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Reportage | Football & Sport | By Brodie Smithers | Posted 17 February 2012
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REPORTAGE | Football & Sport

Happy Birthday Michael Jordan: 5 Reasons He’s Better Than Muhammad Ali

Posted: 17 February 2012
Tags: Basketball

Whether it’s basketball, football, cycling, golf or boxing some sportsmen transcend their chosen discipline and cross over into global culture. Both Jordan and Ali made that leap more than any other but who was the best? Here are five reasons why it’s Michael Jordan.

Firstly, let’s get the foundations of this debate laid. Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali are the top two sportsmen of all time, no contest. Two hugely iconic, handsome, intelligent and very successful athletes who transcended their own sports and entered mainstream culture, politics and public consciousness’s  across the world. Dominating their chosen fields for decades and taking the lions share of the coverage, revenue, marketing and legacy of both boxing and basketball respectively whilst simultaneously making the step up to iconic immortality. Few others have come close; Pele, Michael Schumacher, Lance Armstrong, Babe Ruth, Carl Lewis (for example) are all at the races but not in the same stratosphere as MJ and Ali. Of these two global giants I would argue that Michael Jordan is the greater and here’s five reasons why:

Success

Both men were hugely, hugely successful but Jordan edges it on sheer weight of trophies and also, crucially, the context within which he won them. Six NBA championships, Five times league MVP, ten top-scorer titles, three top steals awards, Rookie of the Year 1985, fourteen times an All Star of which three were MVP performances, NBA Defensive Player of the year, the list goes on and on. He didn’t win these awards against chumps either. He mixed it up with Hall of Famers and legends of the game. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal were all peers and opponents. He took on the dynasty of the Boston Celtics in his rookie year and scored a record 63 points in a playoff game against them, in their back yard. He tore the back-to-back Championship winning Detroit Pistons a new one despite them assigning players specifically to kick the shit out him. He was, and remains an untouchably successful basketball player. Muhammad Ali, as we know, won the Heavyweight Championship of the World on three occasions. Sensationally beating Sonny Liston in 1964, upsetting the odds ten years later against Foreman in Zaire and winning his title back off Leon Spinks for the last time in 1978. He was involved in four (arguably five) of the top ten boxing fights of all time and fought at a time when heavyweight boxing was undoubtedly in its prime, albeit a quite corrupt prime. Unfortunately a lot of his big fights were non-title bouts and for that reason Jordan edges it on sheer success. A good example of this is that fact that Ali famously won a gold medal which he threw off a bridge in disgust but it’s less well known that Jordan in fact won two, in 1984 and 1992.

He didn’t win these awards against chumps either. He mixed it up with Hall of Famers and legends of the game.

Money

Okay there’s a context issue here, sports stars are paid much, much more these days than their equivalents in the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties and even Nineties. That’s just plain economic evolution. Therefore it’s maybe fairer to judge them against each other post retirement, as in what they are worth now. Ali has made more since retiring than he ever did in the ring that is obvious he did however rake in a record $10 million for the Rumble in the Jungle. According to Forbes his name now generates somewhere between $4-7 million a year and he sold his naming rights for $50 million in 2006. Undoubtedly Ali is still a plump cash cow but Jordan looks like a morbidly obese Elephant next to him. Despite earning $30 million in salary and a further $40million is sponsorship on an annual basis when playing he eclipses that in retirement. The Air Jordan brand is worth $800 million a year in global revenue to Nike and Mike coins a healthy $45 million off that per year in royalties alone not to mention his other endorsements business interests and investments. Last year Forbes clocked him at number 20 on their richest celebrity list. For a man with the official job title Head of Basketball Operations at the Charlotte Bobcats that’s pretty good going, just don’t mention Spacejam.

Comebacks

Knowing when to call it a day is a crucial benchmark of sporting greatness.  Watching a stalled and slightly pathetic Schumacher stuck in F1 traffic just now is just painful. “Give it up Michael” you think, “give it up Michael” he thinks, and “keep going Michael” his money men say and money talks. Both Ali and Jordan suffered from being wheeled out of retirement more often than the Planet of the Apes franchise, inevitably once their wallets started wheezing it was back on with the gloves and sneakers. The true tragedy being that Alis multiple comebacks have hurt him more than Jordans ever could. Most notably his health has suffered but his boxing record and legacy were also outpointed after 12 long rounds too. Jordan at least had the good sense to bury his famous Chicago Bulls Number 23 jersey and opt for a more sober Number 45 with the Washington Wizards. In that respect he didn’t come back and tarnish his prime image thus protecting that phase of his career indefinitely. Both were competent performers even when past their best but Jordan did more to protect himself and his image than poor Muhammad Ali could.

