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Viewing 1 - 8 out of 8 Blogs.
Ever wonder how athletes start taking steroids? I imagine it’s the same path that I followed in taking supplements. It started with word of a mouth from a friend. I was at my first Senior Games in San Diego, playing on a dangerously hot artificial turf field. My teammate Carol--a lean, tall, speedy (for over 50), good-looking woman--offered scoops of Tangy Orange Cytomax energy drink to everyone. I added it to my bottle of water, and downed it all before the game. Boy, was I peppy in the first half, despite the heat! Convinced it had helped me, over the following year I went through a couple pounds of it for all my soccer games. Then, that flavor got hard to come by, and I found that other flavors didn’t have the same effect. I started scrutinizing the contents. Tangy Orange had guarana, ginseng, and I think creatine. Plus a heck of a lot of sugar. Other flavors had only the sugar in common. My buddy looked at the cans and told me I was giving myself insulin resistance and diabetes. So I threw away my Cytomax stash. When I’m dragging before a game, I now slip a little creatine monohydrate powder into my water. Creatine gives me that same peppy, caffeine-high type of feeling. Is it safe? Is my head growing 25% larger? I dunno. To supplement or not to supplement. Whaddyall think?
Tags: Tips Supplements Cytomax Energy Drink Safety
With the national election as hot as a reality show, it is a good time to point out that athletics significantly influences how Americans vote. In the US, people don’t vote for a klutz. To win an election, you need to be perceived as an athlete, as someone who can score. Up until the end of March, one of Barack Obama’s best attributes was that he was over 40 and still played basketball. Then he made the mistake of bowling 37--less than his age. That dropped him in the polls until baseball fans pictured Hillary throwing out the first pitch at Nationals Park. It doesn’t matter how personally sedentary you are, as Americans, we idolize sports figures. Why else do I own a shirt that says “BECKHAM” across the back? Why doesn’t my shirt say “MJ”? Why does my son have a shirt that reads “O’NEAL”? After all, my son is not a 7’1” black man. In fact, he would need 1.5 clones and a lot of suntan oil to equal one Shaq. Would Gerald Ford have been a successful president if he hadn’t tripped so much? Would Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan have won if they’d never sat on a horse? Why do presidents call major league teams as soon as they win a championship? Why does Bush ride his bike alongside Lance Armstrong? Surely Lance is not advising GW on Iraq. Identifying with sports heroes makes us feel good about ourselves and about others who share our feelings. The downside, as pointed out by Jennifer Warner on WebMD, is that it is short-lived. Maybe we’ll all remember that after the election. See References:
Jennifer Warner’s engaging 2004 article on why we need sports heroes: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=50345 America has become a land of shortages, and heroes are just another one of them: http://www.drake.edu/journalism/CenturysEnd/heroes.html
Tags: Humor Politics Role Models Heroes
It was a real turning point a few years ago when I realized I had become an old fart. Literally. Farting is a long-standing joke in adolescent, college, and male-bonding movies. But it just doesn’t pass with the same effect on the field or court with a bunch of female athletes. Especially if I’m playing with younger women. They lack empathy about GeezerGas. An escaped fart implies lack of body control and well, femininity. On a Royal Caribbean cruise, a comedian once pointed out that the food was great, but the problem was that as you get older, it seems like everything you eat turns to gas.
