What is greatness? Greatness is a relative term. Webster's defines it as "exceptionally high quality." I would define greatness in sports as "consistent domination over worthy opponents, where limited luck is required." Break that down. Consistent = doing it over and over again. Dominate = no doubt who the better team is. Worthy opponent = are they in your league? (You can't be in college and dominate high schoolers.) Limited luck = there is always luck in sports, but could you dominate them so that luck did not come into the equation(at least the majority of the time).
Greatness is relative. You can be great in high school. Doesn't mean you will be great in college or the pro's. Greatness doesn't mean you're the best of all time. It's just greatness, it's relative. Who's better? Bill Russell or Lebron James? Bill has 11 rings in 13 seasons and two NCAA rings: That's greatness. Maybe he didn't play the same opponents, but he played the worthy opponents in his generation. Just like James is now. James is averaging insane numbers right now and making good or great players look insignificant. That's greatness. They can both be considered great for their generations. Who would win one-on-one? Or whose team would win? Well many would say James and Miami, cause they're just bigger, faster, stronger now days. And they're probably right. Science has improved. Players are full-time now more than ever. However, if Bill Russell was in this generation and had the same training and opportunities in today's world, would he still be great? Maybe not 11 titles, but he would be great. I will believe that.
Team sports is hard to compare generation to generation. Jim Brown. Would he dominate in the NFL today? Yes, I think so. What about track and field though? We have facts that say this generation is better than others. Right?
A great example of relativity: Sir Roger Bannister.
Would Roger be some insignificant distance runner that can barely break 4 minutes in the mile? Something that a lot of collegiate athletes can do now. Where were all these athletes 60 years ago that can break 4 minutes? Sports and athletes are where they are now because of people in the past. Yes, if Roger Bannister of 1954 ran today he would be 12th in the Bowerman mile at the Pre Classic. But what if Roger was in this generation? Would he still be barely breaking 4 minute mile? Maybe. Or maybe the greatness inside him keeps him up with the rest of the competition and maybe he's going for the world record of 3:43.13 by El Guerrouj.
Who knows? But it's all relative.
Greatest Sports' Team of All-Time to come...
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Bill Russell: "My first memory of life is that my mother and father loved me"
Ever like a celebrity and you're not really sure why? Or maybe you don't know much about him/her, but you just say they are amazing. Well, for me I grew up admiring Bill Russell.
I'm not sure why. Maybe I heard my dad say good things about him. Maybe I just liked that he had 11 championships in his 13 NBA seasons. Maybe I liked that he was known for block shots (even though it wasn't even a stat in his day). Growing up, I would always say Bill Russell is the greatest basketball player of all time. I never watched him play. I didn't have the eyeball test. I trusted what I read and heard. I was and still am a stat guy(team and individual stats) and he has a lot of stats in his favor. I think the stat that always stands out to me is that he won the NCAA championship two straight seasons before going to the NBA. So he won the ultimate team championship in his respective league 13 out of 15 years. So it wasn't just a Celtic thing, he started in college!
I can say the same about Pele. Never watched him play a full game, but I've seen the highlights and heard the stories and 3 out of 4 World Cups in his generation to Brazil, can't lie. Also, 1282 goals in 1366 games, need I say more!
They are legends of their game and what is even better about them is what they do now for their sport. Bill is always working with young centers in the offseason on blocking shots. Pele is bringing a World Cup back to Brazil. They are always helping grow their sport and do it with a smile on their face. They are great role models for the younger generations in their sport.
Why do I bring this up? Well there was a really good interview with Bill Russell and Chris Webber before the All-star game. Watching the interview, you can quickly see the great sense of humor that Bill Russell has and he mixes that with well spoken profound thoughts on so many different topics. You can see that he was competitive enough to get aggressive and dig down to win games, yet he always understood not to take the game and life too seriously. Russell just seems to enjoy life which is even better than those 11 NBA rings he has.
When asked the question: what gave you confidence to believe in yourself?
He replied: "I had the best pair of parents....My first memory of life is that my mother and father loved me"
Even though I didn't know much about him growing up, as I slowly learn more about him, I am really glad I have Bill Russell to look up to in my childhood and now my adulthood. He is truly a great man. If you haven't heard him laugh, it is truly genuine and contagious and it's worth a youtube search.
I hope to find the interview with Chris Webber and post it here soon!
