Is Jordan the biggest/greatest sports icon ever?

**Supreme Olajuwon** · 12-22-2007, 06:10 AM

It's not so much the individual's accomplishments as it is his ability to captivate an audience. It's a lot easier to do that when there is a good back story to go with the competition. I think one of the key differences that put Jordan and Ali above Tiger and Gretzky is that Jordan and Ali had clear rivalries with opponents who could be easily identified as the villains in the battle. Jordan had the Pistons, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone who were all more than happy to be labeled the bad guys playing against the heroic Jordan. Ali had Joe Frazier which we really don't need to go into detail about.

Who did Gretzky have to face? The Islanders? The Flames? Sure, there were some good rivalries but nothing that captivated the viewing audience to the extent of anything Jordan and Ali had. As for Woods, no one is even close to challenging him. The only other golfer I've ever considered close to being able to compete with Tiger was David Duval and then he had a mental breakdown and hasn't come close to regaining his old form. There's just not enough drama with Gretzky and Tiger to compel more people to pay attention to how amazing they are/were.

View Poll Results: ???
Yes	12	38.71%
No	19	61.29%
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12-22-2007, 06:10 AM	#11
Supreme Olajuwon You know that�s right Posts: 52,766	It's not so much the individual's accomplishments as it is his ability to captivate an audience. It's a lot easier to do that when there is a good back story to go with the competition. I think one of the key differences that put Jordan and Ali above Tiger and Gretzky is that Jordan and Ali had clear rivalries with opponents who could be easily identified as the villains in the battle. Jordan had the Pistons, Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone who were all more than happy to be labeled the bad guys playing against the heroic Jordan. Ali had Joe Frazier which we really don't need to go into detail about. Who did Gretzky have to face? The Islanders? The Flames? Sure, there were some good rivalries but nothing that captivated the viewing audience to the extent of anything Jordan and Ali had. As for Woods, no one is even close to challenging him. The only other golfer I've ever considered close to being able to compete with Tiger was David Duval and then he had a mental breakdown and hasn't come close to regaining his old form. There's just not enough drama with Gretzky and Tiger to compel more people to pay attention to how amazing they are/were.