Cathal Dennehy: Youth never bothers to say goodbye

Nadal’s body, which for so long said yes, is saying hell no. His legs, the pillars his game was built on, have betrayed him. The spirit is still willing. The flesh is weak.

BODY SAYS NO: Rafael Nadel is aiming to take part at the French Open but his body his saying no but the spirit is more than willing. Pic: Dan Istitene/Getty Images

There are certain stories you always come back to, and one of the greats in the world of sport is approaching its 10th birthday. It was published in September 2014 by ESPN The Magazine and crafted by J.R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer-winning writer who ghosted the autobiographies of Andre Agassi, Prince Harry and Nike co-founder Phil Knight.

Moehringer is a wizard with words and when he’d wielded his powers in sport, the result was always a story so insightful and illuminating that it made us ordinary schmoes wonder if we should do something else for a living. That feature, on Derek Jeter’s long goodbye in his final season with the New York Yankees, was one of those. If you’ve not read it, now is a good time to ditch this column and fill that void. Because you don’t need to care about baseball (I sure don’t) to feel something as Moehringer launches you headfirst into its central theme.