G.O.A.T
Simon B
In the early 1900's, being called a "goat" was a huge insult. Today, when “GOAT” means “Greatest Of All Time, it can be one of the biggest compliments you can give someone.
The conversation surrounding the greatest athlete of all time is a really tricky one. First of all, you simply can't compare the skills, achievements, and athleticism of players between sports, so there's no way we can ever decide on the "greatest athlete ever". Second, there are many instances where a certain player did really well by comparison to players of their own era (for example, Maurice Richard in the 1950s) but their achievement pale beside the players of their own sport today.
Since Tom Brady won his seventh Super Bowl title, there have been many debates on who is the greatest of all time (GOAT) of sport. I decided to go sport by sport (of the sports that I know best) and give you my opinion on who the greatest to ever play it was/is.
So for the next week or so I'll be writing a 5 piece mini-article series starting with...
Hockey
This is one where people don't think there is much question. I tend to agree here. Wayne Gretzky is the greatest to ever lace up skates in pro hockey and it will most likely be like that for a bit longer at least. He had just under 900 career goals and over 2,500 points. Gretzky’s ability to find his teammates anywhere on the ice, as well as to be constantly at the right place at the right time, and his massive total of not just goals but assists, makes him the undisputed "smartest" player of all time. Smart as in “hockey-smart”.
To be fair, he’s got somecompetitors. Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe are both definitely in the conversation. Even Gretzky himself said that he thought Howe was the greatest there ever was. Up until a few years ago, most people thought that Gretzky's records would never be broken, but there are now some challengers. Alex Ovechkin is the closest to the goals record, with less than 200 needed to beat Gretzky’s record. That would take just four more 50-goal seasons. It's pretty hard to think that Ovie has that much left in the tank, at 36, but we've seen crazy happen before and I see no reason why Ovechkin wouldn’t want to claim that crown before he retires.
It may be too soon to say but at the rate, Connor McDavid has been scoring over his first five seasons in the NHL, it's quite possible that another Oiler will take the all-time greatest title in the future.
We still need to see if any of these current players can really beat what was once thought to be unbreakable. But that's why we watch the games, right?
Today’s post is shorter than usual, but it’s the first of five or six installments, so watch this space! Stay tuned for more as the week progresses.
If you have any other sports topics you'd like to read about, let me know in the comments or send me a message in the "Contact me" section in the sidebar!
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