Who is the greatest athlete of all time? It is pretty easy to find yourself in this debate. People have debated this since the advent of sport. Undoubtedly you will hear names like Ruth, Ali, Gretzky, and most importantly, Jordan. I believe Michael Jordan is the best and most prolific athlete that there has ever been. He led the Chicago Bulls to an unbelievable number of championships. I grew up watching Michael Jordan dominate. I was never a Bulls fan because I have always been a devoted Detroit Pistons fan but I did marvel at Jordan. I played basketball growing up because my dad was a coach. I wanted to be just like him (and when Space Jam came out, forget about it, I was hooked).
Despite his on court success though, I think the number one thing that propels him into the number 1 athlete spot is the polarizing effect that he has off of the court. I grew up not only watching Michael Jordan play basketball, I also grew up watching the spectacle that is everything Jordan endorses. Hanes, Gatorade and Nike were always the big three. Hanes still features Michael Jordan in commercials, Nike still uses the iconic Air Jordan logo and shoes to make intensely amazing profits, and Gatorade is probably the only company that doesn't directly use images of Jordan anymore.
The bottom line is that all of the prior listed athletes are extremely prolific in their respective sports. However, no one quite makes as much of an impact like Jordan. Jordan has the capability to be seen in everyday life still, almost a decade since the last time he picked up a basketball on an NBA court. To me, that is the most important aspect of Jordan being the most prolific athlete. I don't think Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or anyone else will ever come close to having that kind of pull.
Geoff,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog. I also grew up watching Jordan and I feel that no player should be compared to him because he was the first to do many things. Like we taked about in class yes Kobe is the man but I dont feel he should be compared to Jordan just because im pretty sure Kobe grew up watching Jordan and he probably was his role model. i just think that society always has to debate about something when they should just give each player there own shine and recognition. oh and I also was a huge Space Jams junky and when the Space Jam shoes came out, I was in line waiting for them (lol).
-Danielle Miller