I'm often asked why I got into sports journalism and broadcasting. The answer is an easy one and one that was clear to me at an early age when I began my career. I've always been interested in "why" someone does something, not just "what" they do. Motivation, focus, control and performance has always fascinated me. Sports is like life in that everyday each of us competes in one form or another. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose and how we deal with those results effects how we play life's game the next day. I've found that sports has given me a wonderful laboratory to view life.
Like all things in life, sports also has different strata. The one I've found most interesting is the truly great athlete. To clarify and to give definition to the term "truly great athlete", I think in terms of Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Jim Brown, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, just to name a few. Today "great" is a term hugely over used. So much so it's sometimes hard to differentiate between those athletes who are very good and those who are truly deserving of being called "great". For me, the definition of "great" is easy. If that athlete isn't afraid to fail, wants to be the one to determine the outcome of the game, makes others around him better then they are and understands at any given moment what it takes to win or to be successful, then that athlete is truly great. You may be thinking, but what about winning? Trust me, if any athlete is described by the above definition, then they have the record and success to be called great.
Recently, I've added another criteria. A truly great athlete also controls his life and environment. I added this to my definition because that's not an easy thing to do today given the scrutiny and expectations the contemporary athlete finds themselves under. Babe Ruth was a great baseball player, but he also was a drinker and womanizer. Today those character flaws would be flogged to death in the media. In his day, Ruth's roguish ways added to his mystique. Today, those ways would lead to many questioning him as a "role model". Also, they'd be bullets that would kill any chance he might have at major off field endorsements.
The great athlete's control of their life and environment is equal to any effort and accomplishment they have in their sport. Both in competition and in life, it's the unknown that is challenging. What is the pitcher going to throw? What defense are they going to use? Am I going to stay healthy? Will I be traded? Do I want to become a free agent? How big is my next contract going to be? The great athlete has simplified all those unknowns down to understanding there's nothing I can do about the things I have no control over and the things I do have control over, which is performance, I will focus on. Therefore, being a great athlete is really predicated on being the most focused and balanced in your life.
Like most of you, I've marveled at Michael Jordan's basketball accomplishments. But, when I think of the unreal, real life world he lives in, I'm truly amazed. To me, what makes him a "great" athlete is his ability to play as he does and to do so with the demands, constant scrutiny and analysis of him professionally and personally. Because of who he is and what he's done in sports, Michael Jordan can't just go to a movie, shopping or roam freely like you and I can. Everyone wants a piece of him. His daily life is full of "Sign this." "Can I have a picture with you Michael?" "Do you want to endorse this product?" Life in a fish bowl gets old quickly. Controlling ones outside influences and distractions so they don't affect one's playing performance each game is truly a great capability. As one matures, that maturity teaches that great athlete how to be selective and how to control those outside influences and distractions. Michael Jordan has mastered it and turned it into an art form. He has performed as a great athlete in his sport and done the same off the court with his image, business decisions and control of his off court life. He's the consummate definition of the "great athlete."
The latest incarnation of a "great athlete" is Tiger Woods. Like Michael, he has taken his sport by storm, had great success, has a great amount of scrutiny and has an exorbitant amount of demands on his time and personal life. However, there are differences that make him a step above Jordan in athletic greatness. Jordan was good when he came into the NBA in 1984, but he didn't start to leave his mark on basketball until he had been in the league awhile. He then really began his climb to greatness with his playoff performances with the Bulls in the '90s. Woods had to deal with the expectations that he would be great immediately. That can be mind blowing for a 21-year-old. Those expectations and pressure only increased as he destroyed the field to win the first of what are now his three Masters Championships. Add to that his other "major" tournament wins and PGA titles and you have today's most successful, most scrutinized and best-known athlete in the world. To be just 26 years old and to play and win as consistently as he does and at the same time manage the overwhelming demands he has on his time and personal life puts Woods in a "great athlete" category by himself. Another important thing that differentiates Woods from Jordan is that Jordan played a team sport. His overall success and the number of championships he won were predicated on the performance of others as well as his. Woods, on the other hand, plays an individual sport and solely determines his success or failure. Whether it's Jordan in a team sport or Woods in an individual sport, or any "great athlete", their commonality is that when the game is on the line they want to be the one to determine the outcome. And, if they fail, they'll take the blame. But, if they win, they want the glory.
In today's environment, it's not easy being a "great athlete". I hope the next time you see an extraordinary athletic performance, that you'll think not only about that performance, but also about the person who achieved it. That extraordinary performance was the end result of talent, commitment, focus, character and determination. Not only on the field of play, but more importantly overall in life.
I feel better now.
I'm Ron Barr.
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