Darrell Green: The Fastest Baby Boomer Alive and Still Healthy

On February 15th of this year NFL Hall of Famer Darrell Green turned 50. Shortly after, according to his twitter account, he became the fastest baby boomer alive. Green claimed to have run the 40 yard dash in 4.43 seconds on his birthday. Who should doubt him? The answer is no one. He won all of the NFL fastest man competitions he entered; and ten years ago at age 40 he made headlines for running a tad bit faster forty time of 4.2.

Green is a two time Super Bowl champ and 7 time pro bowler whose storied career reads like 50 pages from the Guiness Book of World Records. Most of his records made prominent because of the 20 years he spent in the league. He holds the record for most career interceptions and most interceptions returned by a Redskins player in history. He holds the record for most games played by a defensive player in league history and at age 40, he signed a five year contract with Washington, a team he played with his entire NFL career.

But the story here is much bigger than the fact that Green can run a faster time than almost everyone half his age. The story here is a more positive story than the ones NFL fans have heard in the past few years. Green like Brett Favre, Warren Moon and Deion Sanders who've played long and illustrious career in the league and are in top physical condition for their age, are simply a rarity and should be celebrated.

In 2011, the NFL is expected to have a lockout as they try to figure out a new plan to split the revenue between owners and players. Other issues being discussed include how much dough to fork over to retired players especially the ones with health issues related or unrelated to football. For years now it's become widely accepted that players in the league are susceptible to health problems later on in life as a result of the physical nature of the sport. This problem became more of a serious issue when Hall of Famer Reggie White passed away at age 43 in 2004 of a cardiac arrhythmia. Many players have also suffered from heart problems and concussions. The most unexpected case occurred this year when All American defensive end Gaines Adams died of a heart attack at age 26.

So while NFL owners bicker back and forth with the players' union about shrinking profits, I hope providing substantive health benefits to retired players isn't pushed aside. In the meantime when you hear a story about a 50 year old beast running a 4.43 40 yard dash, all you can do is chuckle or think what the.......???