The GOAT Debate: Who is the greatest athlete ever? | TFTO

What actually makes someone one of the greatest athletes of all time? Is it championships? Dominance? Longevity? Changing the game? Today, I'm counting down my greatest athletes ever, explaining the criteria behind every pick, and I'm sure a few of my choices will spark some debate. Welcome to True Fan True Opinions. I'm Sue. Around here, being a true fan doesn't mean blindly agreeing with everything your team does, it means caring enough to tell the truth. So let's talk sports like fans do. Today we're doing something a little different. Instead of breaking down the latest headlines, we're diving into one of the biggest debates in sports. Who are the greatest athletes of all times? Sports are emotional, I get it, and so am I. But today I'm gonna challenge myself to separate passion from performance as much as possible. This isn't about my favorite athletes. It's about who I believe truly earn a place among the greatest of all time. Before we get started, I'm gonna set some ground rules. I'm judging on complete careers, not one incredible season or moment. I can love an athlete and still rank them lower than some people expect. I can dislike an athlete and still admit they're one of the greatest ever. Championships do matter, but they aren't the only measure of greatness. Dominance, longevity, consistency, impact on the sport, and performing when the pressure is the highest all matters too. Will everyone agree with my rankings? Absolutely not, and that's the fun of it. My goal isn't to convince you I'm right, is to explain why I ranked each athlete where I did. At the end of the episode, I want to hear your list and the athletes you think I got right, or I'm completely wrong, and who did I snub? Okay, so let's get to it. Just a quick reminder: the reasons why I'm putting these athletes in my top ten, some of the criteria and reasons. Dominance, championships, medals, awards, trophies, competition they faced, the influence on their sport, and if there was any clutch performances. So here we go, top ten. Number 10, Usain Bolt, fastest man alive, still the fastest man alive, his record at 9.58 seconds for 100 meters still stands. Since like 2009. He's an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, world records in the 100-200 meters, as well as the four by 100 meters. Amazing, just so fast. I remember watching him, and I couldn't even believe the speed, the dominance, like just so fast, like blink of an eye or two, gone, nine seconds, almost as fast as a cough of somebody having a really good laugh, right? By the time you had that giggle, boom, done. And with every race, when he's in the blocks and they're putting that camera on him, you can see it in his eyes, right? Like he knew he was gonna win. He knew he was gonna blow the competition away, he knows how fast he was gonna go. And you know what? I saw that. I felt that. And I'm sure everybody did. So my question is, will his record ever be broken for me? I don't think so. Number nine, Bobby Orr. Oh man, how I wish I could watch him play. I was very, very young when he retired. I've seen highlights, I've had family tell me about him. Listening to the broadcasters and everybody into sports talking about this man. To me, he's up there. Uh, Stanley Cup, two times. Three consecutive Heart trophies, eight consecutive North trophies, two con and Art Ross trophies. We all know he had to retire early, age of 30, I believe. Injury, right? Amazing. Um, a peri sound guy, an Ontario guy. He changed the face of defense, right? We all know how he would take the puck from the back of the net and just go through everybody and score a goal. That iconic picture of him winning the Stanley Cup or the goal and flying through the air. That's iconic. Everybody knows that's that picture. Question is, what kind of career, if not her, how many more records would he have? How many more Stanley Cups awards would he have? Just an amazing career. Sad that it ended so early. Number eight, Tom Brady. Okay, wow. Has this guy ever aged? He still looks great, even now that he's retired. He played 23 years, crazy. One of the winners Super Bowls, right? I believe like seven. Crazy. Five MVP Super Bowl, three NFL MVPs, comeback player of the year. Ah, so many, so many achievements. Like, I can't even put them all there. This was hard for me to put him in my top ten because I do not like Tom Brady. I'm a big Buffalo Bills fan. He hurt our team so so many times. His biggest rivalry was one of my favorite guys, Peyton Manning. So it was hard for me to put him on this list. Uh, but you have to, right? When you think dynasties, isn't Brady one of them? So yeah, we can talk about yeah, he had a great team, great coach, great defensive team, but we cannot argue of what he's accomplished. Number seven, Wayne Gretzky. I'm a little surprised I didn't put him down lower on my list. I'm sure a lot of you guys are. We can argue about it later. But we can't argue that he should be on