“Who’s best?” It’s a matter of opinion.

It’s the fodder of sports talk on TV, Radio and Internet. Who’s the best?

I heard it on the radio today with one pundit describing Tiger Woods as the best golfer ever. Based on what? They used to say the same thing about Jack Nicklaus when he played. Ditto for Arnold Palmer. It would be great through some magical way to have all of them play each other in their prime. We could throw in “Slammin’” Sammy Snead to round out the foursome.

But we can’t, so we won’t find out. Well, maybe on a computer game.

Tim Tebow has been described by more than a few as the best college football player ever. So-o-o-o what about Roger Staubach when he played at Navy? Or Vince Young at Texas? I guess one measure will/would be at the next level, the NFL. Roger Staubach certainly is deserving of his Hall of Fame credentials. Vince Young is a work in progress and we’ll wait and see how Tim Tebow does playing for the Denver Broncos,  who drafted him last week. It would be great to see Staubach and that 1963 Navy team play the Florida 2008 team.

But we can’t, so we won’t find out. Well, maybe on a computer game.

Then there’s baseball. Oh boy, baseball. Wouldn’t it be cool to see the Yankees teams of Ruth, Mantle, or DiMaggio take on today’s Yankees?

But we can’t, so we won’t find out.

So why engage in the conversation in the first place? The answer is easy. It’s such great fun. It’s what sports is all about. Measuring who’s best today is easy. Just look at the win-loss column. Measuring then and now however, is pure conjecture, which is the point of this lecture.

But the conjecture part is such great fun. As Yogi Berra said, "Take it with a grin of salt."

Who’s best? Too bad Abbot and Costello aren’t around to do a reprise of “Who’s on First?”

John
John W. Scherer
John is CEO and Founder of Video Professor, Inc.
You can reach him at ceo@videoprofessor.com
Follow John Scherer on Twitter: @VidProf