GOATs

Every sport has its own style; its own focus and its own trend or theme. From the conservation of time in a clutch basketball game; to the importance of precision in a deuced game; up to the pressure a person can feel in game defining moments, each sport has its unique aspects. In result of these, sports have produced players of certain skill and high caliber that respond to these situations with more ease than the rest – players that excel and gain glory and fame through their works, players that we people like to address as the Greatest Of All Time in each sport also known as GOATs.

There are many runner ups for the GOATs of each sport, though the ones favored by many are Usain Bolt for his undeniable speed and agility in the world of Track and Field; Michael Phelps for his consistency and speed in Competitive Swimming; Derek Jeter for his exceptional leadership in the pitch of Baseball; Pele’s great skill and finesse which strongly assures his claim for Soccer; Roger Federer’s great stretch of wins during his prime in Tennis; Peyton Manning’s legendary work ethic; and Michael Jordan’s legendary legacy in the sport of Basketball and much more. Though there are a handful of people that can contest these people’s titles of GOATs, but one thing for sure is that they are definitely part of the conversation. If not, they’re the conversation themselves.

But what makes these people stand out from the rest? What makes them the center of attention? Most would say that it is obviously because of the insane talent and skill that they possess, but there’s something more to that, something most people tend to overlook. These athletes understood their sport better than anyone, from the way an opponent reacts to his or her movements to the way one responds to every situation thrown at them, these athletes were the best at it. They gained these skills and attributes through their experience which they only got from their hard work and dedication and discipline, those three words alone would take a player a whole career to fully understand and some not even at all, but these players knew this already and because of this they were able to do the most important trait a GOAT must possess: passion.

These players loved their game more than anyone else. The passion and dedication that they put into their game was most evident because of their love for the sport. You can see it in their eyes, the will and determination to express their passion into the sport they love. This is what brought them above everyone else.

Another factor that should be considered is the fact that their own competition has respect to their claim. These players have certainly achieved that factor through the statements of their rivals such as what Australian Swimmer Liesel Jones says about Phelps: “I just feel very privileged that I got to watch Michael Phelps win eight gold medals. That's been the highlight of my Olympics."; what Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird says of his rival Jordan: “I think he’s God disguised as Michael Jordan.”

Throughout all the challenges these players have been through, you can’t question their deserved greatness.

But the real message here is that talent comes from passion and dedication, it doesn’t come naturally to a person. This means that these GOATs were once no different than any of us, except for the fact that they stood up and made themselves who they are today, but that doesn’t mean that we ourselves can’t do the same thing. So the real challenge here is not to debate on who the claim of being a GOAT should go, but rather, the challenge here is if you’re willing enough to become one yourself.