this list, right? Four Stanley Cup rings. I believe he holds like 61 official league records. That's crazy. Goals 894 goals, 2,857 points. In 39 games, he had 50 goals. That's insane when you think about it. Every time he was out there, there was a goal. He also had most 100-point seasons. Uh it was like 15 years in a row. Consecutive. So many trophies. I can't even tell you how many. He was a hockey genius. When I watched him, I was a kid in the 80s, 90s. He was a genius out there. I loved watching him. Some of my favorite moments growing up watching Hockey Night in Canada was watching him with the Edmonton Oilers. Yeah, he had a great team, right? Great teammates. I mean, I'm not gonna name them all, but Messi, Yari, uh Fuhr. I mean, the list goes on and on. But his on-ice vision was not like anybody else. And he started so young. He was very dominating, but not physical, right? He had those teammates on his team that made him great. He didn't have to worry to fight. He didn't have to worry going into the corners and fight for the pucks and all that. But it was a different game. His ability to anticipate plays and as a playmaker, just top-notch. So the big question is would his style of play, his skill, how would it compare in the NHL, our NHL now? Not sure. Number six, the kid, Sydney Crosby. If anybody knows me, I think you are surprised I didn't put him number one or number two on my list. He is my guy. Loved him since I seen him with Rumouski. Loved him in the World Juniors, and I've been a big Pittsburgh Penguins fan because of him. So Sidney Crosby, the kid, number six. Some of his achievements, three Stanley Cups, two Heart Trophies, two Art Ross trophies, two Conn Smythe, three Ted Lindsay Awards, two Rocket Richard trophies. And there's more, right? Winner. Just a winner at all levels. There's the Olympic, right? Two gold medals, two world championship, MVP of the championship. Like I mentioned, world juniors. He took his Rumouskies to the Memorial Cup finals. Again, just Mr. Hutch. Very solid player. A lot of people are gonna debate about him. He's you know, Oveshkin is to his hip. Everybody talks about Crosby Oveshkin. To me, one of the best hockey players of all times. This episode is about the greatest athletes of all time. He's in there. His physical endurance, and yeah, there was injuries, right? The brain injury. But other than that, he hasn't had that many injuries. He's tough. He will go in the corners and fight. I just love this guy. One of my favorite players when I was watching the juniors, when I was younger, when he was younger, obviously, I loved the juniors hockey, and he was all-time favorite. My question is: how many more years do we have of him? It's gonna be ending soon, but wow, what a career. Number five, Michael Jordan. Air Jordan. You can see that logo, right? Guy flying in the air with the basketball in his hand, and you know he's gonna be dunking. The reason I got into basketball in my late teens, 20s, him and the Chicago Bulls love them. Six NBA championships, five regular MVP. He's got like 10 scoring titles with the Chicago Bulls, two gold medals at the Olympics, he's an Olympian, NCAA championship for you guys, March Madness. This guy was just awesome to watch. I loved that style basketball. He had some rivalries. He went up against the Patrick Ewings, his personal one on his own team, Isaiah Thomas. But nobody really compared to him. Maybe Kobe Bryant? Maybe. But this guy changed basketball. And I believe he was the start of the branding, right? Of players. Nike, how that all came around. Yeah, I'm sure before athletes had sponsors and that. But what I remember growing up was everybody wanted Nike. Everybody wanted Air Jordans. He was the brand. He's still the brand. You watch baseball and you see the gloves. Some of the baseball players have gloves that have the little Air Jordan symbols on it. I just love this guy. He was clutch. Apparently, he was a real you know what, but he wanted to win. Right? And everybody knows. They all say even Michael Jordan got cut from his high school team. This guy just ultimately Mr. Basketball, right? So my question is with Michael Jordan and his issues with the gambling and his dad, and even the time away he took to think that he was a baseball player, does that hurt his place as being the GOAT, the greatest of all time? His legacy? That's my question. Number four. One of my favorites, uh Tiger Woods. I can't even name all of the achievements, all of the things he won. I mean, there's like 82 PGA tour victories. Unbelievable. 