikido is about the love, Youngblood. What’s your Aikido? What’s the love for you? Discover yours. If you haven’t found yours, there’s still time.
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Photo credit:Pixabay