From goat to the G.O.A.T — How the biggest insult in sports became its biggest honor
By: Akhilesh Balakrishnan
Tags: Basketball, Tennis, Football, Sports, NBA

Photo by Mike Von on Unsplash

Bill Russell, in a promo for game 7 of the 2016 NBA finals, said, “Game 7. The best two words in sports.” When the winningest player in NBA history said that, there was little argument from pundits and analysts. Probably because G.O.A.T didn’t exist back in the ’60s and if it did, Bill Russell would have been its ultimate answer. So, what exactly is the G.O.A.T?

Greatest of all time, or simply the G.O.A.T, has been doing rounds on media for the longest of times. The earliest reference of the term can be traced back to 1992 when Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali’s wife, set up a company called G.O.A.T. Inc.(rightfully named) to manage the rights and licenses of Ali’s personal and intellectual properties for commercial purposes. Also, according to Merriam-Webster, a 1996 article about Orlando Magic and Penny Hardaway read, “Penny is the GOAT (Greatest of all Time)”. But, all of this never made the term to be an acronym until in 2000, rapper LL Cool J released his studio album titled “G.O.A.T. (Greatest of all time)”.

Let’s pause and press the rewind button and see what all this meant 30 or 40 years ago. Tiger Woods in a recent interview was questioned about who he thinks is the G.O.A.T — LeBron or Jordan. He started off with “When I started playing, the goat was a bad thing, you know what I mean..”. Yes, Tiger said it. The goat was never the ultimate honor for anyone. Rather, it was the ultimate insult to “be the goat”. Although the word was bipolar in the old and new testaments with multiple interpretations historically, the earliest usage in sport can be traced back to the Kentucky Derby of the 1950s. The person who made the dirtiest and most laughable plays or underwent the biggest collapses in the most important of times was the goat. Andrés Escobar was the goat to his murderers because for them, his own-goal was the reason for Colombia’s elimination from the 1994 World Cup.

It’s always been about the media, the ratings, and the viewership. Tying the most famous athletes on the planet to any discussion makes headlines, increases online impressions, and skyrockets revenue. With the rise in social media and integration to video platforms, it’s a common sight to see talk shows cover “Who’s better, X or Y?” when the respective sport is in off-season mode. Let me give you an example — if LeBron James gets a 30-point game, he’s compared to Michael Jordan and if he’s had one of those rare off-nights, then the discussion revolves around how the G.O.A.T debate is baseless. Roger Federer, often regarded as the greatest and one of the most graceful players to ever pick up a tennis racket, had a meltdown in the 2019 Wimbledon finals against Novak Djokovic when he had two match points in hand only to give them away and eventually lose the match. The media reception for the same 50 years ago would have been barbaric, but the same Roger, a couple of months prior to the match, was quizzed by a kid reporter on why he’s considered the “G.O.A.T”. Similarly, if the 2018 NBA Finals had happened 25 years ago, J. R. Smith would have been the goat for holding the ball and exhausting the clock when the scores were even. But instead, he became the laughing stock who took away the win from LeBron’s “G.O.A.T” ish 51 point game.

From racism and slavery to taking the knee, from Bodyline to restriction on bouncers, from no red cards to VAR, Sport has come a long way and so have its terminologies. It’s not confined to a country, sect, or race. Personally, I think it’s the greatest form of live television and a platform for athletes to empower the downtrodden; a secret mix to bring people together from across borders. At the end of the day, there is no definitive answer to it in any sport but all one could do is make a case to support the argument.