The NBA Finals is over once against. For the sixth time in his Hall of Fame career, LeBron James lost. This puts him at 3-6 in his career for those counting at home. For starters, it must be made clear that eight finals appearances with two different teams since 2007 is absolutely insane. James proved again this year he’ll go down in history as one of the two or three greatest of all-time. The best ever though? People who saw Michael Jordan will never allow that. Thus Jordan vs. LeBron was born.
The Chicago Bears can empathize with that.
What does a football team have to do with a basketball debate? This isn’t about the sports. It’s about understanding a vicious argument between fans over which player was the best ever. Bears fans sat in that seat before, and it wasn’t from the Jordan angle either. They would identify more with LeBron fans these days.
That may come across as insane since they come from Chicago but it’s true. Payton came around a few years after the man most football historians called the greatest ever hung up his cleats. As his star rose, people began to say he was the best ever. Old school fans vehemently denied it. Thus the war of words commenced.
That man’s name was Jim Brown.
Jim Brown vs. Walter Payton was the NFL’s Jordan vs. LeBron
The roots began back in 1957. The Cleveland Browns drafted the running back out of Syracuse. Brown became an instant sensation. Teams and fans had never seen a physical specimen like him before. The mixture of power and speed was unprecedented. He was a 21st-century athlete playing in the mid-20th century. Think about that.
In nine years as a pro, he went to nine Pro Bowls, won three MVP awards and captured a championship in 1964. He retired at age 30 with 12,312 rushing yard, 2,499 receiving and 126 touchdowns. Other running backs got close to those numbers but it took them four or five more seasons to do it. That’s how dominant Brown was.
Then Payton came around.
Like LeBron, he brought something different. He didn’t have blazing speed. What he had was know-how. He could do everything on the football field and do it well. Despite playing on mostly less talented teams and never under a Hall of Fame head coach, he racked up 16,726 rushing yards, 4,538 receiving yards, and scored 133 touchdowns. Eight of those were as a passer. Payton was a nine-time Pro Bowler, MVP in 1977 and won a Super Bowl in 1985.
Football fans of that era were ready to declare Payton the best ever. As with Jordan, the older generation simply refused to even entertain that possibility. Thus the raging arguments began. It’s impossible to comprehend how it might’ve been had social media existed back in those days. Probably every bit as heated as Jordan vs. LeBron is now.
What made it so funny is Brown made it clear he was a big Payton fan. While fans raged about which was better, the two men held a mutual respect and liking for one another. Maybe that, more than anything is the lesson to take from this.
Rather than waste time debating who was better, sit back and enjoy what the two men accomplished. Both sides will always have their hardcore supporters. Don’t sour the witnessing of great play taking place with such pointless things that will never get a definitive answer.