I'm not sure why. Maybe I heard my dad say good things about him. Maybe I just liked that he had 11 championships in his 13 NBA seasons. Maybe I liked that he was known for block shots (even though it wasn't even a stat in his day). Growing up, I would always say Bill Russell is the greatest basketball player of all time. I never watched him play. I didn't have the eyeball test. I trusted what I read and heard. I was and still am a stat guy(team and individual stats) and he has a lot of stats in his favor. I think the stat that always stands out to me is that he won the NCAA championship two straight seasons before going to the NBA. So he won the ultimate team championship in his respective league 13 out of 15 years. So it wasn't just a Celtic thing, he started in college!
I can say the same about Pele. Never watched him play a full game, but I've seen the highlights and heard the stories and 3 out of 4 World Cups in his generation to Brazil, can't lie. Also, 1282 goals in 1366 games, need I say more!
They are legends of their game and what is even better about them is what they do now for their sport. Bill is always working with young centers in the offseason on blocking shots. Pele is bringing a World Cup back to Brazil. They are always helping grow their sport and do it with a smile on their face. They are great role models for the younger generations in their sport.
Why do I bring this up? Well there was a really good interview with Bill Russell and Chris Webber before the All-star game. Watching the interview, you can quickly see the great sense of humor that Bill Russell has and he mixes that with well spoken profound thoughts on so many different topics. You can see that he was competitive enough to get aggressive and dig down to win games, yet he always understood not to take the game and life too seriously. Russell just seems to enjoy life which is even better than those 11 NBA rings he has.
When asked the question: what gave you confidence to believe in yourself?
He replied: "I had the best pair of parents....My first memory of life is that my mother and father loved me"
Even though I didn't know much about him growing up, as I slowly learn more about him, I am really glad I have Bill Russell to look up to in my childhood and now my adulthood. He is truly a great man. If you haven't heard him laugh, it is truly genuine and contagious and it's worth a youtube search.
I hope to find the interview with Chris Webber and post it here soon!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Wrestling a True Olympic Sport
How can you take wrestling out of the Olympics?
Wrestling is like running: A basic form of human sport that has and will be here for generations to come. Isn't that why the Olympics were started? To see who is "faster, higher, stronger"? Wrestling has and still fits under those categories, particularly stronger. Who is the strongest? Who can flip someone over and pin them to the ground? Parents tell their kids to stop "wrestling" around. No one told them how to wrestle or gave them any rules. They did it by themselves. They just started and its like an innate ability that humans have to settle something or determine who is stronger.
It's basic!
Why do we need to add fancy things to make it more entertaining? The further we get from the basics the less we are rewarding the best and create more of a likelihood of an upset. Adding fancy or entertaining things usually makes things even out the competition and it adds luck to the equation as well.
Is it about ratings? I could only assume that is one of the reasons. I would have thought ratings and popularity would never come into the equation for what makes an Olympic sport, but I guess it does now. The Olympics, I thought, we all about sport and creating champions in the ultimate tests of human ability. However, I guess the Olympics is just like any other business and needs to make money. I don't see another reason why you would take out a sport that has been in the Olympics since its inception in 1896.
Sad moment for all fans of the True Olympics!
Wrestling is like running: A basic form of human sport that has and will be here for generations to come. Isn't that why the Olympics were started? To see who is "faster, higher, stronger"? Wrestling has and still fits under those categories, particularly stronger. Who is the strongest? Who can flip someone over and pin them to the ground? Parents tell their kids to stop "wrestling" around. No one told them how to wrestle or gave them any rules. They did it by themselves. They just started and its like an innate ability that humans have to settle something or determine who is stronger.
It's basic!
Why do we need to add fancy things to make it more entertaining? The further we get from the basics the less we are rewarding the best and create more of a likelihood of an upset. Adding fancy or entertaining things usually makes things even out the competition and it adds luck to the equation as well.
Is it about ratings? I could only assume that is one of the reasons. I would have thought ratings and popularity would never come into the equation for what makes an Olympic sport, but I guess it does now. The Olympics, I thought, we all about sport and creating champions in the ultimate tests of human ability. However, I guess the Olympics is just like any other business and needs to make money. I don't see another reason why you would take out a sport that has been in the Olympics since its inception in 1896.
Sad moment for all fans of the True Olympics!
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