A few weeks ago, the Super Bowl was played between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles with a lot at stake for both teams. The Eagles were trying to win the first championship in franchise history and quarterback Tom Brady was on the verge of winning his 6th championship.
There was a lot of debating going on leading up to the big game about who was the greatest athlete of all time. People were debating if Tom Brady or Michael Jordan was the G.O.A.T and I’m here today to end this pointless debate.
Michael Jeffery Jordan is NOT the G.O.A.T and neither is Tom Brady. These men have forever changed the sporting world and have redefined the definition of a champion. Michael Jordan reached the NBA finals 6 times and walked away undefeated.
Tom Brady has played in 8 super bowl winning and an impressive 5 championships. But their excellence can be largely attributed to the brilliance of superb coaching and stellar play from teammates. All things considered, they still aren’t the greatest athlete in my opinion.
The greatest athlete of all time is Usain Bolt.
Usain Bolt came on the scene in the 2008 Olympics taking the world by storm and shattering everyone’s definition of speed. He set the world record in the 100-meter run, finishing in an astounding 9.63 seconds. The reason why Bolt is the greatest athlete is due to his individual excellence and setting a new standard in his sport.
When other track stars train, they are measuring themselves up against what Bolt has already achieved. Even when they are given the chance to compete against him again, breaking their own personal and new country record, he still runs right past the competition. Usain Bolt will forever be the greatest athlete of all time.
There will be some that will argue that Derek Jeter from MLB because of his impressive career winning multiple championships. Some will argue Floyd Mayweather Jr. since he has gone 50-0 for his career. Although, after one investigates further into how much money Mayweather makes, it’s hard not to believe the games are rigged. Some would consider Wayne Gretzky (legendary hockey player) to be the greatest from his 4 Stanley Cup titles. Every one of these athletes was great and a strong case could be made for G.O.A.T status.
In the end, I look at individual performances in sports where one mans willpower and determination ultimately lead to championships. The greatest athlete of all times debate would have to be between Michael Phelps (18 gold medalist in swimming), Tiger Woods (14 majors in golf), Usain Bolt (9 gold medals in track and field) or Shaun White (13 gold medals in snowboarding).
I’m sure I left many others off the list from different sports, so please leave your opinion in the comments below on who the greatest athlete is, I am curious to know.