The word ' Great'..... Losing its Essence in sporting field

A sportsman's field is a great leveler.... Just ask Ronaldo.

It was just a month back when he was being called the greatest player in the game today.. being compared to the legends of the past..He was on the top of the world.

And look at how things stand today...

Portugal are out of Euro2008, losing to Germany, who simply outplayed and outclassed their opponents..(the scoreline gives a very deceiving picture...) and Ronaldo's credentials are being questioned.

Well i am not here to give my view on whether he being questioned is rite or wrong..I am here to just give my opinion on the use of word 'Great' by the media or in general by people all over.

In the sporting world 'Great' is just not an adjective. It's an elite group to which a very few people belong. Ali, Bradman , Sobers, Pele, Maradona, Sampras, Borg, Jordan Russell,...the list is long but not endless.. for these are the people who just not mastered their field but ruled it. These athletes have dominated their respective field and to put them in the same league as the Ronaldos',the Bryants', the Dhonis' would be disrespecting them.



The current crop of sports persons are good.. but they are not great...Yet...
Just look at their record. Ronaldo has just won 1 champions league and 2 premier league. Terry has not even won anything beyond the premier league....they have won nothing for their country..... Dhoni is still not a world cup winner...Bryant is yet to deliver a NBA championship on his own.....and putting them in the same league as Pele, Beckenbauer,Jordan, Richards.... multiple world cup winners, champions in their respective field.... is taking it too far.



It is true that sometimes in trying to appreciate the essence of past players we dont appreciate the greatness in front of our eyes. Federer is once in a generation player..and his records prove it. Nadal is a great clay court player...and thats where it should end. He is yet to prove his metal in grand slams on other surfaces and till he does it, he should not be bracketed as a great player.

The mordern media has gone overboard in terms of celebrating the success of teams and individuals. Its time they realize the actual worth of their statements. Success should be celebrated but Greatness should not be delivered with out being tested.



Last week a player won his 14th grand slam... all along battling a stress fracture... He battled for 91 holes..and not even once did he deter from his goal of winning .That is greatness. Greatness is not bought overnight... There are hurdles one needs to cross, moments one needs to grab.... to be Great.....Tiger Woods did it again.. Ronaldo needs to do it some more times.......