By Rahul Banerji
By definition, a ‘Greatest Of All Time’ or GOAT, is a singular entity. That’s what the phrase suggests. But we live in times of such riches that there are a plethora of GOATS to pick from.
Any cricket fan in her/his sixties, certainly, fifties, and even forties may have seen Sunil Gavaskar play. My father and his siblings were quite clear, there couldn’t be another Indian batsman of that class and calbre ever again.
Though the term hadn’t gained currency then, Sunny was The GOAT for that generation.
Yet even before the ink had dried in the record books against Gavaskar’s name, along came Sachin Tendulkar. He was the real thing, the next lot of fans declared.
And even while Sachin was still active, a Virat Kohli rose on the horizon. That’s how it goes. It’s the name of the game.
Role models
Inspiration is the sincerest compliment to a role model. The fact that India has been blessed with three great batsmen in successive generations is a celebration of that motivation.
Here, the reference is only to Indian batsmen. There have been just as many greats with the ball.
Each nation has its list – from a Lawrence Rowe to Vivian Richards to Brian Lara was but a hop, skip and jump in the sunny Caribbean, for example.
Allan Donald and Dale Steyn followed Shaubn Pollock for South Africa in quick succession. An Aravinda de Silva was succeeded by the Kumar Sangakkaras and Mahela Jayawardenes for Sri Lanka.
If there was an Imran Khan, there were also Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis for Pakistan. The list is an endless one. And in their own ways, each of them was a GOAT to the fan.
Climbing Everest
There’s a context to this. On Sunday, we saw two records were equalled that were at one time considered the zenith of their respective sports.
Lewis Hamilton drove his way to equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of 91 wins with victory at the Eifel Grand Prix at Nurburgring, a feat not long ago considered improbable, if not downright impossible.
And on the red clay courts of Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal drew level with Roger Federer at the top of the Grand Slam count of 20 titles, routing top seed Noval Djokovic 6-0, 6-2 and 7-5.
Whether Hamilton and Nadal be counted amongst the GOATs is, essentially, a subjective issue.
Every generation produces its share of great achievements, but having been in the business of writing on sport for 36 years and more, I’m increasingly convinced this is so.
Golfers of a generation past will swear by Jack Nicklaus. Those from a few years refuse to look past Ben Hogan. Our time has been dominated by Tiger Woods.
Numbers game?
Yet, if you look purely at the numbers, he is still four shy of Nicklaus’s all-time count of 18 majors. On another scale however the influence Tiger has had on his sport is almost beyond measure.
For a lot of people, Tiger Woods is the true GOAT of our times. Not just in terms of his record but also for where he has taken professional golf in the market, in public perception, and amongst fans.
My 80-year-old aunt is a die-hard devotee.
For many motor-sport fans, so was Schumacher. The German rewrote the rules in more ways than one, had almost as many haters as he did admirers but there is no taking away from the fact that he was an influencer supreme.
Most of all, Schumacher reinstated Ferrari as a leader of the sport at a time when Formula One was threatening to fall out of favour.
There is of course, an equally vociferous school of thought that still holds his dominance was the reason F1 became a boring procession in the first place.
Hamilton has now reached that seemingly impossible peak. And he’s not done. For one, there’s the rest of this year’s calendar to go. Plus he is driving well enough to stay in the business as long as he wants.
Also, one more Schumacher landmark remains, seven world championships to Hamilton’s six, but that too will be equalled by this year’s end. It’s only a matter of time.
So is Hami the F1 GOAT, or will it still be Schuey? Both dominant drivers of their time, supremely focussed, both a little boring in their dominance.
Stylist supreme
No such finger will ever be pointed at Roger Federer. The stylist supreme, he has delighted audiences with not his grace on the court but his humility and demeanour off it too.
On top of that, the Fed is a darn good tennis player. On all surfaces.
If there is a question over Rafa’s achievements, it will be about the fact that 13 of his Grand Slam wins have come on clay, at the French Open.
This will always remain an emotion-driven debate but there is no taking way from the fact that but for injury, the Spaniard’s count could have been even higher already.
So does that – the numbers game – make him the tennis GOAT? Not if you are a Serena Williams fan (23 Grand Slam wins). Or a supporter of Novak Djokovic.
Or even a Federer fanatic.
Also read: Some top guns of the last season and Tiger’s new beginning
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