15 major championships. I believe he was like number one in the world for like 600 and some weeks. That was almost like 700 weeks. Unbelievable. He was so dominating. You knew if he had the lead after the Thursday and Friday, nobody was gonna catch him on Saturday and Sunday, right? Everybody knows that fist pump when the ball drops, those amazing shots. Yeah, did he slice them into the woods, slice them behind trees, put some balls in the bunkers? Yeah, okay, he's not perfect. But then those recovery shots were amazing. Those were the iconic shots that I remember. And everybody knows that red shirt on Sunday. And if he had any kind of lead, and let's face it, a lot of times he had over a seven, eight stroke lead. But if he had any kind of lead going into Sunday, the final round, and he's wearing that red shirt, eh, okay, like he's gonna win, right? I used to golf and I did golf before Tiger Woods, but even myself as a woman, I want to hit like him. I wanted to be that golf rock star, right? Golf was boring, he changed that. That's not a debate. That fist pump, oh man, I can just still see it. Anyways, his biggest rivalry, which I don't even think it's close, but I'm gonna mention it, Phil Milkelson. Okay, great, yeah. But not, there's no way he's Tiger Woods, right? And I don't think there's a question that he's pretty much one of the greatest athletes, especially in the golf world. My question is with his troubles of late, the last few years, and we know what they are, we're not gonna talk about that. Does it ruin his legacy? Does it hurt him? Personally, I don't think it should. It should be only what he's done on the golf course, and nobody compares. Number three, Michael Phelps. Now, I have an Olympian on my list. And how can you not, right? The most decorated Olympian, not even close. Uh 28 total medals, 23 gold, three silver, two bronze, right? He's a five-time Olympian, like five, right? For 20 years. Amazing. He set 39 records. Unbelievable. When you talk about dominance, somebody that's powerful, somebody that's excellent in his sports, somebody that's determined, unbeatable. I mean, he has to be the poster child, right? Like how many people had his face in their locker room, in their exercise room? Like how many speeches did coaches say with his name? Will there ever be another Olympian to get more medals than him? Number two. Number two, Muhammad Ali. Nicknamed the greatest. And I'm not sure if I'm right on this, but I believe he gave him his own nickname to himself. Anyways, when he retired, his record was 56 wins and five. Like that's an unbelievable record. I didn't really know this, I had to look it up, but at the Olympics, he did win goal at the age of 18. We all know he's a three-time heavyweight champion. And even with myself that doesn't really follow boxing, and this is before my time, everybody has heard the fight of the century, right? Against Joe Fraser. I can still see that picture of him above Joe Fraser about to throw that punch. I've seen some replays, whatever's out there. My dad talked about this guy. I just wish I would have seen it. This man was amazing. And it's not just what he did in the boxing ring, right? He did impact the boxing world, but there was more to Muhammad Ali than boxing. He was very strong in his religious beliefs. He refused to be drafted. His stand on human rights is well known. He even won a prestigious award, Medal of Freedom, in 2005. So this guy changed the face, I wouldn't say just boxing, but even of the world, of how people look up to sports, how people look to sports athletes. And with Ali, the debate that we can question is not that he's not one of the greatest, but his biggest fight. We can all say it wasn't boxing, it was Parkinson. Alright, number one. Serena Williams. Yes, a tennis player. To me, she is the greatest of all time. She plays a sport, a single sport, right? No teammates. Center court, and she was dominant. Just unbelievable. Just kicks everybody's butt. I bet you she would have kicked most of the men's butts out there at that time when she was at her peak. 23 Grand Slam titles, four Olympic gold medals. She's had 73 career singles championships. She's won more with her sister, right? Venus, also an amazing tennis player. 14 Grand Slam doubles and three Olympic gold medals with her sister. Number one for like over 300 weeks. 186 consecutive weeks. She was number one. Nobody else better in the world. Nobody came close. And she actually won an Australian title in her early stages of being pregnant. Anyways, her biggest rivalries, I would think, would be her sister and everybody else in the 2000s, right? I mean, you can throw out every name out there. Uh, I don't think anybody came close. She changed the sport forever. Every woman wanted to hit like her. All the girls wanted to be like her. Men want to be like Serena, be powerful like her. The confidence she had when she stepped out on that court, nobody was gonna beat her. The only person that was gonna beat Serena was Serena. And the influence, right? Her branding, she's iconic when it comes to tennis and beyond tennis. And I'm talking not just for females, males too. So for my top, she's the one. And I mentioned a lot of names, and I know there's names I've missed, and we're gonna talk about honorable mention these in a minute. She's the ultimate goat of mine. My question is, is she yours? Is she even on your list? I wanna know. Alright, so after the top 10, I still had a