There’s no doubt that Ali has inspired generations of boxers and athletes but it’s Mikes legacy that shapes the modern global sport star as we know it

Legacy

The legacy of Jordan is every branded global superstar from Tiger Woods to Maria Sharapova from Kobe Bryant to Michael Phelps, every spots person signed and branded by hollow eyed executives and marketed to within an inch of their blood, sweat and tears to “Be Like Mike”. The hype needn’t be supported by sporting success either. Never was this clearer than during the desperately indicative multi-million dollar bun fight over the branding of 18 year old LeBron James before he’d made a senior start in the NBA. The colossal sportswear giants may as well have had competing packs of Jerry Maguire types chase young LeBron round a paddock on horseback clutching red hot branding irons and suitcases of cash. Air Jordan’s success created this hysterical marketing monster and his blueprint for global success lives on and on. Ali’s sporting legacy is less tangible. Culturally there’s no doubt he broke the mould, struck massive blows for the civil rights of Black Americans and became a huge inspiration for many people across the planet. In sport however, his vocal stylings have been inherited by many a deluded boxer, wrestler and MMA fighter, rarely able, as Ali did, to back up his claims with his gloves. They rhyme, they dance, they wind up punches but they also get ‘knocked the fuck out’ too. Ali’s often cruel taunts come across into todays PC world as a bullying and antiquated con trick, as exemplified recently by David Haye’s lack of class in Hamburg. There’s no doubt that Ali has inspired generations of boxers and athletes but it’s Mikes legacy that shapes the modern global sport star as we know it and will continue to do so for a long, long time.

The Top Gun Theory

This is a simple on-the-back-of-a-fag-packet analogy that nails the debate. MJ is Iceman to Ali’s Maverick. Think about it for a while and it starts to make sense. Muhammed Ali was talented, charming, cocky, wild and a bit of a risky prospect just like Tom Cruise’s character. In the Val Kilmer role Mike was cold, corporate, technically outstanding and unrelentingly focussed on winning.  Society and the sporting world couldn’t tether Ali nor could the Navy contain maverick in Top Gun, both flaunted the rules in an irresistible and dangerous way. The Iceman and Jordan on the other hand were the corporations. They embodied the best the navy/sporting world could channel and took it to the highest echelons. In Top Gun there’s no doubt that Tom Cruise was the star of the show but it was Iceman who won the Top Gun Trophy and was able to fend off five Russian MIGs single-handedly whilst Maverick sweated over Goose’s dog tags. The case in point is this; Maverick/Ali = noise, talent and thunder, Iceman/MJ = winners. Just don’t get me started on the Bundini/Goose analogy…

