Since this is an open blog post, and I have little background in English, I figure I will write about something I know well. As an avid golfer, I am a huge Tiger Woods fan. What he has done for the sport of golf is absolutely amazing and really has made the sport a presence around the world. However, I have debated an interesting point with friends of mine for quite some time, which actually has many rhetorical aspects to it. How would you answer this question: What athlete was/is the most dominant at their sport? Answer: Tiger Woods.
I’ll quickly entertain the choice I have debated against the most which is definitely Michael Jordan. My answer to Michael Jordan is that you just stated the greatest basketball player of all time, and that is probably not going to be debated. But the question is about dominance, and I will say that Wilt Chamberlain was more dominant than Michael Jordan was. Jordan never scored 100 in a game and he didn’t come close to averaging 50 points in a season either, much more telling statistics of dominance.
Tiger Woods is the most dominant athlete to ever live, which is a big statement since he is barely in his 30’s. And yet that is the point, because he has broken more records in half a career than almost any athlete has ever broken altogether. He held all 4 majors at one time, something never done with the modern majors. He already is second all-time on majors with 12 and 4th all-time on wins with 55. Just this past Sunday, he won his 6th consecutive PGA Tour event, the second time he’s done that. If he continues at the pace he’s on, he will quite possibly beat Jack Nicklaus’ major’s record by 10 and Sam Snead’s total wins record by 30 or more. These stats are not just remarkable, but absolutely astonishing because he is on pace to destroy those much heralded records.
The list of accomplishments would be very long for Tiger but I’d rather not spend the evening writing them all down. It is because of the aforementioned stats that Woods is much more dominant than Jordan ever was. If you wanted to debate greatness, Woods would be a formidable opponent against Jordan already, but maybe not the clear-cut winner since he has at least 10-20 more years to go in his career. But no one dominates his or her sport like Tiger, and I think we are all lucky to witness a rare athlete like Tiger in his prime.
3 comments:
While I'll agree about Tiger in golf, I'd have to say that Roger Federer is the most dominant in his sport. One may question his accomplishments by comparing them to Pete Sampras, but, if Federer ever wins the French Open (which he almost did this last year), he will have done it all, without losing a match in 35+ tries. Is the tennis scene weaker than the golf scene? That is up for debate.
I sort of agree with you. Federer is more dominant in tennis today than Tiger is in golf. The only reason I won't say he is the most dominant athlete ever is because he hasn't done it long enough. It's really only been since 2004 that's he been the best in tennis. Tiger on the other hand has been the best in golf since 1997, and completely untouchable since 1999. If Federer keeps up what he's doing for another 5 years, breaking all records easily, then it'll be hard to argue against him
TIGER vs. ROGER - In 2008 Tiger will try to win the PGA Championship for the 2nd year in a row. Think that's impressive? Roger in 2008 will try to win the Australian Open for the 3rd year in a row, The U.S. Open for the 5th year in a row, and Wimbledon for the 6th year in a row. Furthermore, if Roger wins 3/4 majors like he did in 2006 and 2007 he will be the all time majors leader in his sport at age 26.
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