Pele vs. Michael Jordan

Discussion in 'Players & Legends' started by AmericanSalv, Mar 11, 2010.

  1. AmericanSalv

    AmericanSalv New Member

    Jan 11, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    two great legends going at it

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXbdPW39SDg"]YouTube- Pele vs. Michael Jordan[/ame]
     
    Gregoire1 repped this.
  2. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    [​IMG]

    Unfortunately Pele lost in second round ... and Michael Jordan won as best male athlete of ALL TIME ALL SPORTS by CNN (note a US based magazine)
     
  3. AmericanSalv

    AmericanSalv New Member

    Jan 11, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    of course a US based magazine in my opinion Pele is the best athlete ever
     
  4. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    Michael Jordan

    Pele might cut the Top 5 -10.
    It's hard enough comparing athletes from the same sport - but cross-sports wise it's as subjective as it gets.
     
  5. Auriaprottu

    Auriaprottu Member+

    Atlanta Damn United
    Apr 1, 2002
    The back of the bus
    Club:
    Atlanta
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I remember a similar ranking of athletes from vastly different sports, around 2000. MJH won that one, too. There is an interview somewhere where Oscar Robertson (basketball player before Jordan's time) made a case for being the best b-ball player ever. The numbers bolstered his argument. Magic and some others did not dispute it, tho they did not outright agree with him either. In any case, the man who has a valid case for being the best basketball player ever ended up like 35th in your rankings... behind a horse (Secretariat).

    I personally think Jim Thorpe is the only sensible choice for this award, if in fact it must be awarded. Muhammad Ali and Pele would share a close second. I don't know if anyone's won every event in the Decathlon since he did it. If it was going to be a Lifetime Achievement Award, it should have gone to Muhammad Ali or Pele. In no way, shape or form is Jordan deserving, no matter how great he was on the court.
     
  6. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    I never seen any (sane) person claiming Oscar Robertson is the best BB player ever. Which numbers?
    Tripple double season? Over 6 Finals MVPs and 5 (should have been more) Regular Season MVPs? Are you kidding? And by the way .. are numbers the only thing that make a great athlete? Ever seen Jordan play? Show me another guy with his clutchness!

    Oh yeah and Magic :rolleyes:
    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u69SCU79_O0"]YouTube- Is Michael Jordan The Greatest Ever? Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Danny Ainge, Kenny Smith...[/ame]

    I agree with you on the horse thing though. :D That's the list you meant:
    http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/athletes.html
     
  7. AmericanSalv

    AmericanSalv New Member

    Jan 11, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    i completely agre with you
     
  8. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    How about some arguments to back it up?

    Geez! what did I expect ... I should have known beforehand that you can't talk about any other sports besides soccer on a soccer board.
     
  9. AmericanSalv

    AmericanSalv New Member

    Jan 11, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    what?
     
  10. Hendrixforpope

    Hendrixforpope Member+

    Barcelona
    Brazil
    Dec 15, 2007
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Federer or Laver over Sampras.
     
  11. lanman

    lanman BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 30, 2002
    Nominating someone for the "Best Sports Champion" based on their college career or the fact that they were the first coloured player in major league baseball is quite simply laughable and an insult to great sportsmen throughout the world, yet not entirely unexpected.

    Among others, notable absentees would include Don Bradman, Paavo Nurmi, Eddie Merckx, Jahanghir Khan & Max Woosnam.
     
    1 person likes this.
  12. poorvi

    poorvi Member+

    Feb 5, 2006
    Bombay
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Jordan has Air Jordan, Pele doesn't have any such 'honours'. Jordan has to be the greatest.

    :D
     
  13. schwuppe

    schwuppe Member+

    Sep 17, 2009
    Club:
    FC Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
    They even voted Jackie Robinson over Carl Lewis. :D
     
  14. RichardL

    RichardL BigSoccer Supporter

    May 2, 2001
    Berkshire
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Hard to really see what the thinking behind "overall best" is, but the sheer numbers that play the game compared to the other sports makes being the best soccer player ever more of an achievement.
     
  15. AmericanSalv

    AmericanSalv New Member

    Jan 11, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    come dude that was whack
     
  16. lionmessi

    lionmessi Member

    May 27, 2008
    americans just tend to overhype their players. i can bet almost nobody outside of usa has ever heard of babe ruth. mumahad ali, michael jordon are famous but people outside usa dont see them in same light as americans do.
     
