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GOAT - The eternal debate
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<blockquote data-quote="Cruz_del_Sur" data-source="post: 1041650" data-attributes="member: 55747"><p>Just saw this, a tad late, i know. A couple of comments. Not all sports weigh the same when it comes to comparing an athletes accomplishments. I've seen the best polo player in history run circles around the competition. That can mean very little, if anything when 99,9999% of the population never had a shot at even trying the sport. I'm using polo as an extreme example, but the same principle applies to a lot of sports. Ice hockey, car racing, golf, etc. I guess the only truly global sports are football and a few track ones (such as 100 mts). </p><p></p><p>The argument basically goes something like this: has anyone ever done what Gretzky did? Well, no, but 95% of the population never even considered trying. So the question becomes, is it reasonable to believe that within that 95% there could have been someone as good as him, or better? I don't know, but I think it is a fair question. </p><p></p><p>The second comment is, it is hard to compare eras (I think the fairest (or least unfair) way is to compare how dominant people were at their time), but it is incredibly difficult to compare people in things such as team sports. Too many biases (forwards are 10x more popular than defenders in footie, just to name one). </p><p></p><p>The last point is bias. I am going to argue against bias by displaying mine. I like Messi, I think he is, talent-wise, something that we might never see for a while. But I acknowledge my bias. I am aware of it and consciously try to correct it. So when I listen to player talk about CR vs Messi, I do this. </p><p>If the one talking is Argentine I disregard his positive opinion about messi (same principle with Port and CR).</p><p>If the one talking is a Barcelona supporter i disregard his positive opinion about messi (same principle with Sporting, MU, RM, Juventus)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cruz_del_Sur, post: 1041650, member: 55747"] Just saw this, a tad late, i know. A couple of comments. Not all sports weigh the same when it comes to comparing an athletes accomplishments. I've seen the best polo player in history run circles around the competition. That can mean very little, if anything when 99,9999% of the population never had a shot at even trying the sport. I'm using polo as an extreme example, but the same principle applies to a lot of sports. Ice hockey, car racing, golf, etc. I guess the only truly global sports are football and a few track ones (such as 100 mts). The argument basically goes something like this: has anyone ever done what Gretzky did? Well, no, but 95% of the population never even considered trying. So the question becomes, is it reasonable to believe that within that 95% there could have been someone as good as him, or better? I don't know, but I think it is a fair question. The second comment is, it is hard to compare eras (I think the fairest (or least unfair) way is to compare how dominant people were at their time), but it is incredibly difficult to compare people in things such as team sports. Too many biases (forwards are 10x more popular than defenders in footie, just to name one). The last point is bias. I am going to argue against bias by displaying mine. I like Messi, I think he is, talent-wise, something that we might never see for a while. But I acknowledge my bias. I am aware of it and consciously try to correct it. So when I listen to player talk about CR vs Messi, I do this. If the one talking is Argentine I disregard his positive opinion about messi (same principle with Port and CR). If the one talking is a Barcelona supporter i disregard his positive opinion about messi (same principle with Sporting, MU, RM, Juventus) [/QUOTE]
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