WHO IS THE GREATEST ATHLETE OF ALL TIME?

An opinion that can cause a war among of all sports fans. Who is the the Alpha and the Omega among in all of sports? 

It is almost humanely impossible to name one athlete as the greatest of all time. But the fact is different sports have produced many a legends to cement their place as an all time great.

The parameters considered by me to measure the greatness of the sportsmen/athlete are:

1:Longetivity

2:Statistics

3:Clutch Performances

4:Comebacks/Injury

5:Impact/Legacy

6:Championships

7:Consistency

8:Fan Following/Influence

9:Domination

10:Work Ethic/Attitude

The following sportsmen/athletes are considered in the league of greatness:

1.Tennis-Roger Federer

The kind of dominance & class that Federer has shown on the court is unmatched.17 grand slam titles,77 career titles,302 weeks as world no.1 besides achieving many more feats,Federer is widely considered as one of the most complete & greatest tennis players of all time.The Swiss ace became one of the few players from Switzerland to excel at the big stage.He has excelled at  having an injury free career,being at the top for long,dominating his opponent at will,playing for almost 15 years non stop,a fan favourite.He is a class act & a Champion,one of the most graceful & humble sportsmen..But his game did take a hit as years went by & his inability to defeat Nadal on claycourt is a major drawback.

2.Baseball-Babe Ruth

The man considered to be widely the greatest baseball player &  prolific hitter of all time,Babe Ruth has excelled in all departments of greatness be it longetivity by playing 22 seasons,fan favourite,clean career,record setter besides revolutnarising the game of baseball.A kind hearted champion,flamboyant personality,surely one of the greatest atheletes to have ever graced a sport.Legend in his own right.

3.Boxing-Muhammad Ali

Undeniably one of the greatest athletes & boxers ever,Muhammad Ali has seen it all & done it all.A hall of famer,ferocious competitor,heart of a champion.A popular icon as well as a polarising figure among the masses,Ali has inspired a whole lot of generation.He has been an  inspiration to millions.He is widely considered to be the greatest heavyweightboxer & as one of the greatest atheltes ever.He won numerous matches with his sheer ruthlessness & brute power,phenomenal work ethic,dominanance,mind games with his opponent,he was a tantalising figure to say the least.The adversities he faced,the way he made is comeback after hiatus from injuries & personal reasons is aweinspiring.His work ethic,attitude,legacy,dominance,big time performances are simply terrific.The values that he displayed were exemplary.

4.Swimming-Michael Phelps

One of the most decorated olympian of all time,Michael Phelps holds the all time record for most Olympic Gold medals won @ 17 & 22 medals overall..He has been  one of the most successful athletes of his generation.He has dominated the arena of swimming unlike any other swimmer has.He has shattered numerous records & won many awards for his achivements.

5.Golf-Tiger Woods

Only Jack Nicklaus is a legitimate contender when it comes to matching "The Tiger" on the golf turf.World no.1,highest paid athlete,79 PGA titles,14 majors,big time performer infact crunch time performer.One of the big names of golf for nearly a decade he had a hugely successful career until his infidelty & sex scandals broke out.It dented his public image largely & impacted his game & fan following.

6.Basketball-Michael Jordan

As written on his bio on the nba website,"By acclamation.Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."He revolutionarised the game unlike any other player.Yes he had a long career,he was a dominating performer,was outstanding under pressure,huge huge fan favourite.Perhaps one of the few lucky athletes not to be abused or booed anywhere.He was loved by the fans wherever he went.Iconic figure, he still is hero worshiped today.His work ethic is unmatched. He made basketball popular in the mid80's with his prolific scoring,terrific defense,insane leaping ability,jaw dropping moves & set of skills that only immortals like him could possess.He made the game popular with the massses & thus established himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

7.F1-Michael Schumacher

There are very few sportsmen who possess all the records that are meant to be in the book, most of them quite frankly.Michael Schumacher has almost all the records that one can think of.He has won 7 world championships,91 wins,155 podiums,68 pole positionsHe dominated the sport for almost 2 decades.Was a champion,fan favoutite & a popular athelete.You name them & he has won them all.He was a thorough dominator on the track.Won countless championships for successive years & also 13 wins on a trot.He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Formula1 drivers ever to grace the sport.But his career has been subjected to many controversies like dangerous driving,not following team orders,dangerous overtaking.