Farting has become quite a problem for me while playing sports. Sometimes it’s an advantage because it throws off my opponents. Sometimes I ask if something’s wrong with the ball, if it’s going flat. That didn’t work in ping pong. Another time I let loose while running by the soccer coach and the sideline bench. Oy vey. They don't make soccer balls like they used to, coach! And a sudden fart can be dangerous. One evening, I was walking with a friend in downtown San Carlos, which has become quite the gathering place for sidewalk restaurants. Just as another couple walked by, my companion suddenly let loose with a hugely loud fart. He seemed so startled by his own noise that he sort of jumped forward and twisted his knee in the process. Unanticipated propulsion is an accident waiting to happen. I have tried a number of new rituals to eliminate sport farts. I eat only bland things before playing, such as oatmeal, bread, and bananas. No fat, no dairy, and no high fructose corn syrup. And I must finish eating 3 hours before playing. Sometimes I will take 2 Beanos, a Pepcid AC, and a Rolaids 30 minutes before the game. It would be easier to switch to a sport where farting is not so obvious. Like a water sport, where the gas might even increase my buoyancy. Or bungee jumping. Or hang gliding. I’ll think about it next year. Or whenever the wind gets knocked out of me.
Tags: Humor Flattulence Old Fart
Two years ago, I became something I hadn’t been before. My soccer teammates told me I was a role model. It wasn’t because I was playing any better -- they just finally found out I was twenty years older than some of them. That’s what makes us proud of being GeezerJocks, isn’t it? We carry on our Weekend Road Warrior traditions long after our peers have retired to a couch potato trailer park of existence. But while I might inspire younger athletes, I am in turn inspired by others twenty years older than I. The weekend of March 15-16, 2008, I saw some phenomenal athletes at the 2008 Bay Area Senior Games at Stanford University. On a lark, my buddy and I signed up for table tennis. The last time I had played ping pong was 35 years ago during beer fests in the dorm basement. My bud had at least played in a few college tournaments, so we thought we might have a chance at being competitive. We practiced for 3 months but set our expectations at just having a good time. When we showed up for the games, we were the only ping pong pretenders in a serious group of around 30 competitors (only 3 women). Many were in their 70’s and 80’s, and all were slim and fit with keen eyes and incredibly quick reflexes. Most looked 15-20 years younger than their true age. I was annihilated by 79-year-old Harriet, who let me have a few mercy points. The doubles competition was won by Harvey and Ken, a couple of guys in their 70’s, who beat a couple of guys in their 50’s. I also played one day of women’s soccer. I know a lot of these women because most play in various leagues around the SF Bay Area. What amazed me more was the men’s soccer, where there were fantastic players on the field. Except for the white heads of hair, they could have been 35, running down the field with fluidity and power, and shooting from 20 yards out. I knew I hadn’t seen them around before and asked where they were from. Mike Mackenzie said he puts together the soccer event just so that these men, from all over northern California, would have a place to play. I came away from that weekend with some good memories and a lot of inspiration. There are pictures of the athletes in action at http://johntodd.spitfirephoto.com/albums.php?albumId=175. Next August, Stanford will be the site of the 2009 Summer National Senior Games. Athletes must first qualify in State games for the traditional events like tennis, cycling, swimming, and track. But there will be demonstration sports (soccer, fencing, water polo, rowing, sailing, lawn bowling and equestrian events), where any athlete can register. Hope to see you there, soaking in inspiration and perspiration. Because old athletes never die, they just become role models. (mj note: I put some edits to the original text in red font--it's not for emphasis. Due to Senior moments, I misspelled roll in the title and forgot to include my main point at the end!)
Tags: Senior Olympics Bay Area Ping Pong Table Tennis Soccer
I recently read the protestations of the name change of GeezerJock magazine to Masters Athlete. I can’t fault the publishers for the change, because they are targeting a broader reader base that starts at age 40 instead of age 50-60. After all, people my age don’t read magazines unless they are free. But the discussion got me thinking—what’s a GeezerJock anyway? And is this a sexist term? Should I be reading a magazine or website that might be oriented towards Geezers and male Jocks? Or is the term GeezerJock more encompassing? Does it apply to a woman? So I looked up the definition of Geezer. Here’s what I found on UrbanDictionary.com: - In the U.K.: A guy, a bloke, a person in general. The British equivalent of the American slang word "dude".
- In the U.S.: An old man, particularly one who is either cranky or eccentric. Rather derogatory term.
