The Goat of all Goats?

For the 3 major American sports it is pretty simple to anoint Tom Brady, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth as the G.O.A.T.'s of their respective supports.

What I was wondering tonight is who the GOAT of all American Sports is. I always thought it was between Jordan and Ruth but after what Brady did tonight I just don't know. The man is simply amazing and clearly lifts the game of his teammates. And his complete domination of the vaunted Chiefs at age 43 in his 10th Super Bowl appearance -not enough superlatives to describe him and his achievements.

Gotta also like the long shadow Brady casts on Bellichek's alleged genius.

My kids and I have decided that Brady is the best of the GOAT’s. The BOAT GOAT

Druid,

This is a very interesting question to ponder.

Part of me pauses on TB12 as the best of all time in all sports because the game is so dependent on so many elements. Where as to me Jordan or Ruth could on their own more effect the game.

Jordan could take the ball and just score by himself.

Ruth in an at-bat was only dependent on himself.

For Brady he is dependent on the O-Line, receivers, his D and the kicking game. So while TB12 has been historically great in football, I still think of Ruth as the greatest of all time. In part for the point I raise above AND because he both pitched and hit and the delta between where he was a hitter and everyone else at that point was just so far.

One other consideration for me is championships require contributions from many places and I do not judge all-time greatest by the number of championships alone. Case in point Shady McCoy just won the last two Super Bowls as an inactive player. So while the 7 SB victories for TB is a fantastic achieve mention that is not, to me at least, the measure of all-time great necessary. Again I would say Wilt is a better player than Russell even thought Russell won more titles. Russell was less of a complete player but his skills fit his teams perfectly, hence the championships.

Curious about you take on all this. And thanks for threat and teaching us all how to try and play this game...cause you are the GOAT of Strat.

D

Don't forget Robert Horry

I think that what Brady has done this year in Tampa Bay, is to elevate the play of his teammates. He was allowed more direct influence and control over the offense in Tampa , especially the last 4 games of the season and in the playoffs, and his results since then speak for themselves. I don't think he has all the natural gifts of a Ruth or Jordan but he has made the most of what he has with a highly disciplined lifestyle. I'm not smart enough to definitively say who the All sport GOAT is, just wanted to pose the question and see what people have to say.

In baseball and basketball you have to play both sides.....offense and defense.....after highschool players only play one way....additionally, Brady doesn't have to block or catch or run or kick.....he runs a little, uses his mind to read and then throws the ball.

Brady perhaps is the GOAT for his position, but NOT necessarily his sport, since it is inherently impossible for a positional NFL player to dominate a league, since there are so many other great positional players in the same league. Brady still needed his field goal kicker to win 3 of his 7 super bowls, something Jim Kelly knows a little about on the other side (with inept field goal kickers, costing him two)...Brady still needed a cornerback to make a last second pick on the goal line in another.

Jordan and Ruth had to do everything, and both were above average defensively.

Don Bradman

Remember the question posed was limited to American sports. I believe that rules out Cricket and any other down under sports including Kangeroo Boxing and Crocodile Wrestling.
My personal favorite sport and the only one I follow closely is UFC's brand of MMA. And there, for me, it is Khabib and not Jon Jones who is the real GOAT.

Jim Brown

I disagree wholeheartedly with Ruth. How can one be declared the greatest when that person didn’t play against all of the best players?