We are living through the golden generations of sports and we don’t even know it

[Soundwave]

1980-2000 is probably specifically the "golden age", some of this is infamous but you can't deny it wasn't entertaining

- Arrival of Michael Jordan and subsequent 90s-era dominance, sports marketing is changed forever.
- Wayne Gretzky peak/prime, Oilers dynasty
- Magic/Bird Lakers-Celtics rivalry
- Arrival of Mario Lemieux and early 90s Cups
- Mike Tyson dominating boxing (1980s)
- Ken Griffey Jr. + Sr. playing on the same team
- Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds home run spectacle, yes in hindsight it is tainted by the steroid scandal, but at the time it felt like watching magic
- Summer of '94 Chaos, Rangers win Cup, Knicks lose in game 7, OJ Simpson chase interrupts the NBA Finals creating a live TV spectacle unlike anything before or since.
- Wild Olympics scandals; Nancy Carrigan beaten by a hitman, Ben Johnson stripped of Olympic gold,
etc. etc.
- Dual sport athletes like Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders
- Arrival of Tiger Woods in the late 1990s
- Rise of the NFL Superbowl half-time show becoming a mass entertainment (+ Superbowl TV commercials in general becoming part of the entertainment).

But y'know someone born prior to this would just say "well I got to see Muhammad Ali, Pele, Wilt Chamberlain, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, etc. etc. etc.".

 

[Matty Sundin]

The golden age is usually when your a kid.

 

[benfranklin]

Stretching a bit with some of those names and their years of dominance. The sport we all care about here, Gretzky's last year of real relevance was 1994 so 30 years there and that was his final year. Youre going back 40 to his prime.

Gretzky
Jordan
Brady
Ohtani

Likely most here have seen some of all, but many will only remember Brady and Ohtani, while being told about Gretz and Jordan

 

[Leafs1991]

We still got to watch him play in the last 30 years.


If you want to nitpick then we can take him off the list. It’s still an incredible list.

Words have meaning and you said 25 years but then continue to go back even further than that. It is okay to admit you should've given a longer time line.

 

[Jared Dunn]

We know but the existential dread makes it hard to fully enjoy

 

[ElLeetch]

This is ignorant. It's called motorsports for a reason.

its people sitting in cars. people do that going to work every day.

 

[Grifter3511]

its people sitting in cars. people do that going to work every day.

Does it require physical skills? Is there a clear winner and not a judge or panel deciding the winner? Then it's a sport imo.

 

[Ruggs225]

Does it require physical skills? Is there a clear winner and not a judge or panel deciding the winner? Then it's a sport imo.

Yes. Your in rush hour traffic, just had a cup of coffee and need to poop. You need to physically hold it in.

If u make it to the toilet you win, if not u lose. Losers get judged by their peers in the office.

 

[Voight]

its people sitting in cars. people do that going to work every day.

There's a world of difference between an F1/NASCAR driver and a dude driving his Honda civic to work everyday on the interstate.

 

[JabbaJabba]

OP forgot this guy

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Ohtani is doing things never done before. He's gonna be the GOAT.

1) True
2) Practically no chance. He just isn't good enough.

 

[Mogo]

I'm not a soccer fan but I will say 90's had much more stars in soccer than last 20 years.
Kinda like hockey too. 90's was the golden age for star power. Just look at some all-star game rosters in the 90's compared to 2010->

 

[JoVel]

I'm not a soccer fan but I will say 90's had much more stars in soccer than last 20 years.

Is that because there were actually more stars, or because Messi and Ronaldo have made the rest of the star players from this generation look worse in comparison?

 

[JoVel]

its people sitting in cars. people do that going to work every day.

I think you should try driving a car around as fast as you can for an hour or two straight, you'd probably change your thinking afterwards.

 

[archangel2]

Personally I think adding anything prior to 2000 is stretching it. An era is usually 10 years. So 2014 to 2024

 

[psycat]

Move another 50 years forward and we'll have all sorts of star athletes that make today's great athletes look like bozos

Maybe but that will be due to bio genetic engineering and cyborgesque stuff, coupled with brain implants. At that point will it even be humans playing?

Otherwise I don't agree, don't think todays athletes are much better than 50 years ago either for that matter, just better equipment and steroids/health care.

 

[Mogo]

Is that because there were actually more stars, or because Messi and Ronaldo have made the rest of the star players from this generation look worse in comparison?

I feel like there was just more star power. I dont if skill wise. But the players were larger than life if you know what I mean. Felt like every national team had at least one star everyone knew. No matter what country. Like players people still now remember even not being a soccer fan. Try the same with last 20 years

 

[ElLeetch]

Does it require physical skills? Is there a clear winner and not a judge or panel deciding the winner? Then it's a sport imo.

Hanging drywall is exhausting and is a physical skill. That doesnt make it a sport.

 

[Grifter3511]

Hanging drywall is exhausting and is a physical skill. That doesnt make it a sport.

I think you missed the second part. You know, the part about there being a 'winner' but not determined by a judge. Work on that reading comprehension, bud.

 

[Faterson]

@ElLeetch: Dictionaries exist – open them and use them. Both linguistically and etymologically, car races are a sport. I don't watch them because I find them boring, but they are a sport.

 

[Fatass]

its people sitting in cars. people do that going to work every day.

Yup. It’s like a jockey. Don’t have a fast horse and there’s no winning. Both the race car driver and the jockey can cause the superior car/horse to lose through their mistakes but neither is winning anything if their car/horse isn’t fast.
We remember Secretariat but not so much his jockey. We know Ferrari but not so much who the drivers are.

 

[Planetov]

Oh yeah so amazing with his one Super Bowl. Guy is a choker.

Why do we do this to our stars? Do you understand how much you cheapen winning a championship with garbage statements like this? Most players will never put themselves in the position to win a championship, much less win it and be the MVP of said championship.

 

[Peasy]

Not a fan of female athletes, eh?

Serena Williams
Simone Biles
Katie Ledecky


Also:

Snooker:

Ronnie O'Sullivan
Stephen Hendry

MMA:

GSP
Anderson Silva
Fedor

Caitlin Clark

 

[x Tame Impala]

Hanging drywall is exhausting and is a physical skill. That doesnt make it a sport.

"How can there be global warming if I've got a snowball here in my hand?!"

Why do we do this to our stars? Do you understand how much you cheapen winning a championship with garbage statements like this? Most players will never put themselves in the position to win a championship, much less win it and be the MVP of said championship.

f*** the Packers, that's why

 

[RRhoads]

30 years ago, people could have said the same thing, but some of the names are different. Same thing 60 years ago.