As a sports fanatic I argue sports on a daily basis with my co-host, my friends, my family, my co-workers, people at the grocery store, people in Yoga class, people at the gas station, People at Wawa or anyone that wants to argue.
Often in these arguments we talk about who is the greatest, who is better than whom, or who is overrated. What bothers me most is when people say “Such and such is an all-star” or “Such and such is going to the hall of fame”. Don’t get me wrong I believe that making an all-star team or pro-bowl is an accomplishment, and I believe making a hall of fame is also an accomplishment but in my opinion those honors have been watered down.
Any time Jamaal Magloire makes an all-star team, or Derek Anderson makes a pro-bowl it diminishes your argument when you tell me a player is an all-star so they are great.
People know I am very critical of Brett Favre and it is not because he sends text messages to women as though they are meretricious, but it’s because he is looked at by some as the greatest QB of all time and it’s not true. People tell me about his statistics and I can make the argument that based upon his statistics he is not.
His numbers are as high as they are because he throws the ball more than anyone in the history of the game. All of the numbers that people quote are a joke. He has the most td’s and passing yards but he also has over 1,000 more passing attempts than anyone in the history of the game. If you throw the ball 30 times a game it would take you over 2 seasons to get 1,000 attempts. If you look at yds per attempt he doesn’t rank in the top 70. Passing attempts per td he is not in the top 40. So when you look deeper at his numbers you realize he is not as good as people believe. He has 503 tds but also has 492 combined interceptions and fumbles. And he has cost his team playoff games by throwing picks.
When I break these numbers down to people they tell me “Well Jimmy he is a first ballot hall of famer”. That may be true Joe Namath is in the hall of fame, and Joe Dumars is in the hall of fame. They do not have hall of fame numbers though. Joe Namath threw more picks than td’s but he was a likeable guy. Joe Dumars averaged 16 points and 4 assist per game and he is in the hall of fame. Andre Iguadola averages those numbers. Dumars was considered a good guy. The sports writers love Brett Favre. During Monday night football when he threw an interception they still praised him. There are NBA players in the hall of fame that averaged fewer than 10 pts per game. I have done the research and believe me there is more to getting in the hall of fame than being a great player.
So next time you have an argument please don’t use the cop out of he is a hall of famer or an all-star or pro bowler. The more average players that are voted to pro bowls or elected to hall of fames will lessen the potency of not only the honor but also your argument.
