its not what he has done outside of football, its what he's done within it. You might not see a better footballer within the next 50 years.
You might not see an all round sports person who transcended sport the way he did ever again. Dont think you realise how bug he was in his day or his impact on the civil rights movement.
You might not see an all round sports person who transcended sport the way he did ever again. Dont think you realise how bug he was in his day or his impact on the civil rights movement.
i didnt realise activism made you a better sportsman
well if your on about transcending sport, were not really discussing the greatest sportsperson, were discussing the greatest activist.
I think there are ways of transcending sport that don't just involve being an activist or even being a personality, but someone who is so great in their sport that it draws in new followers to the game etc.
Tiger Woods before his decline was like this - golf basically got a huge boost from Tiger Woods' popularity.
Usain Bolt is the same for sprinting. Jonah Lomu for rugby in teh 1990s.
In tennis I think the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, playing at the same time have done it for men's tennis. For women's tennis I'd be tempted to say Serena Williams but women's tennis has had a succession of these iconic players, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, so she's not quite as unique.
Back in the 1980s, Daley Thompson was like this for decathlon and athletics in general. Most people today can't name a decathlete but the whole multi-event nature of it meant it was the glamour event in the 1980s and when I was a young kid Daley was seen as the ultimate human athlete.
I think there are ways of transcending sport that don't just involve being an activist or even being a personality, but someone who is so great in their sport that it draws in new followers to the game etc.
Tiger Woods before his decline was like this - golf basically got a huge boost from Tiger Woods' popularity.
Usain Bolt is the same for sprinting. Jonah Lomu for rugby in teh 1990s.
In tennis I think the trio of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, playing at the same time have done it for men's tennis. For women's tennis I'd be tempted to say Serena Williams but women's tennis has had a succession of these iconic players, Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, so she's not quite as unique.
Back in the 1980s, Daley Thompson was like this for decathlon and athletics in general. Most people today can't name a decathlete but the whole multi-event nature of it meant it was the glamour event in the 1980s and when I was a young kid Daley was seen as the ultimate human athlete.
I agree with that, I just don't think you should rate how great sportspeople are by how much charity/activism they have done.
That is the sad truth of everything, some artists make the most of their sales after their death, that doesn't really make much sense does it? They get a boost in popularity and they don't even know it.