On the evening of Sept. 11th, the National Basketball Hall of Fame welcomed arguably the best class in its 50-year history. It included former Spurs All-Star David Robinson, Jazz point guard John Stockton, Head Coaches C. Vivian Stringer and Jerry Sloan as well as the big man himself, Michael Jordan.
As I think about this incredible induction class, I’m realizing that I can recall specific memories with each of them: Robinson controlling the key with then-youngster Tim Duncan, Sloan working the sidelines against the Nuggets, Stringer’s ability to overcome the idiotic comments made by Don Imus and lead her Scarlet Knights to the championship game in 2007 and mostly, of course, Jordan’s memorable crossover against the Jazz.
This is the first hall of fame class, in any sport, where I vividly remember seeing each of the inductee’s play or coach. I believe it signifies the beginning of an era. Since roughly 1995, our generation has seen some of the greatest athletes of all time in almost every major sport. From Jordan and John Elway to King James and Peyton Manning, it seems as if we are being treated with the best athletes in the history of sports.
Sure, you may think that I’m making a sensationalist claim because I didn’t live in a different era with different stars. In reality though, something just feels special about these guys. Take the Roger Federer Express, for example; he’s earned more Grand Slam titles than any other man in the history of tennis and holds the record for most weeks as the No. 1 ranked tennis player in the world, 237. Not only is the Swiss Army Knife statistically the greatest player of all time, but he’s only 28 years old and has more years left in him. It took Pete Sampras, another all-time great, 15 years to achieve what Federer has done in 10. How could watching him play not be considered an honor?
Another man in the same boat is American icon Tiger Woods, a beast among cubs in the golfing world today. Woods has won 70 official PGA Tour events, 14 majors and is the only player in history to win all four majors in a row, a feat now dubbed “The Tiger Slam.” He’s been the PGA Player of the Year a record nine times and has won almost 30 percent of the professional events that he’s entered. Like Federer, what makes Tiger so exciting is what his future holds. He’s entering his 13th professional season, whereas golf legend Jack Nicklaus played 44 years competitively before calling it quits.
Tiger and Federer are two of the easiest examples, but greatness has been popping up in major American sports like campaign contributions to defeat Senator Joe Wilson. Everywhere you look there’s another all-time great shattering records and breaking barriers. Players like Tom Brady and Dan Marino, Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, Kobe and Shaq, Usain Bolt, Ronaldhino, Barry Sanders, Mariano Rivera. These aren’t just the names of our generation’s heroes, but the names of some of the best to ever play their respective sports.
This generation of sports fans has the unique opportunity of being able to see once-in-a-lifetime athletes on an everyday basis. If you’ve read this column, you obviously have some interest in sports. Put that interest to good use and please, I beg you, take advantage of the opportunities that are a click away on your remote control. We’re getting to see a treasure chest of talent opened wide like never before, but you never know when that chest might snap shut.
You can reach this writer at sports@theeagleonline.com.
