Columnist Tim Graham: Three stars called it quits: So what!

Tim Graham

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

Tim Graham's usual page 1 column appears Thursday. Dean Juipe has the day off. Graham's media notebook appears Wednesday. Reach him at tim@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

We've lost another one.

John Elway officially retired on Sunday, joining Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky out in the sports pasture.

The three biggest names from three of the four major sports, all gone in a span of less than four months.

Boo hoo.

Whatever shall we do?

Wait for someone else to fill the void, that's what. And trust me: A player eventually will come along to replace each one.

Columnists and commentators have been crying a river over the retirement of three of our all-time greatest athletes, guys who revolutionized their sport. Elway's departure was bemoaned in the Colorado headlines last week as often as the deeds of the Trench Coat Mafia.

It's not that big a deal. Really.

As difficult as it is to comprehend, there always is someone bigger, stronger, faster and better on the horizon. That's why these three men, as awesome as they were, will not go down in history as the best ever.

Imagine the thought, back in the 1960s, of somebody coming along more talented than Wilt Chamberlain. No one revolutionized a sport more than "The Stilt," but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Jordan all have upped the ante since then.

And no one carried a sport farther than Gretzky. Yet Mario Lemieux, who many consider better in his prime than Gretzky in his, arrived and retired during the era of the "Great One."

I'm not even going to waste ink trying to explain how someone better than Elway will emerge.

Elway isn't even close to being history's top quarterback and wouldn't belong in the same sentence as Jordan and Gretzky save for the chronological proximity of their retirements. Don't forget the Denver Broncos won some games last year with Bubby Brister under center.

Yes, it's a bummer to see these classy and superlative athletes all walk away at the same time. But it is generacentric (I just invented that word) to think these men can never be replaced.

We want to believe the players of our respective generations are peerless, and that is shortsighted.

Babe Ruth in his heyday couldn't handle the filthy pitches thrown now. George Mikan would get punished if he tried to drive the lane against the Vancouver Grizzlies' 12th man. Ken Dryden's goal would get riddled if he tried to tend today.

If you don't agree, take a look at the Olympics, the purest and most easily measured of all athletic endeavors. Every four years records are broken for speed, power, distance, endurance. If Jim Thorpe or Jesse Owens wanted to attend the 1998 Atlanta Games, they would have needed jobs selling hot dogs.

It's foolish to think increased athleticism doesn't translate into better athletes in every sport. It's the product of medical advancements and natural selection.

Rocky Marciano the best boxer? Bjorn Borg the best tennis player? Mark Spitz the best swimmer?

Please.

Elway, Jordan and Gretzky will have their successors. Maybe sooner, maybe later. And after that next wave comes upon us, they too will be replaced.

The greatest athlete of all-time is one we won't live long enough to witness.