I'd Pay Top-Dollar
The last post got me thinking, who would I pay the most money to see live in different sports? And who, all-time (in terms of players who played during my lifetime) would I pay the most to see?
1) NFL: Michael Vick. Duh. The most exciting player in the league right now. Imagine how great he'll be when he gets a decent wide receiver. ALL-TIME: Barry Sanders. He could lose a couple yards on a carry and still make it the greatest play of the game.
2) NHL: Mario Lemieux. This was close. Jarome Iginla and (a healthy) Pavel Bure are right behind him. But Mario Lemieux is, in my opinion, the most talented player of all-time. If Lemieux had stayed healthy I think he would have outscored Wayne Gretzky, and if Gretzky had Lemieux's skill-set to go along with his smarts and instinct he would have another thousand points. ALL-TIME: This is tough. Lemieux is a consideration. I caught the end of Gilbert Perreault's career, and his end-to-end rushes in his older age were still things of beauty. But Dominik Hasek was the most dominant player I saw on a regular basis, and I think incredible saves are just as exciting as goals.
3) NBA: Allen Iverson. See the earlier post. ALL-TIME: Michael Jordan. Do I need to explain?
4) MLB: Ichiro. He is so exciting, he can change the game at the plate, on the base path, and in the field. I'd want someone to try and run on him, though, because his throws from the outfield are bullets. It's like the ball is on a line. Fast, straight, and accurate. ALL-TIME: Nolan Ryan. Watching a great pitching performance is a treat. I think people mistake a low-scoring game as a boring game. If runners get stranded and there are a lot of walks but no runs, sure -- that's boring. But a 1-0 game with two pitchers on top of it is just as exciting. I saw Pedro Martinez v. Mike Mussina in Yankee Stadium once. But the best performance I've ever seen live was Roy Oswalt pitching against the Dodgers. Oswalt is a very, very good pitcher, and he brought his A-game. He was a pleasure to watch. And I think witnessing Nolan Ryan load up and fire away would be great.
5) Soccer: What? I like soccer. I'd say Thierry Henry. I'm an Arsenal fan, so this is biased, but he's magnificent. Though Ronaldinho has some sweet moves. ALL-TIME: Pele. Why? See My Michael Jordan explanation.
4 Comments:
Dear Mr. Slappar,
I want to request you give me back the hours I spent this weekend about this list and who I would put on mine. I was going to send a comment sooner, but you did not need an eight-page dissertation. But I will try to give a condensed version:
NFL - Vick no one more electrifying in the NFL. I would also pay top dollar for compelling match-up instead.
Saw - Elway, Dickerson, Payton, L.T., Dorsett, Fouts, Winslow, Joiner, and Chandler.
Wish to have seen: I could go on for forever, but the one I truly regret not seeing was Vincent Edward Jackson. Yes I am and will always be a member of the Bo Jackson cult. This is saying a lot since I hate the Raiders. I just wished he could have played one full season of football. He would have had 2200 yards.
MLB - The players I would go see is Bones, Barry Bones. I hate the S.O.B. but still to watch that bat speed with power. I saw him once last year, but he was walked four times. I have been fortunate to see Ichrio a couple of times and it is amazing what he can do at the plate and in the field.
All-Time Ted Williams and Willie Mays. I would have loved to seen them in their prime.
NBA - Shaq, Kobe, Jordan and Magic. I have been lucky that I got to see all them. I thought I had missed my shot at seeing Magic but got to see play against O'Neal and the Magic in 96'. That was the best. Beating out seeing Jordan twice, including him going for 52. And topping seeing Game 1 of 2000 NBA Finals. Shaq and Kobe before became an ass.
The ones I wish I had seen.
Any of the Showtime teams. Sure I got to see Worthy and Scott, but I wanted to see the Kareem.
Larry Bird - Had a shot and missed out.
Charles Barkley - The Angel of Goodness. At 6-4 he just worked his ass off (looks like he found his ass along with some other after he retired) to be one of the best power forwards in the game.
NHL
The Great One - saw him only once, was so worth it, wished I could have seen more.
Lindros - Even though I hate the Flyers it is shame it never worked out for him. He was just a force, good luck trying to clear him out from front of the net. Watched him abuse defenders and punch on in that night. (Note: that game was the best one I have ever witness in person, Kings scored 3 in the last 3:15 to win after Lindros’ goal)
I would have paid to seen Super Mario him and the Oilers of 80's I would have paid top dollar for.
Football - I am still growing as EPL fan and I love it. But I am a Man U fan, mostly because of all the Irish and Northern Irish players that have played for the Red Devils. The players right now I would pay to see are: Rooney, van Nistelrooy, Beckham (he is prick and he is not a complete player but the things he does well are fun to watch), Duff (Chelsea, just because his goal against Germany in 2002), Henry he is money.
The players I would have loved to seen:
Pele - duh
George Best the greatest player from the North of Ireland. I just wished he could have had better players around him when he played international. After he retires they finally go to the World Cup.
Well I have wasted enough of your time. Thank you for the space. See you only got a two page term paper.
I second the motion-- I'm gonna spend (waste?) a fair amount of time doing this--thanks!
One jumps out at me-- the most exciting pitcher I ever saw was Dwight Gooden in '85-- every pitch had the place rocking-- and he was the most dominant pitcher I ever watched.
Of course, Nolan ryan's curse is killing my Mets--but that's another story!
A Mind -- I almost put Dwight Gooden on my all-time list. Good call on that one.
Saw Lemieux play lots of times when I was growing up in Pittsburgh. That was some amazing stuff. I remember him making a no-look pass once while spinning around that landed perfectly on the other guy's tape--the crowd literally lost its breath.
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