Let's be honest, if you followed sports from 1983 to 2009, you witnessed the greatest athlete to ever play most American sports. In some cases, the greatness is from pure talent while it others that greatness is a product of playing in an era. Of the 4 major American sports, 3 have been played by the greatest player or players the sport has ever seen in just the last 26 years. Golf has also seen its greatest player in that time, and one could make a case that boxing will as well once a certain fighter finishes his career. Nonetheless, we should feel honored to call ourselves sports fans living in this time.
Let's jump right into each sport, here:
NFL- Since the NFL is so position-specific and each is extraordinarily different from the other, we need to separate the greatest players for the 3 major offensive positions. At quarterback you have Brett Favre, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Jerry Rice. Others exist that you could make an argument for--Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, and Barry Sanders. None of them change the point though--each of these players played in the league since 1983. The NFL is a sport, though, that has benefitted from the exponential advancement in medical science in that era. The sport is grueling enough that the marvels of modern medicine literally kept (or keep) each of these guys going. Was there natural talent involved? Of course. But put a lot of these same players in the 1950's and they're not as great as they are playing when they did.
NHL- The undisputed answer here is Wayne Gretzky (with some votes for Mario Lemieux) and the goalkeeping honors going to Patrick Roy or Martin Broduer. Gretz's talent would make him a superstar in any era but the goalies benefitted from rules allowing them excessive padding in the 90's. So while Wayne is legit, perhaps Roy and Marty's success is a product of the rules of the game in a specific era.
NBA- Michael Jordan is the greatest to ever play, hence why everyone calls the greatest player of a generation "the next MJ." Though Jordan's talent was undeniable, his success was part in parcel because of the way Magic and Bird opened up the game in the 80's. Jordan didn't know how to be anything but an explosive player who attacked the rim and demanded the ball in late-game situations. That just wasn't the nature of the game in the mid 20th Century, but you never know--maybe he would have been the one to change everything.
Golf/Boxing- Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer to ever play the game, and the margin will widen with each additional year he plays. The guy is 33 and has 71 tour victories, 14 Major champmionships, 10 Player of the Year awards, the lowest scoring average ever, and a 30% win rate. 30%! His work ethic and love of the sport make him even that much better, too. BUT...Jack Nicklaus and Arnie Palmer never had lit driving ranges. Never had rescue clubs. Never had the swing analyzing technology. Never had supplements. As good as Tiger is, he is the prime example of a player taking advantage of his era. Same with Manny Pacquiao, the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He's won titles in 7 different weight classes, a feat that is his and his alone. He's knocked out some of the greatest fighters in each division--Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar de la Hoya, Miguel Cotto. But again, Manny has only been able to move up and down in weight class as quickly as he has because of the advances in strength training. He has the benefit of sparring against the world's best and even moving his training camp home to the Phillipines despite fighting solely in the US.
The one sport I'm intentionally avoiding is baseball, of course. I'd like to say that Babe Ruth is the greatest player ever, but who did he even play against? The older players played in a league without much talent, diversity, or travel while the modern players are tainted by the steroid cloud that covers everyone post 1980. Pitchers pitched off mounds of different heights and with balls claimed to be deadened or juiced. There are simply too many deus ex machina events that have changed baseball's history, making it impossible to compare eras.
It's fascinating to think that if you follow sports in this era that you've seen almost every sport's greatest athlete ever. It's just as interesting to think about whether those athletes succeeded from pure talent or something else. I'm not knocking anyone who was a "product of an era," as I called them, though. If athletes can take advantage of their surroundings and exploit either rules or available science to get an edge (legally, of course), then I give them even more props for that. Sometimes it's all about being in the right place at the right time.
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