crap load of names, and I have to mention them. They're honorable mentions. Um, again, I can be throwing out more names out there. You guys are gonna throw out names. Some of these names are gonna probably be on your top 10, and I'm gonna try and take away from different sports here. Alright, so Gordy Howe. Again, I didn't watch a lot of him, um, but I sure read a lot about him. I sure heard a lot about him. Mr. Hockey. Everybody knows Gordy Howe. Just overall player, right? He can do it all, right? Fighting, take standing up for his teammates, taking care of things, goals, assists, everything. Mr. Hockey. LeBron James. We have to mention him. He's like a Tom Brady for me. Don't really like him, but is he a great player? Probably one of the best basketball players, of course. This guy is the first guy that really was in tune with his body, spent a lot of money on his body. I heard. A little bit of a jerk in the locker room, but again, wants to win. It's gonna expect that from himself and from his teammates. So King James, Jerry Rice. I mean, I love watching him playing football. He was fast, right? Flash 80. He could catch anything. I think his nickname was even called World because he can catch anything in the world. I I really believe that's why he had that nickname. Jack Nicholson. One of the reasons why I started watching golf. Yeah, I was very young. Okay, so I'm now I'm aging myself. But the golden bear. Tiger Woods is the only one that really beat his records, right? So everybody can debate that. Messi. I'm not a big soccer fan. Everybody's gonna know that. I have been watching with the FIFA and the World Cups and Olympics. I know the big names out there. I know the debates, and we're gonna talk about that later as well. But when you go look at stats and everything, yeah, Messi is up there. Roger Federer, the Swiss Maestro. Precise playing style. This guy was clinic. When you say you wanted to see somebody do a clinic of whatever sport they're doing, that's him. I mean, he was dominant. He's titles galore. So he could be mentioned. He should be up there. Simone Biles and Lindsay Vaughn, I'm gonna put them together. Great Olympians, the best in their sport. Lots of different struggles. Imagine if the struggles they didn't have, how many, how much more awards, medals, championships they would have won. Just amazing when I watch them. And those sports are not even what I watch, but we know that because of the Olympics, right? The story, the moments. That's what makes them great athletes. So I'm gonna mention them. And then there's two people that greatest of all time, well, they're not done yet. They're still playing, as like some of them that I mentioned. But these two, give it another 10 years and we're gonna be talking about them. Shohei Otani, Unicorn. If anybody knows me, this is the guy I love to watch. Everybody knows I'm a big Blue Jay fan, love all the Blue Jays, love a lot of players. This guy is my guy. This guy, like I said, I always call him a unicorn. I mean, he's doing things, and we all know since Babe Ruth, okay? Another iconic. Name, but Shohei Otani, I would have him on my baseball team every time, and he would pitch every game he can, and he will be my hitter. This is my guy. And I have to mention Medi Philippe Poulet. She's Captain Clutch. If you're gonna talk about Gretzky and Crosby, right? Hockey, Ovechkin, Messier, Mario Lemieux, there's lots of names out there. You have to mention Poulet. You have to. When you need a goal, when Team Canada needs a goal at the world level at the Olympics, she's there. She's done it. You can depend on her. And the leadership and how she cares about her teammates. To me, Manny Fiddle Poulet in another five years, when she's done, and God, I hope she plays for another 20 years. When she's done, she's gonna be up there in my top three, top four. What she's done for women's hockey, unbelievable. So again, a lot of names out there, a lot of different sports. I know, guys. I know, I've missed some. That's up to you to leave me a comment. Tell me your feelings, your thoughts, your opinions. I need to know. And even for myself, I know I miss more. And when you talk about goats and the athletes, there's debates, right? And I actually talked a little bit about it, but I'm gonna throw some debates out there that I think are relevant now, as they were maybe some of them 20 years ago. And I think they will be in another 10, 15, 20 years from now. And I touch a couple of sports here, so everybody can get involved. Okay, let's go with basketball. I'm gonna mention Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Big debate. Now there's others you can mention Magic Johnson and Larry Byrd, right? You could talk about others, but to me in basketball, everybody's gonna talk about Michael Jordan and LeBron James. I've always say you can't take one generation to the next. You can't. The athletes now, with their eating habits and their workouts, and they are not the same as the 60s, 70s, and 80s. And if you