Very few athletes have dominated & been as consistent as a peformer like Schumi has been over the course of his glorious career.

8.Football-Pele & Diego Maradona

What is even more subective than deciding the greatest athelete of all time is the greatest footballer of all time.Pele & Maradona were both in their own right two of the greatest footballers to ever play the game of football.Gods of Football they can be addressed as.Numerous records,insane fan following & set of such rare & unique skills that very few possess.Both were in their prime one of the most potent & efficient footballers.Both inspired a generation of brasilian & argentianian people to take up the sport..Both were subjected to criticism as well.Pele's records are a source of question & general legitimacy & Maradona's off screen & on screen conduct & behaviour was abysmal & proposterous.

9.Cricket-Sir Don Bradman & Shane Warne

This may be a matter of huge debate because the game of cricket has seen many cricketers who were exceptional & legendary in their own right but none of them & i mean none of them can match the cricketing ability that Sir Don Bradman or Shane Warne possessed.Sir Don is  widely considered to be one of the greatest batsman of all time.In the history of cricket, no records can match the records that "The Don"had set.His long career,more than awe inspiring batting performances,no dip in performance his career,clean& injury free career,ridiculous batting average of 99.94 is considered as one of the greatest sporting achievements.Shane Warne on the other hand was another iconic figure who revolutnarised leg spin bowling,brought crowds into the stadium,won countless matches for the team on countless occassions.Fan favourite & considered as one of the greatest bowlers & cricketers of all time his career had few controversies with drug abuse & scrutiny of his off field antics.

10.Athletics-Usian Bolt

"Superman" or "Superhuman" both of these words truly describe the Fastest Man on the Planet,Usain "Lightning Bolt".He is a world champions,IAAF sportsmen of the year,Olympic Champion.He holds the 100m,200m records for the fastest time ever set by an athlete.Gold medals won at world championship,world athletics meet he has emerged as a huge crowd favourite.He has shattered numerous records,displayed the identity of a complete competitor,incredible work ethic.Many people feel the 100m record set by him in 9.58 s is almost impossible to breach.Dominating performer,likes to compete against the  best & beat the best he is one of the greatest athletes ever.

CONCLUSION:

All athletes have been spectacular in their respective field but the athletes who truly deserve to be in the final discussion for the debate of the greatest athletes ever are:

1.Michael Jordan-G.O.A.T.(Greatest of all Time)

"MJ" for the  fact  in my opinion is the greatest athelte by far ever to have graced any sport. Just have a look at his statistics, career at large, work ethic, display of skill and talent. Gunning for glory, dominant throughout his career, clutch performer. Jordan truly stands out from the rest. He is the best from the rest. He was such an iconic figure that he revolutionized the sport of basketball, brought back crowd in stadiums and television ratings soared .He left behind a legacy that inspired modern day greats like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony & every other kid from the street to take up the sport of basketball. People believed in him, fans loved him. He was the Master. Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan became a household name. He played despite injuries, flu, constant public pressure.The expectations before every game was such it could leave any mortal man to flop when it counted the most. In the very prime of his career, he left basketball and opted to play baseball instead. Realizing, that his true love resided for basketball, he came back and how! 3 more consecutive NBA Finals, 3 more NBA Championships and Finals MVP. Realizing, his body couldn't take the grind like it used to, he retired only to make a comeback a few years later with the Washington Wizards. Once again he put up astounding numbers and displayed his diminishing but set of great skills that once used to awe people. He played basketball till the age of 40. He had the finesse, aggression, focus, discipline and determination. He won 6 NBA championships with The Chicago Bulls, 5 NBA Regular Season MVP, 6 Finals MVP, 10 Scoring Titles, 14 Time All Star, NBA Defensive Player of the Year & the NBA Rookie of the year. What truly seals an athletes greatness lies not only in his statistics but also how many championships he won, his impact on the game & his ability to do something out of the box & rarely fail when it comes to count for the team. Jordan made the impossible seem possible.Michael Jordan did truly that & in my eye is the greatest athlete of all time.