Ali, Federer, Tendulkar, Bolt and Pele are just a few of the sportsmen who many would consider the greatest, each displaying longevity, charisma and mental strength combined with those moments of genius which seemed to occur more than with their closest rivals.
But what makes them the greatest?
Muhammad Ali is widely recognised as the sportsman of the century. Not because he was undefeated; although 3 of the defeats in his 56-5 career were after he should have retired, he lost to Joe Frazier in the fight of the century, but because he combined a stunning career with an even more incredible persona outside of the ring. Statistically, he is not even the greatest of his era. George Foreman, defeated by Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle, boasts an astonishing 76-5 record in a career where he not only fought Ali but also Smokin' Joe twice, an far cry from the talent-starved heavyweight division of today. Perhaps Ali's records against these greats made him the best around, but it is without doubt his character which makes him admired so firmly as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. The greatest require a unique personality.
The current generation in male tennis has surely only been paralleled by that of Borg, Connors, McEnroe and Lendl. Tennis fans of today are truly blessed to have seen Murray, Nadal and Djokovic play against the legend that is Roger Federer. In fact, Nadal has a 22-10 head-to-head lead, whilst Murray has a 11-9 one. Djokovic narrowly trails 15-16. And all of those players, had they played in the years when Federer was the only great player, could have something like his 17 grand-slam titles.
Yet, to my mind, Roger reins king of them all. The others are physical marvels with incredible skill, too, but Federer didn't need to rely on pace or power. When you can find the line at will, dip balls over the net at alarming angles, and get so used to winning that there's no longer any pressure on, why would you need to? The other three have positive records against him, and may even win more slams than the great man himself. But none of them quite have the ability to make the audience gasp in astonishment like Federer did. The greatest require genius.
Sachin Tendulkar's greatness is astonishingly similar. It is once again built on the concept of "the most" and the "can-you-believe-your-eyes" genius. Just like the Swiss maestro. In the same way Fed's head-to-heads do not indicate being the greatest, neither is Sachin's average. It's behind those of Sangakarra and Kallis, probably the other two best batsmen in the world now that Dravid, Lara and Ponting have gone, and miles behind Bradman's, easily the best batsman the world has ever and will ever see
But THAT on drive. The ease with which he found the gaps. Nearly 16000 test runs, 18426 ODI runs, 100 international centuries, one world cup, higher averages in Australia than India, all make him the greatest. Not the best - that is forever reserved for the Don - but the greatest. Constantly performing and adapting and laying down the marker in an era where a good ODI score has moved from 230 to 300, where bowlers have ranged from Akram and Younis, Warne and McGrath, Ambrose and Walsh, Murali, Steyn and Anderson. That requires greatness. But most importantly, Sachin represents India. That's pressure, that's greatness. A country starved of sporting icons, one that's moving up from relatively little to a global superpower. Indian cricket represents this. Sachin represents this. And dealing with that pressure, and performing throughout it, is what makes him the greatest icon the game will ever see. The greatest require the ability to perform under immense pressure.
Bolt performs under pressure. His times in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 Berlin World Championships are 9.69 (100m) and 19.30 (200m), and 9.58 and 19.19 respectively. Not to mention countless 4x100m relay world records as part of an invincible Jamaican team. And he's got character. Lots of it. AND he has undeniable genius. But there is a lot more than appears to the eye. Behind the facade of a wonderfully relaxed, beautifully arrogant champion who wins Olympic gold despite slowing down, eating chicken nuggets and having untied shoelaces, there is incredibly hard work. Yes, that's right, Bolt does not just wake up, listen to his fans cheer and break world records for fun. For a man who by his own admission hates training, taking it easy by running 180m four times a day, hitting sub-18 seconds, is not what you would expect. But he does it despite his hatred because he has a hunger, a desire, almost a greed to be the absolute best at all times. That is what makes this freak of nature the greatest. Not his times, but him and his attitude. Greatness requires devotion.
I'm a Maradonna fan. The best player, in terms of skill, to play football by a long shot. Go on youtube and look at his videos if you don't believe me. But, despite being the most skilful, he is not the greatest. It's hard enough as it is to argue with someone who scores more than 1000 goals in their career. Add to that 3 FIFA World Cups and the task seems futile. But to me, Pele is the greatest because, unlike Maradonna, he stayed free of controversy. As the worlds best footballer, that must be pretty hard to do. And yet no one seems to have any problem with him. He has a spark of arrogance - "ask me that question when he has 1000 goals and 3 world cup winners medals" was his reaction to being asked it Messi was better than him - but by and large, he handles himself with decency and pride. All the sports commentators, both his contemporaries and ours, have nothing to say about him other than the highest praise. That makes him the greatest to me. A man who played football simply because he loved it, and, as a result, became the best in not only his fans' eyes, but everyone elses, too. Greatness requires a person who command
People will always debate whether the above are in fact the best ever in their respective sports. I would argue that one or two of them aren't. But greatest and best are not synonymous. The best are simply the finest at playing the game, dominating those around them and the records of those before. Setting standards which appear at best improbable, and at most times impossible, to reach, let alone beat. But greatness requires that little bit more. It requires a story. It needs you to represent something. It is a result of genius combined with unrelenting hard work and determination. It is reserved for those who, when all seems lost, pull that little bit extra out of the bag and somehow walk away with the ultimate success. It is reserved for those who we will always be talking about, always for the right reasons, and those performers we will never forget.
Bradman or Tendulkar, Federer or Borg, Pele or Diego, and Ali or Lewis are all interesting questions with many possible answers. But no one could question Muhammad Ali when he looked at that camera and declared, with absolute certainty, "I am the greatest".
No comments:
Post a Comment