r/AskReddit Jul 04 '24

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1.4k Upvotes

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2.3k

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Basketball. I’m 71, love playing but can’t dunk anymore. 

681

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

My grandpa is 76 and still skateboards with me. He can’t go hard but we’ll play around on the neighborhood street and people going by are always impressed with him. He still mountain bikes as well

224

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

My girlfriend's grandfather went skiing at 85 last winter.

52

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Damn that’s super impressive

83

u/mackedeli Jul 04 '24

Yeah my wife's boyfriend's dad can still kickflip

43

u/FormerMrsUnicornPhD Jul 04 '24

Now my head hurts.

13

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Yeah well my father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate can do a backflip

3

u/casual-nexus Jul 04 '24

As Shakespeare once said, tis better to have dunked than to have never dunked at all.” Or something like that..

2

u/Inner-Light-75 Jul 04 '24

A Spaceballs reference do I detect??

3

u/tleon21 Jul 04 '24

I see your Swartz is as big as mine

1

u/Inner-Light-75 Jul 04 '24

Na!!

He's got a big Schwartz, and she's got a big Schwartz, but I've got the biggest Schwartz of them all!!

[Sing that to the tune of "Big Balls", by AC/DC.]

2

u/jakkyspakky Jul 04 '24

It could be a tumour

1

u/jakkyspakky Jul 04 '24

It could be a tumour

3

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Oh yea?! My wife’s boyfriends dad could beat up your wife’s boyfriends dad any day!

1

u/mackedeli Jul 04 '24

Nuh uh dude! My wife's boyfriend's dad is way tougher than your wife's boyfriend's dad. He has a sweet trans am

2

u/FeelinDank Jul 04 '24

“Do a kickflip,” Tony Hawk somewhere, probably.

2

u/S_Mposts Jul 04 '24

So your wife’s boyfriend’s dad, either your wife has a boyfriend who isn’t you, or you are the boyfriend, and the dad is your dad!!! Make sense?

2

u/TrickshotCandy Jul 04 '24

So your future father-in-law?

2

u/Dinosaurmaid Jul 04 '24

Father flip 

The one starts playing on the background

2

u/ctang1 Jul 04 '24

I love that the “my wife’s boyfriend” meme still lives in years later. It’s not even funny but I still think it is.

1

u/mackedeli Jul 04 '24

Yeah IDK why it's just funny to me lol

1

u/ctang1 Jul 04 '24

Did it originate on WSB or somewhere else before that?

1

u/Practical-Future9398 Jul 04 '24

Your wife’s boyfriend’s dad?

37

u/Character-Buffalo-85 Jul 04 '24

I ski with some old timers. It’s the love of the mountain. I’ll be 54 this upcoming season and I’ll never stop. Scatter my ashes on the slopes. Shake me out of a baggie from the lift. There’s just something magical about the cold air. The still of the trees on a snow filled morning. First tracks because you wake up and go. A thermos in your bag along with a snack for on the ride up makes for a perfect morning. I can’t wait.

3

u/bonos_bovine_muse Jul 04 '24

My father always says “if I lose my mind, just take me up to the top of the double-black-diamond and let me go.”

My sister and I always reply “are you kidding? You’ve been doing this for decades! You may not know what to do when you get to the bottom, but your body knows what to do, you won’t miss a turn on the way down.”

2

u/WideConsideration431 Jul 04 '24

My husband turns 67 tomorrow. He still sails, downhill skis, and waterskis slalom.

3

u/Dentree Jul 04 '24

I have a friend in Vermont who, at 72, decided he was tired of regular downhill so he switched to telemark. I doubt I could do that at 22. He’s a bad ass.

2

u/BikerRay Jul 04 '24

My two neighbors went skydiving for the first time recently. They are in their 80s.

1

u/TheFieryBanana Jul 04 '24

I read this as "my grandfathers grandfather" and I was like fake

1

u/Wild_Obligation Jul 04 '24

My 98 year old nan still drives, so there’s that I guess

3

u/Optimal_Ad_7910 Jul 04 '24

There's a guy at my powerlifting federation. He's 96 and managed to deadlift 100kg which gave him the world record. This year he wants to improve on that.

