The Great 8

This is the first in a 3 part series of significant phenomena in the U.S. over the past 100 years.
In the past 100 Years, there are eight athletes that, in my opinion, stand out above all others. I’ll name and elaborate on them here.

But first, let me name a few that don’t quite make the list – but receive honorable mention – and explain why they didn’t break into The Great 8.

Tiger Woods. Tiger was on track to prove himself the best golfer ever, but his legacy imploded in 2009, along with his personal life, when his infidelity was discovered. He hasn’t been the same since. Never able, even in his best years, to pull beyond comparisons with Jack Nicklaus and other greats from previous generations, his 2009 implosion derailed him from what seemed his likely destiny of being the winner of more majors than Jack and more tournaments than anybody . Still, I’m not saying Tiger hasn’t been the best golfer ever. I happen to think he has. But he lacks longevity and needed it badly to make The Great 8 list.

Wilt Chamberlain. Before Lebron James came along, there were debates about who the all-
time best basketball player was. Wilt or Russel? Wilt or Kareem? Wilt or Doc? Wilt or Magic? Wilt or Michael? Notice Wilt was always in the conversation. Michael finally ended the debate in my mind (although it still goes on for some). Wilt receives honorable mention for two big reasons. First, he did more than any player in history to change the game from a rules and regs standpoint. For example, they widened the lane because he could practically straddle the old one. And they instituted offensive goaltending as a rule so his opponents might have a chance for some defensive boards. The second reason Wilt gets honorable mention is the records he set. I seriously wonder if any of these will ever be broken: Most points in a game (100); Most points in a half (59); Most points per game in a season (50.4) Most minutes per game in a season (48.5). That’s just 4 of Wilt’s records. There are 68 more that he still holds. His reason for not cracking The Great 8? He didn’t win as many championships as Michael, Russell, Kareem, Magic or Bird. More championships would’ve elevated his legacy, for sure.

Michael Phelps. The most dominant swimmer in history, Phelps shattered Mark Spitz’s records of the 1972 Olympics. Not only is he the most decorated swimmer, but the most decorated Olympian of all time. He has more medals (28), more gold medals (23) than any athlete, and a host of records in specific events and in swimming in general. Perhaps Phelps would make The Great 8 if he competed in a different sport. That logic may be lame, but it’s all I’ve got, sorry. I’m not a sports writer. Just an average fan. And I don’t swim very well. Sorry, Michael.

Bo Jackson. That Bo is mentioned after having had such a relatively short career says a lot by itself. He was a professional athlete less than four years, but excelled in two professional sports. He’s the only player to ever be named an all-star in both major league baseball and the NFL. His combination of strength and speed set him apart from other players in both sports. It’s crazy that he doesn’t make The Great 8, because it could be argued that he was the greatest athlete of all time when you consider his strength-speed combination.. But it’s simply his brevity that disqualifies him. Although he may have had the strongest throwing arm in baseball history, could either and/or both run over and/or outrun would be NFL tacklers and was freakish in some of his exploits, his career-ending hip injury in his fourth pro season grounded him as an athlete. Still, I see Bo as someone not unlike the heroes of ancient mythology. If Hercules or Odysseus had been real and living in the twentieth century, that’s Bo Jackson. I’m not worried that Bo would be offended by my snub from The Great 8 (like he’d ever know of it anyway), because in terms of where he stands in history, I feel confident of this: Bo knows.

Lebron James. When Lebron first came into the league, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I remember saying he had the athleticism of MJ and the skillset of Magic with Karl Malone’s body. It was frightening for all his league-mates. As for the reason he didn’t make The Great 8, it’s simple. While he’s the most complete individual player ever (He can play all five positions at both ends.), like Wilt, he lacks the championships.

And now here are The Great 8 in chronological order.

1. Babe Ruth. A hundred years ago, Ruth was already in the eighth season of his MLB
   career. But he wasn’t near its end; he still had thirteen more seasons to go. He’s easily
   the most famous baseball player in history. Even a hundred years after the prime of his
   career, everybody is familiar with the legend of the Babe. Many still consider him the
   best ever. But Babe isn’t on this list just because he’s the best-ever baseball player. It’s because he was, and still is, bigger than baseball. Like all the athletes here, he transcended his sport.

