So does saying “GOAT” just mean “very talented” or “elite” anymore? And not the actual Greatest?
When I see and hear people say “three GOATS in one photo” or such, all I can think of is participation trophies. Greatest is singular.
“Is not there a difference between A GOAT and THE GOAT?” I was asked, and my answer is, No. I don’t believe so, but I could be wrong.
“How can you be a greatest of all time?” was always my question.
I don’t think the term should be pulled out for A GOAT, i.e., one of the greatest of all time. Don’t even use it. Oxymoronic phrase. Except we went the entire other way, and we now use the acronym “GOAT” indiscriminately, in all types of situations. Somebody is being called a GOAT sandwich maker, somewhere.
Right now, some black hipster is pounding his chest: “I know who the Greatest is!
Muhammed Ali!” Go ahead and have your moment…
The New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, won his sixth career Super Bowl. The immediate comparisons between Brady and the six-ring-having Michael Jordan came down.
Tom Brady The Brady Effect still applies, P.S…. Good looking, Edelman!
Dismantling of an Icon People chip at Jordan’s legacy and image, and it’s funny
Fact is, every sports argument about “greatest” involves less than ten athletes. In basketball, that means any discussion of who’s greatest runs through him, more than any other player.
LeBron couldn’t pass Jordan is not going to pass Jordan. Even if the Warriors stay together long enough to win six or more titles, none of the Golden State players, not even sharpshooting Curry, will be seen the equal of Jordan.
All of that says so much, when the sometimes-rightful critiques of MJ’s game come. What does it say? That the road to “greatest” runs through Jordan.
I’ve long theorized that there are some younger NBA fans jealous that they didn’t see Jordan (the widely-acknowledged GOAT by its proper definition) in real time. They feel like they should see magic dust floating around when they YouTube MJ highlights. Instead, maybe they feel letdown and think “that’s it?”
The older players of the 1950s, 60s and 70s existed in a grainy time; no younger fanatic can envision the greatest coming out of that brontosarus burger era.
Michael Jordan is the only player who played when many of them weren’t yet born, who can still be taken seriously as the best to ever do it. For some reason that bothers people. For many reasons, twenty somethings and teenagers being bothered about something, is totally understandable.
It doesn’t stop. There is an argument out there that divides hairs based on “greatest” vs. “best”… is there a difference? Some say yes, some say no.
Saying someone is one of the greatest of all time makes sense. But when we attach the GOAT acronym, you’re swirling something into the mix that doesn’t really belong.
Clearly “GOAT” has come to mean something different than it used to mean. To no surprise! as 21st society and pop culture work to redefine pretty much everything.Â