The Most Abused Word in Sports

Not long ago I was watching an NBA game on TV when the commentator was talking about a shooting guard who had averaged 14 points a game the previous season. "He had a great year," he gushed, and I yelled aloud, "WHAT?! That's ridiculous!! If that's what you call great, then what do you call Kobe Bryant's numbers?!"

The dictionary defines the word "great" in this context as, "a person who has achieved importance or distinction in a field." 14 points a game is barely important or distinctive enough to warrant a "good" rating.

This is one of my pet peeves. "Great" is no doubt the most abused word in sports. Next time you watch a game, pay attention to how often the word is misused. If they're talking in depth about an average or mediocre player, somebody is likely to blurt out, "He's a great player." More than once I've heard it said about a team with a .500 record, "They're a great team." It makes me cringe. When an athlete or a coach says it it's usually an attempt to compliment the opposition. I can understand that, I suppose, but when the media and fans start calling legitimately ordinary players "great," that's when it becomes asinine. I'm not saying that the announcer of that game I was watching had to openly call the player mediocre, but hell, let's be accurate here. If he's averaging 14 points a game, or hits 15 home runs or rushes for 700 yards, that, at best, is good not great.

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There are only a handful of active players that I'd put the "great" tag on. Some candidates include Bryant, Alex Rodriguez, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Alexander Ovechkin. They are dominating their sports, are at the top of their games and are not past their primes. Jaromir Jagr is no longer in that category as an active player (although he's still plenty good), but Jagr has been one of the all-time great players and is a Hall of Fame lock. That lock is reserved for greatness, not goodness or mediocrity.

I know, I know. The abuse of the word "great" isn't going to wane anytime soon, but hey, it's a great...er, nice dream.