The Greatest: Championships or Records?

[NinoBrown]

Championships or Records/Accomplishments?

Peyton Manning this weekend will go on to play in the Super Bowl for the second time, many call him the greatest QB ever in the NFL. Some disagree, saying that he's only been to the big dance once and with former QBs like Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman that have won the Super Bowl number of times, that he should not be in the names of said stars.

But Dan Marino, who once held all the records when it came to the QB position (pfft Favre) only went to the SB once and lost. So would the number of championships define an athlete being the greatest? Or would stats alone make an athlete the greatest in their sport?

This is not just for Football, this goes for Basketball, Baseball, Hockey and Soccer. What really defines an athlete at the of their career?


Discuss.

 

[xtremebadass]

RECORDS.

You can be an absolute shit player but be on a good team.

Having a record certifies you are the best even if you never won a championship. Having your own record is like having a championship all your own.

 

[Wordlife]

Records, easily... Look at my boy Tom Brady, arguably the best QB of all time, second to Montana in my opinion, by his RECORDS, even though he has won 3 Super Bowls, he was surrounded by a great team, and his records and stats prove it.

 

[NinoBrown]

But Brady's numbers aren't as great as Manning's.

Brady has the championships but Manning has the records.

 

[Wordlife]

^true

Well, some records at least

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

I can't put Brady over Manning, and that has nothing to do with me being a huge Colt's fan since the Jeff George days. Brady has only one record over Manning and that's the TD record over Manning by 1. Manning is the greatest QB ever and he's not anywhere near done. 4 MVPs should do all the talking but naysayers will say Brady has the rings. So what? Two of those rings were won by the fucking kicker. Adam Viniatierri isn't known as the "greatest clutch kicker of all time" for no reason.

And what did Brady, Montana, Aikman and Bradshaw all have that Manning has never had? Very good defenses, in Bradshaw's case his defense was of more consequence to his rings than he was. Manning's defenses have been mediocre at best. He has basically had the weight all on his shoulders since day one.

So once Peyton gets himself another ring, it would be insulting to him to say Brady is the better of the two because he has one more ring than Peyton, that would be ignorance of the fact that he has 3 more MVPS than Brady, perhaps one more SB MVP than Brady and shitloads more records than Brady. The Brady-ring defense is terribly over rated considering the importance of Vinateirri booting them 2 titles.

But to answer the question, records or championships? Depends what sport. In football I think records matter more since there are 22 guys who decide the outcome of a game, too many variables. Records can show how much a certain player was worth. In basketball there are fewer players on the court so it's easier to measure someones worth. Jordan is the greatest ever and that's almost undeniable and that's regardless of his immense records, it's because of his performance during his championship seasons.

 

[NinoBrown]

I think some stars shine during the playoffs though. Montana has NEVER thrown for over 4000 yards in a season but he's clutch in the playoffs. In hockey, stars are made. Guys that did nothing in the season, show up for the playoffs.

Then some stars just don't do it in the playoffs. Steve Nash is a two time MVP and has yet to make it to a final. Tracy McGrady, well y'all know about him in the playoffs. LT passed Jim Brown this season, holds the record of most TD's in a season, no ring.

I just think there's players out there that will never get a ring, no?

 

[the408kid]

I think some stars shine during the playoffs though. Montana has NEVER thrown for over 4000 yards in a season but he's clutch in the playoffs. In hockey, stars are made. Guys that did nothing in the season, show up for the playoffs.

Then some stars just don't do it in the playoffs. Steve Nash is a two time MVP and has yet to make it to a final. Tracy McGrady, well y'all know about him in the playoffs. LT passed Jim Brown this season, holds the record of most TD's in a season, no ring.

I just think there's players out there that will never get a ring, no?

Thats true man look at Dan Marino throughout his career he held almost every passing record their was but he never got the superbowl ring.

 

[KenFan4life]

I voted for records, I'll use the Barry Sanders over Emmit Smith arguement...Barry played for a team a state away from the Packers, while Emmit played several states away...so that automatically makes Barry the better Rusher, just due to the Rub he gets from The Pack.
'nough said!

 

[the408kid]

I voted for records, I'll use the Barry Sanders over Emmit Smith arguement...Barry played for a team a state away from the Packers, while Emmit played several states away...so that automatically makes Barry the better Rusher, just due to the Rub he gets from The Pack.
'nough said!

No lol! Barry was better because he was a much more illusive running back on mediocre teams, while emmit was a great running back on cowboys teams that won 3 superbowls during his tenure. Barry Sanders would've broken the all time rushing record but he decided to retire because he didnt want to break Walter Payton's record and that the Detroit Lions werent commited to winning. And now we all know how true that was.