Sports: What makes an athelete a G.O.A.T?

It seems that one of the conversations that sports fans have is What makes an athlete a G.O.AT?

In case you have never heard of the term, G.O.A.T is the acronym for the Greatest of All Time. The debate always comes up with guys like Tom Brady, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Sidney Crosby, and others. Whenever you ask a sports fan there take on GOAT, you will get a different answer. Some people will say it is because the athlete won many championships, or he had great offensive seasons, or their performance on the field. This is the one topic in sports where there is no right answer, and that is the beauty as to why this is one conversation that will never die.

I view the criteria for an athlete to be a GOAT are interesting. For starters, the athlete needs to be at the top of their sport for more than five years. I view it like that because then you will know how good he or she is. Some other requirements are that they can not have only one good season and the rest be mediocre. So, you can’t have an athlete come in have a good season fall off as he goes further in his career and expect to still be in that discussion. Finally, I would say longevity should play a role. For example, some could make the argument that the GOAT for MLB is Derek Jeter.

The argument is that he played for close to 2o seasons. He won five World Series titles, countless awards, and was at the top of his game for a while. While the discussion for G.O.A.T has been with MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA; it doesn’t stop there. I have heard people use the G.O.A.T argument for the MMA and WWE. In the MMA. This becomes different than professional sports because it is a different field.

Let us know in the comments below what would be the requirements for someone to be considered the G.O.A.T.