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It is, I would imagine, strange to be 33 and to be a professional athlete.
In almost every other realm of life, you would be considered young. In sports, you are almost certainly a veteran and therefore old.
You are on a statistical decline, with the peak age of athletic performance generally considered somewhere between 26 and 32 in most sports and positions. But you are not so much past your prime as to be useless. You're probably almost as good as you ever were, which is fine and frustrating at the same time.
You're probably making a pretty hefty salary, since you are past the euphemistic "team friendly contract" stage of your career. So you are counted on to produce, limitations and all.
I got going thinking about this age when I noticed it was Kirk Cousins' 33rd birthday on Thursday (and that good old Kirk is still trying to learn how to play "off-schedule," just like Adrian Peterson was still trying all those years to be a better receiver, which I talked about at the end of Thursday's Daily Delivery podcast).
And it led to a list of five Minnesota athletes, all of them 33, who will have a large impact on how far their teams go in the next season or two.
*Cousins: Of course, he's at the top of the list. No position is more important in any sport than the starting quarterback on an NFL team. Cousins has achieved a certain statistical equilibrium in his career in terms of yards, touchdowns and wins. But it often comes in uneven fits and spurts. A good and consistent season this year might ensure his long-term future in Minnesota (as well as that of his bosses), particularly as next season and his $45 million cap hit looms. A bad year might ensure the opposite. It's just that simple.
*Mats Zuccarello, Wild: On a team with limited cap flexibility in large part because of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, Zuccarello will make $6 million each of the next three years. He has chemistry with young budding star Kirill Kaprizov. A healthy and productive Zuccarello is critical to the Wild's success (though to be honest this spot would have been occupied by goalie Cam Talbot if he hadn't turned 34 last month).
*Patrick Beverley, Wolves: The newly acquired guard is making $14.3 million this season. He instantly becomes one of Minnesota's best two-way players with his ability to shoot and play defense. How he fits into the roster will be a key question in determining the success of the Wolves in a very important year for the franchise's trajectory.
*Kenta Maeda, Twins: He was the Cy Young runner-up last season, but his 5.56 ERA through June told a lot of the story of the Twins' struggles this year. He has a 2.98 ERA since then. If the latter is the Maeda we're going to see in 2022, at least the Twins have a chance.
*Michael Boxall, Minnesota United: When healthy the 33-year-old defender gives the Loons stability. He anchored their defense during last year's playoff run and got them out of an early-season rut this year. He will be essential down the stretch for a team that has produced results this year more with defense than offense.