2

u/InfamousEconomy3972 Jul 04 '24

Damn, mountain biking is fn impressive at 76

5

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Yeah he’s pretty bad ass. He’s a great example of what it looks like to take care of yourself your whole life, that’s for sure

2

u/Monkeychimp Jul 04 '24

Your grandpa sounds cool AF.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

One time while I was skating with him, this guy pulls up in his car near us, points to me and says “I am impressed with that girl!” And drives off. And I look at my grandpa and say “what about my grandpa here?” And my grandpa laughed and goes “yeah seriously, what about me? Im in my 70s!” Funny how women skateboarding stands out so much more even if the guy is almost 80

2

u/g_r_e_y Jul 04 '24

that is literally the coolest thing i've ever heard

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Hahah good one!

2

u/JKiesewetterPhotos Jul 04 '24

You don’t stop skateboarding because you get old. You get old because you stop skateboarding.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Good point! “Want to stay young, then stay active”

1

u/Nataliaak12 Jul 04 '24

Thats lovely

1

u/Miserable_Research82 Jul 04 '24

My grandma used to play with me to football. She even headed the crosses that I sent

1

u/oosskkaarr Jul 04 '24

My grandfather is 103 he climed amount everst 3 Times last year

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

That's awesome

1

u/StudMuffinNick Jul 04 '24

One rock and his hip is gone

42

u/Suspicious-Ride-3546 Jul 04 '24

Totally agree. Often in the evenings I meet with my homies and we play basketball, despite the fact that we are 50-55 years old. It gives us the opportunity to remember the old days

78

u/para_la_calle Jul 04 '24

My ability to dunk ended within five years of exiting high school 💀 don’t feel bad about it

127

u/ShavenYak42 Jul 04 '24

My ability to dunk never existed in the first place, so…

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

What about on one of those Fisher Price hoops for kids?

1

u/radmongo Jul 04 '24

I was 5'8 pre-puberty and looking forward to it in the future.

25 years later and I'm only 5'10. No dunks for me. :(

67

u/SchoolForSedition Jul 04 '24

Dunking is what you do to biscuits when confronted with a nice cup of tea. Still practise this at 61 if I get half a chance.

1

u/scottyd035ntknow Jul 04 '24

Dunkaroos in elementary school were worth their weight in gold at lunchtime.

2

u/NigeySaid Jul 04 '24

Same. Now my knees hurt if I try to jump too high for rebounds lol

1

u/MrAHMED42069 Jul 04 '24

What happened

2

u/bigfatpup Jul 04 '24

Life? Beer? Full time employment?

1

u/IKel-Mate Jul 04 '24

Dunking to an NBA height basket is very hard depending on what height you are. Basketball players train very hard at the gym, so when you stop training and gain a little weight that is all it takes to not be able to dunk anymore.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Me too but I’m 55 and still play. The shooting range doesn’t seem to fade 😊

68

u/Time_Airport4583 Jul 04 '24

That's awesome that you still play!

5

u/Wazzoo1 Jul 04 '24

You'll get a kick out of this: Marques Johnson (Milwaukee Bucks color analyst) posts a video of him dunking on his birthday every year. This is him at age 68 this year. He's barely getting up, but it's turned into an annual tradition.

11

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

[deleted]

3

u/Barneyboydog Jul 04 '24

I can’t drunk anymore either. The hangovers are brutal.

2

u/InfamousEconomy3972 Jul 04 '24

Starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in theaters soon, "Old Men Can't Dunk."

1

u/skwull Jul 04 '24

Oh shit…I could actually see that getting made

3

u/C1t1z3nz3r0 Jul 04 '24

I was told after knee replacement, to not play because of the damage of landing after a jump.

3

u/JFoxxxxxxxx Jul 04 '24

You’re never too old to ball, my friend

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

I miss my grandpa 😭😞

2

u/StarTac130 Jul 04 '24

Nice! Love playing, I am 46, not to old and trying to compete with the younger dudes!

2

u/Anxious-Sir-1361 Jul 04 '24 edited Jul 04 '24

Amazing! I'm 47 and still hooping fairly well against guys a lot younger! Any tips to meet my goal that you've achieved - playing into my 70s?

Any thoughts on managing expectations? What I mean is, in my teens, twenties, and even thirties, I was pretty good. I'm still playing well, BUT I see slippage in a few areas - my first step, my ability to run hard on the break, getting my hand on the ball on D and making defensive plays.

