Great Sports Debates Come from Within

For whatever reason, all great sports debates boil down to one important decision – which side are you on? An argument can be made for statistics. Championship rings can be counted again and again. Hometown heroes take top billing and you can’t even think about arguing against a player from your alma mater.

But what makes us argue so vehemently in these debates?

It all comes down to character. We fight for “our” guys. People use expressions like “my kind of guy” to finalize their decisions. It’s the character of the player that ultimately draws us in. We look at the athletes as reflections of ourselves and pick the ones we think show us the best of what we hope to embody.

Think about all the debates over the great players in the major sports. You can either be a Montana guy or an Elway guy. Hockey fans can root for Gretzky or they can root for Lemieux. America’s past time always sparks a good debate over Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle. I guess the hardwood would spawn a spirited Bird versus Magic debate, though it ultimately all comes back to Jordan.

In all of these cases you immediately know who you side with. Immediately my loyalties lie with Elway, Lemieux, Mays, and Magic and I’m sure that many of you reading this immediately called me delusional, ridiculous, or a moron. Yet, I’m also sure that many of you also agreed with me.

That’s not the point.

The point is that we argue because we want to believe that these athletes are extensions of us. I want to believe that I can rally when the chips are down like John Elway did in all those fourth quarter comebacks. I hope that if I ever have to endure hardships like Mario Lemieux, I will fight and still return at the top of my game. I wish to be as versatile, honest, and fun-loving as Magic. Finally, I aspire to live my life with the enthusiasm of Willie Mays and be as complete a person as he was a player.

Oh, and if I could be like Mike, that’d be cool too.

We all pick our heroes for a reason and what’s exciting is that we are entering a brand new century with great rivalries developing in all four of our major sports. In the NFL right now, you are either a Peyton Manning fan or you like Tom Brady. Major league baseball has Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols. The NBA will continue to bring us the saga of LeBron James versus Dwayne Wade. Lastly, the NHL has developed what could become the most enduring rivalry ever with two youngsters named Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.

It’s a beautiful thing to know that these great debates will never die. It’s also reassuring to know that we’ll always know from which side we’ll be throwing our insults from. Just remember that when you are arguing, don’t feel so connected to your hero that you refer to yourself as a “6’5” 230 pound quarterback," with a "laser-rocket arm.”

Assuming that you like that sort of thing.