Generation Obama sports stars

Eric F., a Brainiac reader born in 1961, writes to remind us not to forget those athletes who also might have served as touchstones for those born within five years of Barack Obama. He writes:

Here's a Hall of fame-type sampling, with a Boston slant, from the "Obama era." Basketball: Larry Bird [1956], Magic Johnson [1959], Patrick Ewing [1962], Michael Jordan [1963]. Baseball: Roger Clemens [1962]. Football: John Elway [1960]; Lawrence Taylor and Patriots' own Andre Tippett [both 1959]. And Bruins Hall-of-Famer Ray Bourque: [1960]. Not sure if it signifies some cluster representing the "golden age of sports", or just a coincidence, but it sure seemed like it to me at the time.

Thanks, Eric. Does anyone want to go deeper and offer a hypothesis about what qualities of character, say, or athletic intelligence, or joi de vivre these athletes may have shared? Can we derive any insights into Generation O from this list? Keep those emails coming, readers!

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