It happens to all of our star athletes, some more gradual than others, but eventually one day they come to the realization that they are not the man anymore. The day that their mental capacity catches up to their athletic ability and they realize that they are not one of the more dominant physical specimens in the world any longer. There are plenty of our heroes who gracefully bow out and we remember them for their athletic achievements. There are the other group of those who seem to not have taken the hint, and once the fact hits them that they aren’t top tier anymore, it hurts all parties. It hurts us as fans to watch our heroes go down, it hurts the people who have invested time in money in the athlete, an of course it hurts the athletes themselves. TheSource.com takes a look at a few of our childhood heroes who fell back down to mortality the hardest.

Stephon Marbury -

Growing up in Brooklyn, Starbury was the hood story with the happy ending. The Lincoln High product was the latest in a long line of New York City point guards with a fast track to the NBA. After a successful freshman run at Georgia Tech, Marbury was drafted into the NBA in 1996 as the world watched him shed tears of joy. “It’s been 20 years, 20 long years I waited for this day, but it’s here,” Stephon said moments after being drafted. “It’s here now.” Marbury arrived in the NBA and immediately made the NBA all-rookie team. He was only the second player in NBA history to average 20 points and 8 assists for his career. But after stops in Minnesota, New Jersey, Phoenix and New York it seemed that NYC’s golden child had wore out his welcome. When Mike D’Antoni took over the New York Knicks, he seemed to have no place in his rotation for Marbury. After a long stand-off from both party, Marbury’s contract was bought out and he signed with the Boston Celtics. The death of his father, being run out of his hometown, and the inability to put up his stellar numbers all culminated in strange behavior for the entire world to see. During a 24-hour live web cast, Marbury spent his time eating strawberry flavored Vaseline, rambling about having a television show, crying uncontrollably to Kirk Franklin’s “Lean On Me,” and flat out stating, “No, I am not the best player in the NBA. Kobe Bryant is the best player. I don’t care about the NBA. Those days are over.”

Mike Tyson -

At one time, “Iron” Mike Tyson was one of the unquestioned, toughest, baddest, and down right scariest men on the planet. He still remains the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in boxing history, winning his first 19 professional bouts by knockout, 12 of them being in the first round. Rape charges, prison terms, munched ears and facial tattoos only tell half of the story about how nuts Tyson really was in the last two decades. It’s probably best for him to say it in his own words, but remember that at his absolute worst he can still probably knock out a good number of grown men.

Brett Favre -

Brett Favre is can statistically stake a claim for being the greatest quarterback in NFL history. As the only NFL player in history to win three consecutive MVP awards, Favre is a former Super Bowl champion and also holds multiple NFL records. Of those are most career touchdown passes (464), most career passing yards (65,127), most career pass completions (5,720), most career pass attempts (9,280), most career interceptions thrown (310), most consecutive starts at quarterback, (269; 291 total starts including playoffs), and most career wins at quarterback. (169). After the 2007 season, and Brett had broken a number of milestones, the Green Bay Packers had quietly pressured Favre into retiring as a Packer after 16 seasons. Favre obliged at first, and then had himself reinstated and joined the New York Jets. Although he was still wearing green, it just was not the same and Favre should’ve just ended his career on a high note as a Packer. Favre finished a forgettable season as a New York Jet, retired, contemplated a comeback for the entire spring and most of summer, and then finally retired. Favre had the chance to retire as the hometown hero, but ended up looking like an old man who didn’t know when to call it quits.

Dennis Rodman -

The fact that people forget that Dennis Rodman is a five-time NBA champion and two-time defensive player of the year just speaks to how off the wall he is. To be fair, “The Worm” was always a wild dude, and it never diminished his skills. One of the greatest hustle players in NBA history helped Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls win their last three world championships in the mid-90s. Rodman also held a surprise marriage to himself, got it in with Madonna and Carmen Electra, cross-dressed on many occasions, and wrestled alongside Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage; and this is while he was playing!
Post-NBA, Rodman was the commissioner of the Lingerie Football League, bounced around the UK, Tijuana, and Finland basketball leagues, won the Celebrity Championship Wrestling tournament, and wrote a book. The book, “I Should Be Dead By Now,” chronicled his life and explained his attempted suicide and how that symbolically killed the shy Dennis Rodman and gave birth to the man you see today.

-Kazeem Famuyide