Legends and great players, distinction?
Posted on: April 9, 2010
What makes the distinction between a great player and a legend?
Both set of players are enormously talented and have the ability to upturn the face of the game at any time. The distinction probably is that extra bit that legends posses and others don’t. The difference between say, Sourav Ganguly (@Dada fans: Don’t raise eyebrows) and SRT, between Nadal and Federer, or perhaps the most obvious one – between Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Its not that SG , RN and CR ain’t great players, they definitely are, they have proven it time and again, but there is something .. something inexplicable, not possessed by them which keeps these players apart from the league of the Legends.
Lionel Messi
Perhaps, Legends deliver extraordinary performance when needed that others cant do. Who can forget sachin’s two back-to-back stormy hundreds against the Kangaroos at Sharjah that Single handedly won us the trophy or the recent 200 against RSA. But then Laxman’s 287 against Australia too was memorable. He may be a great player but he certainly ain’t a legend. Its something more than those memorable performances that makes a sports-person a legend. Is it the Consistency? But then, even Christiano Ronaldo is as consistent as Messi and he too (i believe) is not a legend. Though, Messi is too young to be called a legend, but he definitely is in the making of being one. Perhaps, besides the impeccable performance it is the on field and off field behavior that make them legendary. But then Wood’s off-screen debacles mean he probably is not a legend! you bet, ask golf fans and they would dis-agree.
SRT!
Why do we still find SRT’s smile child-like? Why does Lionel messi look adorable and you feel anguish for his equally talented counterpart Christiano Ronaldo. Ravi teja had a very valid point few days back .. Messi is child-like while Ronaldo is childish! Its not easy to stay humble when you know that you are ruling the game, only legends do that!
Roger Federer
The distinction is subtle and i think it can’t be put forth in words, its something you can feel, you can sense. Great players are those who are liked by the fans, Legends are those who are prayed! Like Gods.
P.S.
- Finally a post after a very longgg time, almost an year! Messi made me write this blog!
- Third consecutive post on sports, not good not good. Next one will be from other some other department for sure!
- Special Mention:
Lionel Messi – 6th April 2010 Barcelona V/s Arsenal Champions League. That man alone toyed with the arsenal defenders and made them look like headless buffaloes wandering on the football field. Typically, an arsenal defeat would hurt me, but somehow Messi’s godliness at Camp Nou made the loss sweeter.
12 Responses to "Legends and great players, distinction?"
April 11, 2010 at 4:53 am
Messi..Messi..Messi..Messi…
but he has a long way to go..
hope is doesnt face injury problems :)
and one more thing…even i hate Cristiano ronaldo..
but u were more harsh towards him than he deserves :P
April 11, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Yeah Messi .. he scored one more in the classico.
i was harsh on CR cos i do not like him :)
April 12, 2010 at 5:58 am
When the legends perform , you love it even when they are in your opposite team.When “some” great players perform you may not enjoy it even when you are supporting the team (sometimes) .
April 12, 2010 at 10:26 am
your distinction is quite confusing :P. I don’t know much about football. So leaving Messi, no doubt that ‘Sachin’ is a god. But I don’t think so in federrer’s case. The only competitor he ever had was RF. Rest was easy for him :D (that’s how I see it).
April 12, 2010 at 11:11 am
I guess its the attitude and consistency which sets the legends apart … but again primarily attitude ..
April 12, 2010 at 2:36 pm
@Sundeep: “The onlt competetor he ever had was RN” ..this itself speaks for how much he dominated the game.. Right?
H is not a god in India agree, go to SUI :)
April 12, 2010 at 2:36 pm
@Sundeep: “The onlt competetor he ever had was RN” ..this itself speaks for how much he dominated the game.. Right?
H is not a god in India agree, go to SUI :)
@suman and vignesh: agreed.
April 12, 2010 at 2:52 pm
hey kushal you got me wrong. actually what i meant was that there were not many good players in contemporary tennis :D.
April 13, 2010 at 7:08 am
Good Article……..I like chess to…unlike tennis or football there are dozens of talented players in there however legends make there mark…..Kasparov Being definitely a legend but I guess Anand too is big legend considering how consistent he is with his performance and off the board he is very down to earth and never vociferous about his success.
Coming to football…yes I think Messi is much better than Ronaldo.. being a big fan of Red Devils I like Ronaldo , but when he left this year I wasn’t sad for Red Devils….but to make Messi a legend is too early at this stage…..He has proven himself in club play where is club mates are one of the strongest…….he has to prove worthy for his country too!
April 17, 2010 at 8:19 pm
some good points made. I won`t dwell into them.
regarding the off-screen behavior, it matters little. If a guy has talent, he will be always adored. legends are always proud. see RF interviews. He knows he is the best and he doesn`t make a secret of it. But may be you are right and false modesty is a must to be called legendary.
A step towards Destiny 
April 10, 2010 at 7:05 am
Yes…of course…there is always forgetfulness in great player’s inning. The same way you confused with 281 and 287 run inning from Laxman. :)
April 10, 2010 at 7:11 am
Yeah Kudos to you! you are the only genius around. I wanted to make a point by intentionally writing it 287, to let people know that you don’t even remember how much a good players scored! I mentioned sachin’s 200 correctly, right! Thats the point he is a Legend! :)