If you’re a sports nut, like I am, you constantly hear about the great teams of the past. The 1961 Yankees. The 1972 Dolphins. Wooden’s Bruins, Rockne’s Irish, Bowman’s Habs, and Russell’s Celtics.
After hearing stories of the great teams of the past for so long, a question popped into my head: how will our sports era be remembered? What are the stories and who are the people we will be telling our grandkids stories about?
We have the privilege to watch the greatest golfer ever to live develop before our eyes. We saw Tiger win the US Amateur Championship three times in a row, the last time being in 1996. Just a year later, not only did we witness Tiger becomes the youngest ever Masters champion, we also saw him set a Masters course record. In 2000, we saw young Eldrick become the first ever two-time recipient of the prestigious Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award after winning the British Open, US Open, and PGA Championship. And you know what Tiger did next? He went out and won the Masters–again, mind you–and became the first player in history to hold all four major championships at the same time. That’s right: Hogan never did it. Palmer never did it, nor did Nicklaus. Oh, did I mention that Tiger is still 27?
We had the privilege to watch the greatest basketball player ever to live play, retire, play again, retire again, play again, and finally retire one last time. We saw Michael Jordan hit miracle shot after miracle shot with the Bulls, always capped off with that legendary tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. We’ve seen Jordan’s Bulls pass over the dynasty torch to Shaq, Kobe (Jordan’s heir), and the Lakers. And we’re seeing a completely new era in professional basketball unfold in front of our eyes: a time where raw youngsters, some just out of high school, will dominate the league in just a matter of time.
We have the privilege to be graced by the swing of possibly the best baseball player ever, Mr. Barry Bonds. We can see Bonds smack ball after ball into McCovey Cove, and it never gets old. We witnessed the seemingly immortal single season home run record be shattered by not one, but two, players in the same year–just to see the new record broken three years later. We are tracking the first legitimate attempt at the Triple Crown by a player (Albert Pujols) since Carl Yastrzemski accomplished it in 1967. In a few years, we’ll see Bonds break the all time home run record. Not to mention the fact that we’ve seen one of the greatest pitchers of all time (Roger Clemens) hand the ball to the greatest closer of all time (Mariano Rivera) a number of times.
We have the privilege to watch the greatest bicycler in the history of cycling. Usually when people say that a sports player is heroic, it’s an exaggeration. When they say it about Lance Armstrong, they’re not kidding. The summer after he fought off testicular cancer, Armstrong went on to win the Tour de France, the most prestigious cycling race in the world. Then he did it again. And again. And again. And again. Armstrong has won five straight Tour de France’s–and shows no indication of stopping. He truly is the greatest bicycler to ever walk (or ride) the earth. <p>
We have the privilege to watch the next great star in the NFL, Michael (sorry Stuart Scott, I’m not calling him Mike) Vick. We saw Elway drive the Broncos downfield in the fourth quarter, and now we see Favre doing the same with the Packers. We were mesmerized by Barry Sanders, blown away by Jerry Rice, and stymied by the Ravens defense.
They’re not Wooden, but we’ve seen two of the greatest college basketball coaches ever grace the sidelines on the same court (Coach K. and Dean Smith). Connors vs. McEnroe? We’ve got Sampras vs. Agassi. Secretariat? Okay, you’ve got us there–but we’ve seen Silver Charm, Funny Cide, and Smarty Jones win two of the Triple Crown races before losing the Belmont Stakes.
We’ve seen two of the greatest women’s college basketball players ever play on the same court (Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird). We’ve seen two of the greatest women’s tennis players on the same side of the court (Venus and Serena). We’ve seen the first woman to compete in a PGA event (Annika Sorenstam), and we’re currently watching Michelle Wie develop. We’ve seen Mia Hamm dribble her way into the hearts of Americans during the Women’s World Cup.
Spitz? Phelps.
We’ve seen The Great One (Wayne Gretzky) skate and Patrick Roy protect the net.
We’re watching Adu, LeBron, and Prior become stars right in front of our eyes.
Talk about a Golden Age in sports? Heck, we’re in one right now.
This is my first column; I am a seventeen year old aspiring journalist and appreciate comments.
6 replies on “Lances and Tigers and Bonds…Oh My!”
Golden era You are right, it is a great time to be a sports fan. We have seen great players come and go and now a new wave of greats are among us. Good article, you should keep writing on this website. I think your writing really put sports into proper perspective. Great job.
nice article well written, and an enjoyable read.
“greatest ever” might be a stretch for some of the subjects, though. i’ll give you Gretzky, Jordan and Bonds (and even then, you’d get an argument for Howe, Russell, Ruth, etc.). but Woods “the greatest golfer ever”? check Nicklaus’ record, and have Tiger give me a call after he wins about ten (ten!) more majors. Armstrong – definitely the most inspiring, but “the greatest bicycler in the history of cycling”? no way – Eddie Merckx won five Tour de Frances, plus multiple Giro de Italias (Lance – none), multiple Vuelta a Espanas (Lance – none), and many more races than Lance will ever even enter.
i agree that we are indeed lucky to be able to watch and appreciate the current group of athletes, but be wary of using the “greatest” tag too quickly. (see: Maurice Greene’s right bicep.)
a great follow-up question/article: what’s causing this golden age? for all of the great women athletes: Title IX, for sure. greater emphasis on sports in modern culture: TV, and especially ESPN. might make a good term paper. 😉
About your title I was wondering if you had used Camron’s line{Lions,Tigers,Bears…oh my!}as an analogy to your title….I know hip hop
Either you’re young or i’m old but it’s an allusion to the Wizard of Oz.
Good article I especially like the Elway and Patrick Roy callouts being a Denver fan. One thing though, I believe Armstrong has one SIX tours in a row with this past year. Next year could be seven.
Responses Yes, of course, it’s an allusion to the Wizard of Oz, and yes, of course, it’s six in a row. I wrote this a few weeks ago, before Lance had won his sixth.