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11:17 am, 13-Jul-2011AJ420
don bradman - never has one player been so much better than all others at a sport. test average of 99.96 - no other player within 30. unbelievable. not such an icon, revenue tool, etc; but still always worth a mention in the greatest sportsman lists.
11:28 am, 13-Jul-2011AJ420
also, to say jordan has a bigger legacy than ali is absolutely mental. jordan, you say, was key to a future of branded sportsman - this woulda happened anyway. ali has a massive political and social legacy, on top of being a spoting icon. sporting tragedy? political principles? war, race, religion... to say branded trainers outweighs that is just stupid.
11:39 am, 13-Jul-2011Keith Wildman
Who? Netball's for lasses and Yanks.
11:40 am, 13-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
AJ240 - Thanks for the comments. I actualy had Bradman on my list at the top of the article along with Senna, Seve, etc but trimmed it down so as not to make the debate about sportpeople but about MJ and Ali. Also the crucial point on legacy was that i reffered to sporting legacy, not political and social legacy. In which terms, you are of course completely correct.
11:49 am, 13-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Keith Wildman - Netball's for the Nevillers sister too.
11:50 am, 13-Jul-2011Keith Wildman
On a serious point though. I doubt the average man in the street shown a photograph of Michael Jordan would be able to identify him.
11:53 am, 13-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Keith Wildman - In Britain perhaps but maybe more so if you showed them the Air Jordan 'jumping man' symbol? Globally I reckon he's very recognisable.
12:02 pm, 13-Jul-2011Vincent S
As much as I don't like the guy surely Tiger Woods challenges these two. Money - check. Influence on generations to come - check. Success - check. He's even more like iceman than Jordan. Look at the way golf has been scrambling like a lost baby while he has been injured/out of action. Ignoring Rory Mcilroy (media blowing him way out of proportion) any golf tournament without tiger in the last ten years has been undermined. And, there is the legacy of what he did as a black man in a traditionally white sport. He has no personality though unlike Ali/Jordan and has ruined his reputation somewhat.
1:03 pm, 13-Jul-2011Richard Luck
Didn't they name a country after Jordan?
1:14 pm, 13-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Vincent S - You're absolutely right but i would argue that Jordan paved the way for Tiger to be what he became and i don't think he trancended his sport in the same way. Richard Luck - Ah but did they name the national airline too or was that copywritten?
2:06 pm, 13-Jul-2011Amjad
Show a picture of Michael Jordan to a random person in the UK who is not a sports fan. He will not have a clue who he is! Muhammad Ali on the other hand will be recognised instantly. Ali is the greatest sporting figure of the 20th century followed by Pele. I think the author needs to get out of America and travel around the world to places like Africa, Middle east, Europe etc. In terms of fame and legacy around the world AlI is in a league of his own.
2:07 pm, 13-Jul-2011Ripley
Smithers, give your head a wobble you boring cunt.
2:11 pm, 13-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Amjad - I live in the UK mate, not the States - fair points though. Ripley - Nice.
2:54 pm, 13-Jul-2011Shiv
I believe Michael Schumacher deserves to be amongst the top sportspersons of all time. The way he changes the fortunes of Ferrari not just overnight, but over4-5 years to begin the Ferrari juggernaut in F1 history is simply amazing. Further, he created a super team in Ferrari who were literally unstoppable in the early 2000s. As for earnings, Schumi is one of the top earning athlethes and is possibly the highest paid F1 driver in the grid even today
2:59 pm, 13-Jul-2011Cory
Good points made in the article. No doubt MJ left a massive cultural/corporate impact on sports marketing/branding and the amount of money he still generates is mind blowing but all that would not be possible without Ali. You have to look at Ali in the context of how he rose to become what he was (racism,civil rights, vietnam, religion) he transcended/broke barriers and opened doors so that MJ and modern athletes could bear the fruit.
3:22 pm, 13-Jul-2011Ripley
Smithers, bore off you wet fart.
3:40 pm, 13-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Shiv - I mentioned him at the top, again he doesn't trancend sport in the way MJ/Ali did, in my opinion. Cory - You're probably right but MJ capitalised on it. Ripley - Must try harder.
9:29 pm, 13-Jul-2011John Denver
There's only one reason as to why Ali is the greatest. Purely on a sporting premise he's is the reason why all sorts of branding became a reality later. He is responsible for making sporting branding transcend into both social and political branding. Ali is the reason why MJ could fly, FULL STOP. Go anywhere in the world and people including children would recognise Ali. People in certain countries may recognise MJ by virtue of a stimulus such as the NikeAir but you do an 'Ali shuffle' and they'd know it's Ali. Ali himself is a brand. His strategies in the ring have found their way in the corporate, social and political world. Ask Sony, Philips, P & G, Ford or Clinton or Obama, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not even talking about his political and social influence in every country in the world. Brodie, your comparison should have adopted a sound framework, my dear. Good, thought-provoking work though. Thanks.
9:37 pm, 13-Jul-2011John Denver
By the way, Cory is spot on and has indeed, summarised impeccably as to why Ali is the greatest. I'd imagine Cory's work should bring this debate to a permanent end. Thanks Cory.
9:44 pm, 13-Jul-2011John Denver
Oh yes! MJ's legacy has created a bunch of 'corporate slaves' in the form of modern day athletes, no doubt. These athletes are greedy, narcissistic fools who are devoid of the basic sense of responsibility, social or otherwise. And yes, they are like MJ, nothing more than money making machines.
9:48 pm, 13-Jul-2011John Denver
......You're probably right but MJ capitalised on it...... But so has Tiger Woods and indeed, much better. This doesn't make Tiger a better sportsman than either MJ or Ali.
6:35 am, 14-Jul-2011Chris
greatest spotsmen/sporting icons of all time: 1: Muhamed Ali Then followed in no particular order by Woods, Jordan, Pele, Jesse Owens and Michael Johnson (less popular sport but just as amazing none the less)
8:19 am, 14-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