- A Geezer is a male Englishman who likes drinking, football, and violence, preferably all at the same time.
Okay, so maybe this last definition is close to me. Except the part about being an Englishman. Clearly, a Geezer is not a female. But what about jock? Is that another mismatch, because certainly I don’t wear one, and it couldn’t be much of a turn-on for role play, because Madonna hasn’t posed in one… I have been around a lot of females who refer to themselves as jocks. But most of the time it’s said with resignation, like, “I’m a jock. (Sigh. Shake head. Throw hands over head.)” Another search online indicates that a jock can be a jockey, a disc jockey, an athletic supporter, an athlete, or a dumb athlete. The last way to examine this is to look at the reverse. If I’m not a GeezerJock, then what am I? Jockette sounds too dainty. And if you search for “female jock”, you get lots of hits on jock itch. If you search for “female geezer”, you find references to a Geezer Bird, which is apparently very uncomplimentary, somewhere between a transsexual and a beer-swizzling Englishwoman who likes drinking, football, and violence, preferably all at the same time. So given all these choices, I’m sticking with GeezerJock to describe myself -- a senior female athlete, master of none but still kicking it around. But if anyone comes up with a better term, I’ll gladly switch.
Tags: Humor Geezer Jock Geezerjock Women Female
By age 56, I thought I was going to be one of the lucky ones when it came to menopause. I thought I was going to be in the 15% of American women who do not suffer menopausal hot flashes. I was wrong. They started suddenly, short little pulses of heat running through my body, lasting only a minute or so. I had as many as 5-10 in an hour. I bought a dozen cheap paper fans and positioned them all over the house, in my purse, in my car. I dressed differently, wearing layers of light clothing that I could shed faster than a stadium flasher. No outer layers that had to be pulled over my head. T-shirts instead of turtlenecks. Thin warmups instead of fleece in winter. But while I adapted to the discomfort, I also noticed something. I never had a hot flash while exercising, playing a sport, or doing a snow sport. Even though overheating has been one of my biggest issues while playing soccer, the game didn't add to my hot flashes. So before I initiate a clinical study or donate my body to science, I'd like to know -- has anyone else noticed this, or is it just me?
Tags: Menopause Hot Flashes Aging
Have you ever gone to a party mainly because you didn't want the host to suffer because not enough people showed up? Well, yesterday I did an electronic version of that. Geezerjock sent me an automated email asking if I had created my login yet. I've over 50. I couldn't remember if I had or not. So I followed the link, and I posted a profile. I contributed 20 minutes of personal time so that the website would have something on it. It was my electronic version of bringing spinach dip to a party. So what was my reward for this effort? Did someone ping me back and say, hey thanks for the spinach dip? No, instead I got a message (two duplicates, actually) from TRainwater, telling me to stop whining. Geez, that really made my day. Admonished by a complete stranger. Who didn't like my spinach dip. Admittedly, I am not much of a social networker. I've never even looked at MySpace. So maybe the rules are different in E-space. Maybe posting a profile is e-Swahili for flame me, baby! Because of this experience I've discovered this website has some deficiencies. Like I can't delete a comment on my blog entries even if it offends me. And I can't seem to escape additional gratuitous messages from Mr. TRainwater. This reminds me of a work experience 20 years ago. The company started an internal bulletin board system, and there was one guy who was compelled to post a comment on every issue. His boorish hyperactivity caused many people to drop off the system. Heaven help you, Geezerjock. My spinach dip ain't gonna feed your guests.
Tags: Humor Still Frustrated TRainwater
This geezerJock website is a nice idea, but... There are so many other opportunities for social networking and online dating. It is pretty hard to get enough critical mass to make this website worth using. E.g., I just searched on soccer and found no one with that interest.  Basically, do people really blog or network online about the sports they play? I don't think so -- talking about the sports you play is something you do on the field or court, in person, while you're all sweaty and rehydrating yourself.
Tags: Frustrated
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