Greatest of all time debates should be taken with a grain of salt

The older you get, the more you recognize subjectivity along with seeing continued
affirmation that you are a product of the generation in which you were raised.

Those thoughts are true as they pertain to things including but not limited to sports,
entertainment, food, political stances, etc. As one who was born in 1972, I will always
consider myself a child of the 1980s. However, since I am the youngest of five
children, I am a Generation Xer mixed in with Baby Boomer siblings so I did gravitate
some towards the 1970s.

The irony is that I graduated from high school in 1991 but I’m in the minority of my
class, and those surrounding, in that I never acquired a taste for bands like Nirvana,
Pearl Jam, Pantera and Stone Temple Pilots. My musical tastes include many bands
from the 1970s and 1980s along with Elvis Presley.

With regard to TV programs, my favorites were The Dukes of Hazzard, Dallas,
Falcon Crest, The Love Boat, The A-Team, Different Strokes, The Jeffersons, All in
The Family, Good Times, and Married With Children to name a few.  

With regard to entertainment I mentioned, no one will ever convince me those were
not the best. I acknowledge that some will agree with me and others from previous
or subsequent generations might look at me cross-eyed but that’s fine. It’s their
prerogative.  

The same theory can be applied to food. As a first-generation American with both
sets of parents being from Italy, no one will ever convince me that any other cuisine
than Italian is the best and Olive Garden is not even Rookie League. However, if I
talk to other races and/or ethnic groups about their preferences, I would get a
different answer.

With the NBA playoffs well underway, any “greatest player of all time” (aka GOAT)
conversation is sure to raise anyone’s ire. The most polarizing are any linkage to
Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. If you are in the Jordan camp,
the pro-Bryant/pro-James crowd goes on the attack toward you. If you are a Bryant
supporter, the Jordan/James zealots come after you. If you are a James supporter,
the Jordan/Bryant bunch looks to cut you down.

With regard to teams, there are Golden State Warrior fans that think the game was
invented in 2014 just because their team began winning multiple NBA titles. The
Warriors are vying for their third NBA title in four seasons. There are Chicago Bulls
fans that think the game ceased to exist after 1998 because their team’s run of six
NBA titles in eight seasons ended. You’ll get similar points of view from some
Boston Celtic fans from the 1960s or Los Angeles Laker fans, particularly post 1989.

In the NFL, the greatest quarterback of all-time debate raises the ire of many
whether one’s beliefs are Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr, Otto
Graham, John Elway, Peyton Manning or Dan Marino. With regard to teams, the
varied answers you get are the 1960s Green Bay Packers, 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers,
1980s San Francisco 49ers, 1990s Dallas Cowboys or 21st Century New England
Patriots.

In Major League Baseball, the answers you get for greatest player of all-time could
be Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds or Ted Williams to
name a few. In terms of teams, the mixture of answers you might expect to hear
include the New York Yankees (1947-1953). That team won six World Series titles in
seven years, a feat not likely to be duplicated or surpassed, even though the
1996-2001 Yankees won four in five seasons. The 1936-1941 Yankees won four
straight titles. With those achievements, between 1942-1946, the St. Louis Cardinals
won three titles. The 1970-1972 Oakland Athletics won three consecutive titles.
Besides the aforementioned 1996-2001 Yankees, the 2010-2014 San Francisco
Giants represent an impressive modern day run of three titles in five years.

Ranking teams and players is a subjective point of view. Statistics and number of
championships are the common evaluator but even that is subjective because
eras change along with rules of the game. In football, basketball and baseball,
rules of the game change to benefit offenses, which makes it exceedingly difficult
to evaluate. You have to think about how much would that player or team’s ability
have translated in the current or previous era.

With that being said, whether you think Bill Russell, Kareem-Abdul Jabaar, Magic
Johnson, Wilt Chamberlin, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Kevin Durant, James,
Jordan or Bryant are the best of all time. None of those answers should be viewed
as wrong. However, if you tell me, Scottie Pippen is the best player of all time, I’ll tell
you that you are high. Pippen was an excellent complimentary piece to the Bulls
alongside Jordan and a Hall of Famer. Greatest of all time, however, no.

Before you voice your opinion on the greatest player, team, TV show or music artist
of all time, understand this, you only speak for how you feel. If someone disagrees
with you, they’re not wrong either. It is simply what they think.

I like The Beatles and Elvis Presley but if given the choice, give me the latter.