Professional Sports | Sports
When the wonder kids make you feel ancient: The strange joy of watching younger athletes
Anyone who knows me well knows that my Saturday mornings are reserved for one thing: Borussia Dortmund (BVB) (and, of course, tweeting about Dortmund shortly afterward). Like clockwork, I get up early every Saturday morning, brew coffee, and watch with about 20% excitement and 80% dread as a soccer club from northwest Germany dictates my mood for the next few days. It’s a ritual at this point — a comforting constant in my life, even if the recent results aren’t always so comforting.
Lately, as Dortmund’s performances have stalled, another thought has crept into my mind during their matches: these players are ridiculously young. Jamie Gittens, at just 19, is out here embarrassing defenders and being linked to some of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s not just Gittens, though. Jude Bellingham bossed Dortmund’s midfield at 18 before becoming Real Madrid’s golden boy for over €100 million. Youssoufa Moukoko debuted at 16 — sixteen! — and promptly started breaking goal-scoring records like it was no big deal. Gio Reyna, barely 22, is one of the most creative players in Germany and already feels like the team’s elder statesman, as he debuted over five years ago. And lastly, there’s Erling Haaland, who, as a teenager, was one of the most prolific strikers in the world while at BVB. He transferred to Man City for around €60 million and has become one of the greatest strikers ever.
At first, I thought this was just a “Dortmund thing.” After all, the club has a reputation for nurturing young talent and turning teenagers into global stars. But then I started noticing it everywhere. Take Lamine Yamal, for example. He was 16 when he started lighting it up for Barcelona last season. Sixteen! He wasn’t just holding his own — he was cooking grown men on the pitch, men twice his age with kids older than him. Last summer in Stuttgart, I saw him play live against Germany in the Euros (Euro Cup), and I was mind-blown. Yamal is now 17 years old and is widely considered one of the best players in the world.
So maybe it’s just soccer, right? In Europe, players start young. They’re recruited into academies as kids and spend a decade honing their craft before breaking into the first team. But no, this isn’t just a soccer phenomenon.
Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon at 20, defeating Novak Djokovic in a match that felt like a generational shift. Connor Bedard recently entered the NHL as the greatest prospect since Wayne Gretzky, and at 19, he’s already delivering. Victor Wembanyama — the literal definition of a generational talent — makes NBA defenders look underfed at just 21. And then there’s Jeremiah Smith, a first-year wide receiver for the recently crowned college football champions, The Ohio State University. The 17-year-old didn’t just survive under the brightest lights; he thrived in the biggest moment, becoming one of the most impactful players in the nation.
It doesn’t stop there. Kimi Antonelli, an 18-year-old prodigy who dominated in F2, is already hailed as the future of Formula 1 and Mercedes’ team. Even the Olympics have joined the parade of wonder kids. The youngest Olympian competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, female skateboarder Zheng Haohao, was born on the penultimate day of the 2012 London Olympics. She was an Olympian at 12 years old.
At first, this whole “the athletes are younger than me” thing was unsettling. I grew up idolizing older players who seemed untouchable — larger-than-life figures who inspired me to dream big. Now, I realize these kids are closer to needing advice on their DAT 121 homework than worrying about retirement plans.
As much as I joke about it, watching these young athletes dominate is genuinely remarkable. Sure, it reminds me that my athletic prime peaked during middle school dodgeball, but their energy, creativity, and fearlessness make sports better. The awe we feel watching younger athletes is different from what we feel when we watch older veterans — it’s tinged with respect for their discipline, recognition of their sacrifices, and maybe even a sense of envy for their precocious success. Their youth doesn’t diminish their achievements; it adds another layer to our appreciation. What were we doing at their age? I certainly wasn’t redefining what’s possible or making the extraordinary look routine week after week.
Ultimately, cheering for athletes younger than us becomes less about identification and more about witnessing their potential to become world-class talent. We root for their growth and celebrate milestones, like younger siblings or protégés. It’s a shift from wanting to emulate them to wanting to support them.
So here’s to the wonder kids. Whether on the pitch, the court, or the track, they’re carrying the torch for the next generation of fans. I’ll keep watching, cheering, and occasionally yelling at the screen in disbelief — because as much as they remind me of the passage of time, they also remind me why I fell in love with sports in the first place.
So next Saturday, I’ll be back at it — coffee in hand, Dortmund on my TV, X (formerly known as Twitter) on my computer, and wonder kids redefining what’s possible. And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.