Greatness

(Insert superstar name here) is the next Michael Jordan. This has been the statement said about any “phenom” player coming into the league since the mid-90’s. It is also a phrase that drives me crazy. Kobe is not the next Jordan. LeBron is not the next Jordan. Why must we always try to find a comparison to everything?

Michael Jordan was a once in a lifetime kind of player. I do not know when or if we will ever see a player like him again. Honestly, even though I’m a huge MJ fan, I would love to see that kind of greatness again. The things he did on a court transformed the game in so many ways. There are people that are better dunkers then him. There are players that are better ball-handlers then him. The thing that sets him aside is he was great at so many things. That combination, and the dominance the Jordan Bulls had, will be hard to recreate ever again.

So why do we constantly find the need to compare players to him, even though it seems impossible? Human nature. As humans, we don’t want to accept that the best is behind us. We are raised to think that things will just get better. We want to remember the past and know that where we are now is better than where we were. I get this, I really do. What I don’t get is the constant forced comparison. Kobe is a great player, but does not quite compare to MJ. Yet, we have been forced to hear this comparison since Kobe entered the league. LeBron is no where near MJ. He doesn’t even fit the comparison. Recently, sports talking heads finally realized that LBJ needs to be compared to Magic more than MJ. No, LBJ is not as good as Magic, but the comparison is closer.

More than anything, I want to celebrate what players have done. When a player has a great season, I want to remember them for having a great season. The problem with this is that as soon as a player starts doing well, the 4 million sports talk shows start comparing these players to the greats from the past. These comparisons add so much extra pressure to these players. This is a problem. Players can ignore sports talk for a little while, but if you are compared to MJ and you miss a shot in the final seconds of a game, there is no way to ignore the avalanche of critics that comes along. Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless will yell at whoever is on the other side of the desk for hours on end with criticism of that player’s lack of clutch shooting.

Greatness in sport is something to be celebrated. Too bad, in this country at least, we have changed that. We like to tear down great players for not being the greatest of all time.