The Times: the greatest athletes are not the tallest and fastest, but they are different.

December 20-the Times senior sports writer wrote about the best male athletes in sports history. He believes that Messi, Ali, Jordan and others have become the best male athletes in history, not because they are taller and faster, but because they are different.
I think Messi is not only an excellent footballer, but also a walking miracle.
Tennis player Andy Murray asked a question on his Twitter: “is Messi the best player ever?” Forget football. ”
Some people will say that this question cannot be answered because the comparison of sports is offensive, but when I think about it, another idea comes to mind: there are many ways to express and realize the greatness of sports.
There was a time when men’s sports were thought to be dominated by stronger and stronger athletes, those with the strongest talent for height, strength and speed. In fact, about ten years ago, I participated in two debates on this topic. Experts talk about how big, muscular men will dominate football, tennis and golf, while the genetic coding for height and strength will become increasingly decisive.
But if you look at the greatest male athletes of the past half a century, what you see is not a recurring prototype, but a magnificent change in size, posture and technology.
Messi is not the strongest or fastest footballer, but he has turned the game into ballet, dancing from his opponents and finding the net in a cunning and precise way.
Mohamed Ali, undoubtedly the greatest heavyweight, weighed only 210lbs at his peak, but he beat bigger, stronger, more muscular men with speed, elusiveness and courage and a strong mix of qualities.
Roger Federer, a great tennis player, creates a speed that is not muscular, but pure timing.
Jack Nicklaus still holds the record of 18 men’s golf Grand Slam titles. He kicks off accurately, cuts the ball well and putts smartly. He said his biggest advantage was “stadium management”. He knows when to attack, when to defend, and when to play to his advantage.
Michael Jordan is another person who expresses his game in his own unique language. Basketball is a sport where height is almost a prerequisite for success, so if you don’t have the right congenital conditions, you will never succeed. But his characteristic is that he can “hang” in the air, and the way he calculates the jump time can give people an illusion. In addition, he not only gave full play to his talents, but also inspired the aspirations of everyone around him.
Most importantly, I am honored to witness the performance of all these excellent athletes in the competition. “if you want to be irreplaceable, you must always be different.” This sentence can be applied to Messi, Ali, Federer and others, and their greatness is that they all act in their own way.
(kopone)