  17. poorvi

    poorvi Member+

    Feb 5, 2006
    Bombay
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    The image you've posted is kind of erroneous. What exactly is M Jordan (P) vs M Jordan (C) supposed to indicate? :confused:

    Michael Jordan is nominate twice.

    Also please tell us what criteria are used in the elimination. To be very honest with you, I've never heard of this 'H Aaron' character who KOed Pele in this competition.
     
  18. poorvi

    poorvi Member+

    Feb 5, 2006
    Bombay
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Jordan just doesn't have the global appeal of a Pele. In fact, no basketball players global appeal could match that of a football great. Same holds true for Jim Thorpe. I had to wiki him to get information. His appeal is very limited no matter his extra ordinary achievements on the field, simply because the sports he played are not as widely followed as football.

    Muhammad Ali of course can be considered both due to his on field exploits and his impact on society.

    Some others whom I would nominate in the list(on the same lines, i.e a mix of sporting excellence and impact on society) are: Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar,Jesse Owens, Sergei Bubka, Phelps and Dhyan Chand.
     
  19. Hendrixforpope

    Hendrixforpope Member+

    Barcelona
    Brazil
    Dec 15, 2007
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Hank Aaron, the second* all time leading home-run hitter in Major League Baseball history.

    * Depending on whether or not you think Barry Bonds (#1) roided and how that should affect the record.

    BTW, it was Babe Ruth who KO'ed Pele, not Aaron. That just goes to show the American bias in this 'competition'.
     
  20. AmericanSalv

    AmericanSalv New Member

    Jan 11, 2010
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    YES in america they think their sports are the best but they can never compete with football
     
  21. Dtown

    Dtown Member

    Sep 5, 2009
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    An American poll, by American sports writers, for an American audience, has an American bias? I'm shocked. Really I am. :rolleyes:

    Getting worked over because of that is like getting mad that water is wet.

    That said spouting this kind of nonsense is just awful.

    Granted this is a soccer board so I can't expect people to know baseball stats, still not an excuse for spouting gibberish, Jackie Robinson would have been a hall of famer even if he was white. The fact that he managed that while facing more pressure, scrutiny, and hatred than most can imagine is why he's considered one of the legends of american sport.

    edit: Though why Jordan was on the list twice and Jesse Owens, and Carl Lewis were left off is a mystery
     
    1 person likes this.
  22. YooAhJin

    YooAhJin Member

    Aug 30, 2008
    It is quite immature and irrelevant to compare athletes from different sports different countries and different cultures, especially team sports. ....It really accomplishes nothing.
     
  23. johno

    johno Member+

    Jul 15, 2003
    in the wind
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    If I had to make a list of champions, it would start with athletes that won at all costs and Ruffian would go on the list for me ahead of Secretariat.
     
  24. Cool Rob

    Cool Rob Member

    Sep 26, 2002
    Chicago USA
    Club:
    Flamengo Rio Janeiro
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. I'm a Chicago Bulls fan and saw Jordan play tons of times, so I'm about as pro-Jordan biased as one can be. But this list is silly and waaay too US-centric. Plus CNN blows anyway.

    It would have been really interesting to elaborate on the global impact each of them had, because it really is fascinating. All were great champions, but Jordan's impact was commerical/technological, Ali's impact was political/defiant, and Pele's impact was social/innovative.

    But Pele probably has to win simply because of the sheer numbers that play the game, so I assume his influence runs deeper. I've had conversations about all three in the weirdest, remotest places; from 1997-2003 I carried around Jordan "23" Bulls shirts when traveling...the ultimate currency respected everywhere.
     
  25. lanman

    lanman BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 30, 2002
    This was ran by CNN, who proclaim themselves the "Worldwide Leader in News". Now I would expect an organistation that proclaims themselves "Worldwide" to report and review on a global basis. I would be equally scathing of a BBC poll that only listed footballers, cricketers and rugby players.

    Robinson was an outstanding player, the best second baseman around when he was playing, but he's certainly not even the best all time at his own position (Hornsby, Morgan, Lajoie, Collins are all superior, and compelling arguments can be made for the likes of Biggio, Gehringer and Alomar as well). There is no denying his place in American sporting and social history, but that is as much to do with the roles he filled (both in and outside of baseball) than his sporting ability.
    Of course he suffered unimaginable abuse during his career, but his ability to overcome that is testament to his standing as a person rather than as a sportsman (although he was not alone in that - Larry Doby is all but forgotten in this). Had he been white then there is no way that he gets included in such a poll as his impact would have been judged solely on sporting merit, and when you're looking for the greatest sportsmen then what someone achieved in a non-sporting context should not be considered.
     

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