Being a running back myself, I generally agree...which makes it that much more amazing when one of them becomes by far the all-time leader in touchdowns in the game's history.
Do you honestly believe that!??!!? Before he came along, the top 10 all-time TD guys were RB's...and he passed the best of them before the mid-way point of his career. He was routinely double teamed; 49ers designed playes to get him single coverage. He holds every virtually single wr record that exists...Most teams in the NFL do or have used variations of the same system, and none of his records are in jeapordy... And you think it was luck? Did you see him play in his prime?
Agreed...but not most dominant. Bo was a freak, but that was ability. Dominance is results. But yeah, I always say Bo Jackson when people ask me who was the best athlete I have ever seen...and it's not all that close.
best player ever? don't think so. best marketed ever? for sure. And a damn great athlete as well. glad to see him gone, though. It was like watching Emmitt Smith for the past couple of years.
I love Jordan and all, but so far as a member of the Washington Wizards organization he has failed miserably. His coming back was supposed to make the players around him better, entice free agents to come to Washington, and just generally instill an attitude of <i>winning</i> into the Wizards organization. But what we have is a poorly put together team, poor development of youngsters, and probably more team turmoil than any other team this side of Portland. Hopefully he'll turn it around sometime in the next two years, but I'm skeptical.
I would have put Rice on the list, but he belongs on a different list, titled Pure Athletic Domination : 1. Jerry Rice: he had the most talent and worked harder than any other player as well (especially in the offseason). 2. Edwin Moses: Just a ridiculous career. 122 consecutive victories and a world record that held for over 10 years. A distant 3rd. Lance Armstrong: cycling has been dominated before and will be dominated again. Talk to me if he wins the next two years.
Luck is part of life. Everyone has luck. Jordan had the least luck. Out of the 6 titles, I would say only 2 are luck, cuz they didn't have to play the Rockets How hard is it to run the buttonhook? I could do it.
Damn! I knew the guy was one of the best, but damn! One guy that never gets enough credit is Pete Sampras. He definitely belongs on any "greatest athlete" list.
agree with the Pete Sampras notice. In his prime he played absolutely unbelievable tennis. He also has this special champion mentality that does he can raise his game and play his best at the most important moments of a match or tournament. But Jordan is still a little bigger I think
To me, Michael Jordan has done as much damage as good to the game of basketball. Sure, he made the game more popular than ever. And it was a marvel to watch his on-court abilities. But he also made the game individualistic and flashy. It's not all his fault. It's just the way he played. But he was so good that people (especially young people) were copying him. The way he was marketed, they were copying the flashy and individualistic part of his game, not the real substance of it. Before MJ's era, people looked at Magic and Bird and Kareem and even the flashy Dr. J, they saw great team players who, in spite of their tremedous talents, relied on the whole team to win. If the Lakers or the Celtics in the '80s needed a game winning shot, who would be the one to shoot it? Any one on the team could get the assignment. But when the Bulls needed a winning shot, everybody knew who would be the guy. (Yeah, MJ dished out to Kerr and Paxson. But only because he got swarmed by the defense.) Wonder why Pippen threw a tantrum when he didn't get to shoot the winning shot without Jordan? Wonder why it's so hard for talented guys (who grew up in the Jordan era) like Francis to know how to play team ball? Wonder why ISOs were so popular in the '90s? Oh, did I mentioned the ridiculous "Jordan Rule" with the referees?
MJ, Wizards fans would like to thank you for alienating Kwame Brown, slowing his development almost to a halt, and setting the rebuilding process of the Wizards back about three years...oh well, at least the 9/11 relief fund got two million bucks out of it...
Please tell me you are being sarcastic, Please, I refuse to believe anyone discredit this guy because of his position, He is considered by most the second greatest football player, non quarterback, behind only Jim Brown. Jerry Rice is the ultimate game breaker. Greatest basketball player ever IMHO, Magic. Seriously, if you are building a team with four scrubs and one superstar, who would you take, Magic or Jordan, the guy who is going to get every one involved, or the guy who is going to try to get it done himself? I agree that Jordan hurt the game as much as he helped it. The irony in that is that Jordan is actually a pretty fundamentally sound player. Its just he happened to be so unguardable that it made sense for him to be the scorer he was. A guard who shoots 50% can take as many shots as he wants IMO. Greatest athlete of our generation, Bo Jackson, followed closely by Neon Deion.
A buttonhook? I take that you have, infact, never seen him play in his prime. The ( by far) most common play the 9ers used with Rice was the shallow slant...where he would run about 5-7 yards, and then cut across the field slanting away from the line of scrimmage, catch the ball over the middle, and then run through/around/over the rest of the defense... They invented the term RAC ( run after catch) because of this guy for that very reason...He'd get 5-10 yards in the air, and the rest of his yards would be making moves and cuts. He was incredible to watch... He would routinely make one handed catches...routinely beat double coverage...and nobody took it to the hole like Jerry Rice. And, as someone else pointed out, nobody, and I mean nobody ever trained like this guy. He was the best, and he still outworked any athlete you'd care to mention. Other pro athletes would come to train with him, just to seeif they could keep up...and they always said they couldn't. Others who saw Rice in his prime, please back me up on this.