John Denver - Thanks for your comments, i agree Cory has made some good points but i don't think it ends the debate. MJ set the blueprint that made all the 'corporate slaves' including Tiger Woods. These guys make more money now than Jordan but imagine his (and indeed ali's) corporate worth if they were athletes in their prime today. They would dwarf Tiger Woods, Le Bron, etc.
8:21 am, 14-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Chris - Jesse Owens and Michael Johnson are good shouts but neither reached the same levels as these two. Another point with Jordan is that basketball is a lesser sport globally than Olympic athletics but Jordan still trancended that, Lance Armstrong did that with cycling too.
1:43 pm, 14-Jul-2011Ripley
Give it a rest, Smithers. ZZZZZZZZZZ
1:46 pm, 14-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Ripley - You can be my wingman anytime.
2:00 pm, 14-Jul-2011MacAsk
Money and Comebacks - since when were they a barometer of sporting success? Ali was the greatest and he did it in a far tougher sport through a far less tolerant era. MJ is second though. Then it's Ally McCoist.
2:16 pm, 14-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
A barometer of sporting success when you're trying to splitthe difference between the top two. Surely Jocky Wilson is third? If not only for his TOTP appearance.
3:47 pm, 14-Jul-2011MacAsk
But where would you draw the line? 1st year report cards? Best/worst haircuts? Amount of change in their right pocket? If you exhaust the standard categories, just call it a draw or say you, as the writer, have the casting vote and can decide completely arbitrarily. I wasn't having a dig though. It was a good piece.
3:55 pm, 14-Jul-2011MacAsk
Some Devil's Advocacy: Interesting, considering the main demograph of people who consume sports both now and historically (i.e white men) that nearly all mentioned (Jordan, Johnson, Pele, Woods, Owens & Ali) are black. Where are the white icons? Do they sportsmen have to overcome some sort of sociological difficulty before we can consider them worthy? Are tennis players (Sampras & Nadal) simply too middle class to even be considered? What about Wayne Gretsky? Not the same public exposure as Ali & Jordan but dominated his field.
4:15 pm, 14-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
MacAsk - Of the five examples i listed at the top of the article three are white and if you add Don Bradman (who should have been in that list - arguably ahead of Carl Lewis)then there are some white icons for starters. I don't think race really comes into it to be honest. Both boxing and basketball have a traditionof disproportionate (disproporational to society) representation of black athletes, especially compared to consumers of these sports. However, i don't think that makes Schmuacer, Armstrong or indeed Nadal and Sampras any less iconic. They just didn't quite trancend their sports inthe way MJ or Ali did, for whatever reason.
4:15 pm, 14-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
Macask - Gretsky is a good shout. He dominated Ice Hockey for a long time.
9:41 pm, 14-Jul-2011John Denver
If the assessment is based primarily and exclusively on the degree of transcending one's sport, surely, Ali must be the one and only. The evoked set should include only the other sportsmen. No one has transcended his sport the way Ali has and there will never be one like him. Take a large sample of sportsmen across various sports and ask them who their sporting hero is. 'Ali' is the response from the greatest majority of these sportsmen including Federer, Murray, Tendulkar, boxers (even the nine year old boxer from the UK), most basketball, football (both American football and Soccer), and baseball players, Tennis players, Golfers and athletes alike. This is a fact. Film and pop celebrities are simply crazy about Ali. There's a vast amount of data that clearly reveal that Ali is revered and indeed, idolised by people from different strata of the global society, across various sports, entertainment, industries and even politics. No matter how much we try, MJ would always be recognised as a basketball player whilst Ali has invariably been much more than a 'boxer'. How on earth MJ is said to have transcended his sport when he's regarded nothing more than a basketball player? Comparisons across other criteria are inevitable when the issue of transcending one's sport is brought up, mind you. But this certainly is not the case here. Ali is a true sporting icon. In 1999, Ali was voted the sportsman of the century by BBC and Sports Illustrated. Later, he has been voted by the readers of numerous prominent magazines and newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald as the greatest sporting icon of all time (Bradman occupied 2nd place, if I remember correctly!). MJ did it in a team environment whereas Ali did it on his own. On his comeback, he took on some of the greatest fighters of the 20th century. How exceptional he was to beat these boxers when he actually lost most of his speed as well as strength that he possessed when he was at his peak in 1967. I'd like to to see any sportsman withstanding the unfair yet cruel stance adopted against Ali by the biggest force in the world, namely, the USA and the unfathomable expectations of people the world over. Why even put Ali in a comparative perspective on economic criterion when he gave most of his money away and many people lived off him for years? For Ali, it all started with boxing but didn't end with it, like almost all other sportsmen on planet earth simply because Ali did truly and in fact, uniquely transcend boxing.
8:26 am, 15-Jul-2011Brodie Smithers
John Denver - Good stuff, you should consider submitting a response article. The points you make stand up. On a small point though I used trancention of sport as a marker to separate MJ and ali from the rest. The other criteria i used to split the two.
7:49 pm, 17-Jul-2011Tracy Garnish
That was the best thing I have read in yonks.Once More - Bravo ST
7:27 pm, 17-Feb-2012Chris Impact
Brodie Smithers good follow up comments I have enjoyed reading your points. All very persistent, however Jon Denver's last reply was the best I've seen on Sabotage for a good while and has my vote for Ali.
11:55 pm, 17-Feb-2012Bill Murray
Jordan is only known outside the US because of one company and it's relentless promoting of him, Nike. Quite simply he and his sport mean very little to the average person in this country.
12:21 pm, 2-Mar-2012Bean Siegel
I'm going to assume that the author of this article is either young, has not traveled much out of the U.S., or both. If he is neither of those things, he should be ashamed of himself for coming to such a fallacious conclusion with these flawed reasons of yours. Muhammad Ali impact on social issues, political issues, religion, pop culture, and sports trumps the achievements of that corporate puppet, Jordan. Hell, Jordan isn't even the most popular MJ of all time.
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