Ahh, the G.O.A.T. discussion, a discussion that can strain friendships, bruise fruit, and leave throats hoarse.

I think people are going to be impacted by what they were actually able to see, versus what they have been told and can look at on scoresheets. I was born in the mid-80s so I got to see Jordan get his rings and now I can see LeBron's greatness--I never got to see the primes of Magic, Bird, Kareem, Wilt, or Russell. As such, I will always lean towards the people I was able to see.

I lean towards MJ still over LeBron, because of one very subjective difference--LeBron was (and still is) more physically gifted than MJ. LeBron is a physical freak and could easily have reached about 70% of what he accomplished through his physical gifts; I respect the hell out of him for changing his game and constantly getting better, but I have even more respect for MJ because he was never someone who could dominate physically. Sure, he bulked up in the 90s, but MJ did not bully you down physically the way LeBron can and does--that's a disadvantage for MJ, and he overcame that in spades.

With American football, it seems like such a lopsided discussion because the impact of the quarterback is incredibly disproportionate, especially in recent times. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I would have to go for Brady. Low draft pick that got a fortuitous chance to take over a team, and grabbed it with both hands. Five Super Bowls, most wins of any QB, always performed in the playoffs. I have a huge bias as a Joe Montana fan, but I think Brady has taken the top position.

If we're going by non-QBs, Jerry Rice would have to be the man. Obviously it helps if you have Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing to you in your prime, but him holding all those scoring/receiving records is not simply a product of good QBs. He was that damned good.

With soccer, I am again biased towards Ronaldo because of my fandom (Manchester United). I think Messi definitely had one up on Ronaldo up until about 2 years ago, and then Ronaldo won 3 CLs and the Euros. It's a paperbreadth between the two anyway, so it will come down to preference and fandom methinks.

Then again, Pele and Maradona have World Cups to their resume--we'll see if Ronaldo can match them this year, they have a shot. Argentina are toast, though, so no such luck for Messi.

Oddly, there's a sport where the G.O.A.T. is pretty much undisputed: ice hockey. Does anybody say a player other than Gretzky when they talk about the greatest player in NHL history? I have never met anyone that says any other name.