involve equipment, it's not gonna be the same. So with Michael Jordan and LeBron James, I'm gonna give the edge up to Michael Jordan. Um, but yeah, LeBron James is right there. Another debate, football. Everybody talks. Tom Brady, I'm gonna throw out their Joe Montana. One of my favorites when I was watching football, he was San Francisco 49ers. Like everybody knew Joe Montana. People can debate about those two, and they still will. And then you could probably add Patrick Mahomes there with Tom Brady, John Elway, Peyton Manning, so many. Tennis, Federer against Nadal. Those were amazing matches. If you're not a tennis fan and you want to be a tennis fan, go back and watch some of their matches. Even them against others. They were both great. I'm gonna give the edge up to Federer, but Nadal was right there. He was fun to watch, he was electric, he was a fast runner, like he would run that run those balls from baseline to baseline, just amazing. I'm gonna mention soccer. I'm not the soccer fan, like I said, but Ronaldo and Messi. I know who I like. I put Messi in my top 10, but I prefer Ronaldo. Um, but going back and looking at stats, what they've done for their clubs, what they've done for their countries, I gave the edge to Messi. Um, but again, a great debate. And then if you go with hockey, well, you can go Wayne Greske against everybody else. I've mentioned Crosby, Poulain, Ovechkin, Muriel Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Marc Messier, Steve Iserman. Oh my god, the list goes on and on and on. So again, those are the great debates that people I believe are talking about now. They were talking about 10-15 years ago, and in another 20 years. There's lots of debates. Alright, everybody, this is time for Sue's True Moment. Alright, we spent this episode talking about greatness through championship records, dominance, careers, so on, so on. But as sports fans, we all know greatness isn't only measured by stats. Sometimes it's measured by the moments that stay with us forever. So for my Sioux True Moment today, I want to share a few athletes and moments that made me appreciate why sports are so special. Tiger Woods made golf a must-watch sport. Tiger Woods was different. He didn't just win tournaments, he changed how people watched golf. I remember watching him dominating and thinking that every tournament mattered because you were watching someone who could do something incredible at any moment. His confidence, his focus, and the way he handled pressure made him one of the most fascinating athletes I've ever watched. Tiger didn't just win tournaments. He made people who weren't even golf fans want to watch golf. Michael Jordan, the feeling of greatness. Michael Jordan is one of those athletes where even people who weren't basketball fans knew his name. Watching him fly through the air, hit impossible shots, and take over games, you felt like you were watching something special. It wasn't just about winning, it was a feeling that something amazing could happen every time he stepped on the court. Serena Williams. Power, passion, perseverance. Serena Williams is another athlete who represents greatness in so many ways. Watching her compete, the confidence she brought, the power of her game and the way she fought through adversity was incredible. What stands out to me isn't just the championships, it's the mentality. She expected greatness from herself. She competed with emotion and she showed that toughness and passions are part of what makes athletes special. Sydney Crosby, the golden goal. Being Canadian, this one has to be mentioned. The golden goal at the 2010 Olympics is one of those moments where you remember exactly where you were. I was on my couch. The pressure, the excitement, the celebration, it wasn't just a hockey moment. It was a Canadian sports moment that we'll never forget. And for me, it was a surreal, magical moment. Alright, so those were some of my true moments. Not necessarily just the athletes with the most trophies, championships, or records, but the athletes who made me stop, watch, and appreciate what greatness looks like. And that's why these conversations are so much fun and difficult to have, and why the debates will go on forever. The numbers tell us what athletes accomplish, but memories, oh, those memories, they tell us why the athletes matter. So I'm gonna leave you with this thought. If you could only pick one athlete to represent the greatest competitor in sports history, who are you choosing and why? I'm curious. I really want to know. Thanks so much for listening to another episode of True Fan True Opinion. If you enjoyed today's conversation, I really appreciate it if you follow the show, leave a review, and share it with another sports fan. And don't forget, I want to hear your thoughts. Did you agree with my taste? Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments or on social media. Until next time, keep caring, keep believing, and remembering. Turn up, don't give up. I'm rooting for you.