Re: The Greatest Athlete of All Time

In an earlier post, esteemed sportsblogger K.L. raised the possibility that Michael Phelps may be the greatest athlete of all time. This is an extremely legitimate position, and there's no way that I could ever poke too many holes in its logic. The best that I can do is humbly disagree.

No one would even think of denying that Michael Phelps is great. Few would argue he is anything less than the greatest swimmer ever, and once these Olympics are over, it may be pretty mucha foregone conclusion that, based on total medal count, that he is, in fact, the greatest Olympian in the history of time.

No, the problem is not with Michael Phelps, but with his sport, which focuses on indirect rather than direct competition with his peers. When Michael Phelps stands on the platform and stares at the other end of the pool as he prepares to shatter another world record, his greatest foes at that moment are 1) time, and 2) the swimming pool he's about to dive into. He does, of course, face off against other swimmers, but it seems more accurate to say that the athletes are all competing against time, rather than competing against each other. After all, you could just as easily race them individually and compare the times to determine the world's best swimmer.

Put simply, no one tries to stop Michael Phelps from doing what he does, they just try to keep up. My opinion is that to be the best athlete in the world, you have to compete more directly with other athletes, and overcome their best effort to slow you down. When Michael Phelps stands on that platform and stares down that pool, he sees a pristine, wide-open swimming lane. But when Michael Jordan stands at the top of the key and prepares to drive, he sees a lane clogged with elite defenders, just as Barry Bonds sees Randy Johnson staring him down, or Peyton Manning sees Shawne Merriman gunning for him. We are, of course, free to define the greatest athlete ever however we wish. For me, however, all-time greatness comes from staring the best of your era directly in the eyes and then making it look as though you don't even belong in the same league. And unless he sneaks a glance into the next lane over during one of his record-breaking races, that's something Michael Phelps can never do.