Michael Jordan on GOAT in golf

[Lihu]

Found this link looking at Tiger and his new swing.

Michael Jordan makes some very good points about why the term "GOAT" doesn't make sense.

Quote

“You’re never going to say who’s the greatest of all time. To me, I think that’s more for PR and more for selling stories and getting hype. Jack and Tiger never played against each other. They never played in the same tournament. They never played with the same equipment. They never played with the same length of golf course. I never played against Wilt Chamberlain. I never played against Jerry West. To now say that one is greater than the other is being a little bit unfair.”

“Obviously, Jack won more during the time he played; Tiger evolved it to where it crossed a lot of its boundaries, where it’s not just a white guys’ sport; black guys, African-Americans, you know, all these play the game. And he played it at a level where he generated so much interest financially that it grew the game from a financial standpoint.”

“Now, does that constitute him being the greatest? Does that mean he’s any less than Jack? I think it’s unfair. Yes, Jack has 18 majors and Tiger’s got 14, and that’s how people are judging certain things. I won six championships; Bill Russell won 11. Does that make Bill Russell better than me, or make me better than him? No, because we played in different eras.”

Well said, MJ. Maybe cut back on the stogies, though?

Smart guy.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Lihu

[Buckeyebowman]

Good comments.

And Michael can smoke as many stogies as he wants. He's earned it!

[jamo]

To be pedantic, they played in the same tournament plenty times, and Tiger smoked Jack. Tiger was also like 30 years younger at the time, but hey, I said "to be pedantic." 

[Lihu]

2 hours ago, jamo said:

To be pedantic, they played in the same tournament plenty times, and Tiger smoked Jack. Tiger was also like 30 years younger at the time, but hey, I said "to be pedantic." 

What tournaments did they play? It seems like a 35 year difference would put Jack in the Champions tour when Tiger turned 15? So, Tiger must have beat jack when he was 14?

[colin007]

8 hours ago, Lihu said:

What tournaments did they play? It seems like a 35 year difference would put Jack in the Champions tour when Tiger turned 15? So, Tiger must have beat jack when he was 14?

Well, off the top of my head, iirc Jack's last British Open was 2005, soooo.....

[jamo]

7 minutes ago, colin007 said:

Well, off the top of my head, iirc Jack's last British Open was 2005, soooo.....

Right. Mostly majors, but Jack played a few events like Doral, Pebble, and Memorial through the early 2000s.

Also, MJ's comparison of him and Russell is very apt. Not sure how I never thought of that one.

[saevel25]

Basketball is a bit different than golf. It is a team sport. I think it is easier to justify Tiger over Jack than it is to compare Michael versus Russell. Too many factors when trying to compare players on team sports.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

Basketball is a bit different than golf. It is a team sport. I think it is easier to justify Tiger over Jack than it is to compare Michael versus Russell. Too many factors when trying to compare players on team sports.

True, but it seems like Jack was not at his peak at the time they competed. 35 years is a huge difference.

That's likely what MJ was thinking when he said they never competed. I'd still give MJ a lot more kudos for understanding sports than most people.

To watch Jack's game when he competed with Tiger isn't really fair. They peaked in different eras.

The average Web tour player is driving over 300 yards. In Jack's time it was less than a dozen. In Tiger's time it was just as low until the younger players came along. At this point even 15 years is a huge difference such as between Rory and Tiger.

Age is a big factor in how fast someone can swing, and, in turn, score.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Lihu

[Binh Nguyen]

I call BS :p 

MJ sure would think he is the GOAT.