We can kick, scream, and fight against it all we want, but aging is unavoidable. The question is not will we get older, but how are we going to handle it when we do get older.
For some of us, the question is decided merely by environment. Life goes on and whatever crazy journey the face and body go on is merely part of the adventure.
For others, the question is more of a battle-cry. Life goes on and they fight tooth and nail against Father Time and his army of wrinkles and sags.
But for a precious few, aging is just another opportunity to show the world how amazing they are. Age may be just a number for most of us, but for those aging with inexplicable grace, it’s not even that.
Naturally, athletes are well represented in this pool of precious ageless gems. So it seems, just like in high school, the jocks win again.
Here are 20 sports superstars who simply do not age.
Tim Duncan
Date 1: June 1997
Date 2: May 2014
Spurs legend Tim Duncan just won his fifth championship at the tender age of 38. Much has been made of his ageless game, but Duncan’s look is almost as ageless as his game. Shave that beard scruff into a goofy goatee and slap on a silly 90s hat and suit, and you’ve exactly the same guy.
Steve Young
Date 1: October 1995
Date 2: February 2014
Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young may be closing in on 53, but in the most flattering of lighting he could almost pass for the same guy that won those Super Bowls with the Niners in the 90s. It must be that clean living Mormons are famous for.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Date 1: January 1975
Date 2: January 1988
Date 3: September 1997
Date 4: February 2014
It seems Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did most of his aging between 1975 and 1988, and by that I mean he shaved his head and beard. Kareem basically hasn’t aged a single day since going bald.
Roger Federer
Date 1: September 2000
Date 2: March 2014
Swiss tennis great Roger Federer will be 33 this August, but minus the ill-advised ponytail and unfortunate teenage breakouts, he’s hardly aged a day in the last 14 years. The only real difference here is that in 2000 all of Federer’s success was still ahead of him, while today it’s all behind him.
Michael Irvin
Date 1: January 1994
Date 2: June 2010
Date 3: October 2013
Hall of Fame Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin is as dependable as the tides—at least in terms of his look. It’s been 30 years and the only thing that has ever changed on this guy is the girth of his mustache, the size of diamond earrings and his glasses.
Seriously—even his facial lines are the same! Take off Irvin’s glasses and thicken up his modern mustache, and you couldn’t tell the difference between him now and him in 1994.
Alex Rodriguez
Date 1: December 2003
Date 2: November 2013
Though his reputation has certainly taken some hits in the last decade, embattled Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez’s youthful complexion sure hasn’t.
Ray Allen
Date 1: February 1996
Date 2: October 2006
Date 3: September 2013
Although NBA free agent Ray Allen, who is expected to return to the Heat next season, is just weeks away from his 39th birthday, he is still easily recognizable as young Jesus Shuttlesworth, the character he played in Spike Lee’s 1996 film He Got Game.
Tiger Woods
Date 1: July 1997
Date 2: May 2013
The size and importance of the trophy may differ drastically, but today PGA great Tiger Woods looks remarkably similar to his mid-90s self. Although his Nike shirts and hats provide an ageless uniformity, it’s really Woods’ smile that makes him so ageless.
Mark Messier
Date 1: January 1995
Date 2: May 2014
A good way to always look young when you’re older is to voluntarily do the bald thing in your youth. It’s not so much that Hall of Fame great Mark Messier looks young today—more like he’s always looked old and his age has finally caught up.
Deion Sanders
Date 1: November 1995
Date 2: November 2013
If Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders could bottle up and sell whatever voodoo keeps him looking so young, he’d make a bazillion dollars. Give or take.
Sugar Ray Leonard
Date 1: April 1980
Date 2: July 1986
Date 3: February 1997
Date 4: October 2011
It’s absolutely stunning that former boxer Sugar Ray Leonard is rapidly closing in on 60. Although he’s definitely aged a bit from his early days in the 80s, Leonard looks almost exactly the same today as he did more than 15 years ago in 1997.
Gabrielle Reece
Date 1: May 2003
Date 2: September 2013
Former beach volleyball superstar Gabrielle Reece was one of the biggest names of the 90s. Though the only photos we have access to are from the last decade or so, believe it or not, Reece doesn’t look much different in either photo than she did as a college athlete at Florida State back in the late 80s.
Grant Hill
Date 1: February 1996
Date 2: August 2012
Retired NBA player Grant Hill was a standout star at Duke before being drafted No. 3 overall by the Pistons in 1994. Today at age 41, he doesn’t look even a day older than he did in his third year playing professionally.
David Beckham
Date 1: January 1998
Date 2: February 2014
One of the sexiest athletes in the world for more than two decades, retired English soccer star David Beckham somehow looks better today than he did in 1998. Like a fine scotch, he gets better with age.
Herschel Walker
Date 1: January 1981
Date 2: November 2011
Although it’s certifiably insane that former NFL running back Herschel Walker thinks he could still play in the league at the age of 52, there’s no question that at least he looks like he could play.
Teemu Selanne
Date 1: October 1997
Date 2: February 2013
Aged 43, recently retired NHL great Teemu Selanne—or at least he says he’s going to retire, though nothing has been made official—had one of the longest and most consistently productive careers in the history of the sport. And clearly he looked pretty good throughout!
Reggie Miller
Date 1: March 1985
Date 2: July 1996
Date 3: April 2006
Date 4: September 2012
Hall of Fame Pacer Reggie Miller has, inexplicably, barely aged a day between his playing days at UCLA and his second career as an NBA analyst. That despite the fact that he (supposedly) aged almost 30 years in between.
Derek Jeter
Date 1: March 1994
Date 2: June 2014
The only thing that ever changes about Yankees great Derek Jeter is his haircut, the cut of his suit and the lady on his arm. Put a hat on him and he looks exactly the same as he did two decades ago.
Katarina Witt
Date 1: February 1988
Date 2: September 1994
Date 3: June 2000
Date 4: February 2004
Date 5: November 2009
Date 6: July 2012
More than 25 years since she won the gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary, German figure skater Katarina Witt is easily recognizable as the same sultry superstar that took the world by storm back then. It’s hard to believe she’s almost 50!
Barry Sanders
Date 1: January 1986
Date 2: February 2014
Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders was ageless during his career, which is entirely fitting, given that he’s barely aged a day in over 30 years.
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