On Wednesday, Tom Brady, the 45-year-old, seven-time Super Bowl champion, announced his retirement in a video shot on a beach alone in front of some Florida condos.
It perfectly encapsulates what happens to most legends who fight to get every ounce of water from the rock. The ones who think they can outrun mortality almost always end up alone in some form or another. They exist in solitude, sacrificing parts of themselves for the chance to breathe rarefied air. Tidy, perfect endings are hard to come by for those who have emptied the tank to etch themselves into history.