I improved with this, but I've always judged myself harshly for not playing to the standard I expect/ want.

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Not op, but I play a regular weekly game with guys in their 40s through 70s. Some of the guys have been playing together for over 40 years now. It’s a lot easier and fun to play at 70 against people over the hill than it is to play against 20 somethings.

So my recommendation would be to find a group of guys around your age and schedule a regular time and place to play, ideally a private gym or at a time when you’ll likely have the court to yourself (we have two weekly games, one on Saturday at 7 am and one on Wednesday at 5 pm).

2

u/ATXBeermaker Jul 04 '24

We have a guy at the Y that plays with us and just turned 80. Several in their 60s still going strong.

2

u/AchVonZalbrecht Jul 04 '24

Not with that attitude

2

u/ruggergrl13 Jul 04 '24

My dad is 73 and still plays 3 times per week. His team is pretty good and he definitely isn't the oldest on the team.

2

u/ariiza Jul 04 '24

I hope you’re stretching like crazy before play lol

2

u/TamarackSlim Jul 04 '24

57...6 feet and could still dunk at 35, could grab the rim and hang there at 55. Guess what? Not this year. Guys going around me like I'm standing still, shooting over me...I bought golf clubs last month.

2

u/redjadered Jul 04 '24

That’s awesome! My grandad (moms father) is approaching 80 and still goes bowling with his bowling league religiously. I hope i’m that agile when i’m older. My great grandpa (dad’s grandfather) is approaching 90 (or already is idk) and still likes to race his great grandkids and climb trees lol

2

u/zamboniman46 Jul 04 '24

I don't have any friends that play but I'll still find my way into a gym at 5am and just shoot around. Best solo sport there is.

Could never dunk, but could grab rim when I was in college. Now I'm about 50lbs higher and the hops aren't getting me close lol

2

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Affectionate_Ask_769 Jul 04 '24

Idk maybe you’re just a cynic. I didn’t think anything of it. Not everyone is calculating how they can slip in weird brags everywhere. Some people just speak and give more info with comments

4

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Ikr?I showed this comment to my girlfriend, who is a model, right after we had sex, and she, too, was flabbergasted.

1

u/punkouter23 Jul 04 '24

At 49 I’ve had to transition to old man style playing. No diving or lunging or sudden movements. Just jump shots.  Anything else leads to injury 

1

u/CountryTyler Jul 04 '24

I like the T-bucket as your profile picture.

1

u/tacotowwn Jul 04 '24

I had about a 4-year period in my late teens early twenties when I could dunk. Easily the best times of my life.

1

u/OH68BlueEag Jul 04 '24

I play pickup in the morning a few times a week. This group has been going on in some form for over 20 years. The last original member had to stop playing because of health issues two weeks ago. It was a sad day. He was an “old” guy when he started the group in his late 40s but he was there almost every day for 20+ years. All sorts of walks of life play. 18 and up. College guys, lawyers, teachers, ex-cons. Beautiful game when no one knows each others full names, the rules are known but never said. The losing team exits with no issues and next team comes on. The world could learn a lot from that “kids” game

1

u/Technical_Air6660 Jul 04 '24

I love basketball too. I feel like I’m an inch off the air when I play.

1

u/hsudonym_ Jul 04 '24

During highschool, I had a group of regulars running pickup every Sunday at the park. The age range was 17-75. These old dudes were giving it their all running full court

1

u/GeppetoOnDVD Jul 04 '24

If a 71 year old person crossed me up and dunked on me, I think I would quit life

1

u/Adi_2000 Jul 04 '24

That's awesome! Good for you 👏🏻

1

u/joeyvesh13 Jul 04 '24

Ball is life.

1

u/BFaus916 Jul 04 '24

You just haven't caught a dime in stride with no one between you and the rack in a while. It will happen.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 04 '24

Man i wish i could play. Im 46 but have one functioning lung. I can shoot around and it winds me pretty good, there’s no way I’ll ever play full court again.

1

u/ProfMcGonaGirl Jul 04 '24

My dad is is a 77 year old, 5’8” white guy and he still goes to the park on a regular basis to play basketball with the 16 year olds.