2. Muhammed Ali. The Greatest? Greatest what? Greatest boxer? I think so. But many
   don’t. Some say he didn’t have a bona fide knockout punch as a heavy weight. I’ll
   concede that. But his agility, mobility, boxing skill and hand speed offset that deficiency;
   they gave him the ability to wear down his opponents and jab away until he was able to
   deliver the knockout blow. And he still had enough fuel in the tank in the later rounds
   because of his superior cardio condition. But two other factors may have been more
   effective for him than any of his physical abilities: his mind and his mouth. So intelligent
   and innovative was he that he could utilize a winning strategy nobody had ever seen
   before and make history with it, i.e. the rope-a-dope, and that was after his prime when
   his cardio and foot speed had waned somewhat.

3. Pele. 1970s North Carolina had three primary sports for boys: basketball, football
   (American, not futbol) and baseball, and we were separated from any other sport by a
   wall as strong as the one running through Berlin and the one protecting China. A fourth
   sport, hockey, was popular in some regions, but not in the South, where the only ice we
   had was in our glass of sweet tea. Yet Pele broke through this great wall of separation
   and ushered in with him this sport that has now become equally popular with the
   traditional sports across the US. Without Pele, that doesn’t happen.

4. Secretariat. So phenomenal was this horse, the first triple crown winner (in 1973) in
   twenty-five years, that he is considered by consensus to be the greatest racehorse in
   history. He still holds the record for the fastest time in all three Triple Crown races. The
   last of those three races, the Preakness, he won by an astounding thirty-one lengths. I
   was ten years old that summer and I remember the overwhelming buzz around this
   horse. People were talking about him at school, at home, at church and on tv and my
   world wasn’t even a horse racing culture.

5. Michael Jordan. Michael did three big things: 1. He restored the image of NBA players
   to a more respectable – even admirable – one. 2. He did for basketball what Pele had
   done for soccer, achieving global acceptance of the sport. 3. He changed the way the
   game was played; the NBA is now about finding the mismatch and exploiting it with
   isolation (Michael always created the mismatch, something many others have wrongly
   assumed they also do); it’s allowed great individual players to shine, but it’s also
   exposed many players as being not as dominant as they wished they were. Michael’s
   athleticism, skill and style were huge for his legacy, but if I’m pointing to a stat that
   proves he’s the GOAT, it’s that he won more regular season MVPs and finals MVPs
   combined than any other player ever (11, and the next closest is 8). That tells me he was
   the best player and leader on the most successful teams, and he was the main reason
   for those teams’ success. And we haven’t even mentioned his college and Olympics success.

6. Serena Williams. Power. Power. And more Power. And without sacrificing quickness,
   touch in volleying or placement of the ball with any type of shot. Serena is simply the
   greatest women’s tennis player ever. She’s Stephi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Chris
   Evert all rolled into one. And you know what? Go ahead and throw a little Roger Federer
   in the mix too – just because she could probably have competed on the men’s tour.
   (Easy now, guys, not saying she’d win, but she could stay on the tour with the men.)

7. Usain Bolt. How do sprinters inch forward over decades, breaking records by only one
   to three percent increase each time, and then have a guy come along suddenly running
   twenty percent faster than the current record? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I know that’s exactly what Bolt has done. And how is it that that guy’s named Bolt? Talk about the power of a name! I just don’t think he’d have done what he’s done if his name was, say, Creeper. Or maybe he would.

8. Tom Brady. I thought Brady was just a major cog in the workings of a winning machine.
   A machine that had to include Belecek. Then Brady went to Tampa and led that team to
   a Super Bowl victory. To me, that says it all. He’s not only the best QB ever. He’s the best
   FP (football player) ever.

So that’s my Great 8. My blog isn’t usually about sports. It’s purpose is to bring honor and credit to Jesus Christ. So before I sign off, let me do that with this prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gifts You gave these athletes and the way You have used them to inspire millions, even billions, in my generation! They are, like the other greatests of your creation, representations of how great You are, Oh Creator of all!