Similar to this thread, what is the main person you (or that you think most people would) think of when thinking about a specific sport?
Basketball: Michael Jordan
Baseball: Babe Ruth
Hockey: Wayne Gretzky
Boxing: Muhammad Ali
Golf: Jack Nicklaus
Football: ?
Tennis: ?
More…?
Have any debate for the ones I’ve listed?
For soccer I think the average North American would say Pelé or Beckham.
Prior to his recent struggles, I’d think Tiger Woods would have been a shoe-in.
Johnny Unitas for football, maybe? I’m thinking it almost has to be a quarterback.
I don’t know enough about tennis to answer. Martina Navratilova?
Football : Tom Brady
Actual football: Maradona
Stock car racing: Richard Petty.
When I think of football I think of Maradona.
Tennis: Nadal or Federer. Probably Federer.
Cycling would be Alberto Contador.
It would be a toss-up between Pele and Maradona for previous eras (with no definitive answer). Messi’s arguably better than both of them, though, and at 28 he’s still got a few years left in him. With the globalised nature of the modern digital world, where can watch a live game in high definition from the other side of the planet, I’d reckon that Messi’s got the greatest global name recognition of any footballer ever.
Cycling is Eddy Merckx. Picking Contador is like picking Lebron James over Michael Jordan.
Dale Earnhardt Sr for Nascar?
Messi is not better than Maradona…even with Maradonas coke issues. Let Messi take Argentina on his shoulders and win a World Cup first.
Cricket: Don Bradman, probably.
It’s difficult to compare players from different eras. Here’s a statistical comparison, though, between Messi and Maradona, and Messi comes out on top in most stats (and by a distance in the poll).
Football’s changed since Maradona’s day. Back then, international football was seen as the pinnacle of football. In the last decade or two, club football, specifically the UEFA Champions League, has become the pre-eminent elite footballing competition with the highest level of quality on display. Unlike Maradona, Messi hasn’t won the World Cup but Maradona never won the Champions League/European Cup, while Messi’s won it four times. Messi holds the Guinness World Records titles for most goals scored in La Liga (289), a La Liga season (50), a calendar year (91), a Champions League match (five), and most Champions League seasons (five). He will surely become the Champions League/European Cup’s all-time top-scorer too.
I follow football closely and among those involved in the game (players, ex-players, managers, pundits) Messi’s almost universally acknowledged as the greatest player of all time.
Messi is a system guy…he is great at Barca because of their unique style of play and the allstars around him.
If you put Messi and CR7 on Wigan Ronaldo will be better, far better, IMO because of his size and athleticism.
I know its a Euro thing to overestimate the Champions League. Yes, they have a world of talent. But the WC is the competition where players are playing for their families and country. The pressure is greater. Messi hasnt been able to deliver there or the Copa America.
That said, I agree that he is a great player.
Sport’s all about opinions and one could do a thread on each sport and still not get consensus at the end of them.
For example, here are boxers ranked as No. 1 on various “greatest boxer of all time” lists pulled from the internet (Muhammad Ali ranking in brackets):
ESPN - Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
Sporteology - Joe Louis (2)
Toptens - Muhammad Ali
Ranker - Muhammad Ali
boxing.about - Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
whatculture - Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
Bleacherreport - Sugar Ray Robinson (4)
Sportskeeda - Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
thesportster - Muhammad Ali
boxingnews24 - Sugar Ray Robinson (3)
sportsmuntra - Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
That doesn’t necessary make him the sport’s “signature player,” though. A strong argument can be made for a number of players being as great a baseball player as Babe Ruth, but Ruth remains the sport’s signature player.
Muhammad Ali is, to my mind, the obvious example. I don’t believe Muhammad Ali was the greatest boxer who ever lived - top ten for sure, but technically I think there have been a few greater. But he is ABSOLUTELY boxing’s signature athlete. Nobody asked Sugar Ray Robinson to light the Olympic flame.
Michael Schumacher for Formula One. I suspect some of his records will stand for a very long time, if not forever.
Sorry, Superdude. Racer72 is correct with King Richard.
Why can’t I quote or bold all of a sudden?
True, and he’s probably sport as a whole’s signature athlete, winning Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Century” and BBC’s “Sports Personality of the Century”.
I would say Pele is still for football (soccer). Maradona may’ve been better, but he was always divisive and always had issues . With Pele people will mainly remember his achievements, but even with Maradona’s supreme talent and the greatest individual performance in a major tournament (WC 86), the memory of Maradona will be more complex.
In the future, I think it will be Messi, again for his achievements (the lack of a World Cup may be a black mark, but his club achievements are so vast). CR7 is the better player IMO though.
As much as I admire and like The Golden Bear, Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan or Arnold Palmer would be just as good a selection for golf.