Michael Jordan, Do the Right Thing!

ESPN's Athlete of the Century Award Went to Wrong Man

What's up people? Okay, The G-man has to get something off his chest once and for all. Even though this incident took place nearly 10 years ago, it still bothers me to no end. Thus, I wanted to share it with you folks, get your take on it, and attempt to finally exorcise this damn demon. I realize that many, many people will take issue with this article and may even want a piece of me. I have three words for them. Get in line! You ready? Let's do this.

In 1999, a highly regarded 48-member panel from ESPN's "SportsCenter" selected the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century. The distinguished honor went to former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan. Baseball icon Babe Ruth finished in second place. Truth be told, there were many celebrated athletes that were given serious consideration because of their contributions on and off the field or court. However, I did not agree with this choice at all! While Jordan does indeed deserve "props", I strongly feel the athlete that defined the 20th century, without question, was Jesse Owens. What Owens accomplished in the 1936 Olympic Games, in track and field competitions and symbolically, was nothing short of remarkable.

Owens shattered world records by winning four gold medals, which included the 100 meters in 10.3, the long jump at 8ft and 6 inches, the 200 meters in 20.7, and leading off the 4 x 100 meters that broke the World Record with an earth-shattering time of 39.8 seconds. Sports analysts and historians have noted that this feat was comparable to those of Owens' contemporaries, namely Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson. Hence, making it seem as though Owens' performance was nothing out of the ordinary by today's standards. I beg to differ and here's why.