Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 957 Season Centennial
Retirement happens every year, it is not surprising, the replacement of the old with the new is a normal process, and it is also an inevitable part of the continuous progress of competitive sports.

There is no need to make a fuss.

However, this year is a little different, with heavyweight players announcing their retirements one after another.

Julius Peppers, defensive tackle, nine-time Pro Bowl, three-time All-American first team and three-time All-American second team legend, announced the end of his 17-year long career after playing for the Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers.

NaVorro-Bowman, linebacker, three-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-American, had a brilliant career with the San Francisco 49ers before deciding to hang up his boots after just eight seasons.

Jamal Charles, running back, once made waves for the Kansas City Chiefs. His career was already good enough, but what really impressed him was the serious injury in the 2016 season, which not only led to his transfer to the Denver Broncos, but also directly led to Vichy selecting Levi with the third pick in the next year's draft.

What follows is history.

Unexpectedly, Charles left the professional arena due to serious injuries just two seasons after Levi entered the league.

Also, there is Rob Gronkowski.

This New England Patriots tight end is an important contributor to changing the tactical status of tight ends in the league. He has five Pro Bowls, four All-American first-teams, and two Super Bowl championship rings. He spent all nine years of his professional career in Foxborough. He is undoubtedly the most representative tight end in the league.

Back then, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski emerged as tight ends one after another, bringing new vitality to the tight end position, but no one would have thought that things have changed now.

Graham was forgotten by the public due to injuries and had long lost his peak form, wandering between different teams; while Gronkowski retired at the peak of his form and chose to leave the league.

The entire league was shocked.

Last season, Gronkowski's condition declined significantly and was indeed not as good as his peak period, but there is no doubt that in key moments, he was still Brady's most trusted passing target, and he was able to turn decay into magic time and time again.

But I didn’t expect that he would retire this year?

Gronkowski is only two months away from turning 30!

Involuntarily, people around the league speculated that Gronkowski might choose to retire in style, just like Barry Sanders, before things get any worse.

In this regard, Gronkowski said that it was mainly due to injuries.

Throughout his career, he has been plagued by problems with his back, knees, arms and concussions. Last season, his performance was also affected by injuries. These injuries have left him physically and mentally exhausted, and he needs time to recover.

However, rumors within the league suggest otherwise.

The real reason is that the conflict between Brady and Belichick is intensifying.

Obviously, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs for two consecutive seasons is an important reason, but the deeper reason is not because of the Kansas City Chiefs, but because Brady and Belichick are fighting for the right to speak within the team.

There is no room for two tigers in one mountain.

The current Brady is no longer the unknown seventh-round rookie 20 years ago. When facing his mentor Belichick, Brady began to resist and even prepared to seize Belichick's power.

The game is always going on.

The open and covert struggles between the two big men have made the New England Patriots' locker room a mess, and even the team owner has to be careful about how to deal with it. From the farce of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels in the offseason last year to the further outbreak of the power game in the locker room this offseason, the team atmosphere in Foxburg has been getting worse and worse in recent years.

By the way, Belichick still has no plans to retire, and McDaniels will continue to stay in the position of offensive coordinator.

Gronkowski is really exhausted by this. He supports Brady, unconditionally, and he is willing to stand on Brady's side no matter what the situation is; but such internal power struggles are really not Gronkowski's strong point, and he is tired of being distracted by things outside the court.

Then, there are the injuries.

In the end, Gronkowski chose to retire.

The reasons and the truth are confusing, and all kinds of rumors are flying around; but there is no doubt that Gronkowski's sudden retirement is a big deal.

For a moment, the entire alliance was in an uproar.

Moreover, the above-mentioned players are only a small part. There are also many Pro Bowl-level players retiring in other positions. Although the impact is slightly less, it still triggers widespread discussion.

Everyone knows that retirement is normal and it is part of the law of nature. When the effects of age and injuries become an obstacle to continuing to fight, whether you are willing to admit it or not, the time to turn around and leave will eventually come.

Despite this, every time I see the news of retirement, I still hear voices of sighing, lamenting, and regretting. A very important part of the reason is:
These players often represent their own memories. Their retirement not only means the burying of those memories, but also means that their age has begun to grow and even grow old. The figures who once ran all the way on the court have finally reached the time to retire, and they who sit in front of the TV watching the game are also slowly getting old. Those young fans are cheering for the younger and more youthful players.

What is gone is not only the players, but also one's own youth.

It is for this reason that retirement news is always so mixed.

In terms of personal performance alone, Gronkowski may not be as good as the two legends Bowman and Peppers; but Gronkowski's retirement and Graham's fall represent the decline of two leading figures in the new era of tight ends. Coupled with the complete disbandment of the "Bombshell Legion" during this offseason, the most representative scenes of the league in the past decade have become memories.

In this light, it is no wonder that Gronkowski's retirement has caused so much discussion.

The busy free market, the shock of retirement news, the warm-up of the draft, and the emergence of Levi, the "King of Rolls" in offseason training, the NFL is indeed noisy this year.

Although this is the case every offseason, this year seems to be particularly lively——

Don’t forget that the 2019 season is the NFL’s centennial season. The league has been gearing up early and planning a series of activities for the centennial season.

The celebration will run throughout the season, starting with the Centennial Best Team; all teams will choose a week of events to wear their own retro jerseys - not only commemorating the history of the league, but also leading fans to review the history of the team; to stadium paintings, schedule arrangements; and finally to special events for international competitions, and so on.

Goodell is ready to seize the opportunity and use the centennial event as a celebration to push the NFL's influence to a new peak.

Everything is just waiting for the carnival party to begin.

Amid the steaming heat, the annual event still proceeded as planned, and was a little special because of the centenary celebration.

The league's top 100 players list.

(End of this chapter)