What Drives Jaromir Jagr? 'It's In My Genes'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Though Bruins fans have seen Mark Recchi excel after turning 40 in the past few years, it's still a very rare thing in the NHL for a forward to continue playing after turning the big 4-0.
Though he's only played three games in a Bruins uniform, it's already been quite the sight to see Jaromir Jagr playing at such a high level. He has a goal and two assists, both of which came in Monday's 6-2 win over Carolina, and he's shown that his veteran savvy on the ice more than makes up for any steps he may have lost over the past several years.
Jagr's known as one of the hardest workers off the ice in terms of building strength and staying in shape, and he was recently asked by D Magazine in Dallas what drives him to keep going.
"It's in my genes," Jagr told Peter Simek in a long feature that's well worth the read. "My dad is 70, and he still has a farm and he's working every day. My mother, it's the same thing. I cannot stop. I don't think our family enjoyed life much. We feel like we have to work all the time."
Jagr added that like his own career in hockey, his father is passionate about his farm.
"My dad [expletive] loves the farm," Jagr told Simek. "I ask him, 'Why do you do that?' Because he doesn't have to work -- he's so rich. And he answers, 'I have to be loyal to the things that ... got me to be rich. When I had nothing, that gave me food.'"
It helps explain, at least in part, why Jagr remains so dedicated, even after making more than $60 million in the past decade, after taking a three-year hiatus in his late 30s to play in Russia and after accomplishing nearly all there is to accomplish in the sport.
