By: Youeal Abera
On Sunday, February 3, the New England Patriots won the 53rd SuperBowl. Consequently, the win against the Los Angeles Rams provided legendary football player Tom Brady with his sixth SuperBowl win.
Adhering to the typical post-SuperBowl celebrations, Patriot fans celebrated their teams’ big win by cheering in bars and taking to social media to brag. However, the very second that Tom Brady became the football player with the most SuperBowl rings, an interesting debate instantly erupted online.
This furious debate sought the answer to a supposedly imperative question: if Tom Brady has six SuperBowl rings and Michael Jordan has 6 NBA championship rings, who truly is the greatest athlete between the two?
The arguing opinions went back and forth on Twitter for the duration of the week after the SuperBowl, with fans of Brady and Jordan earnestly working to defend their sport idol.
One Jordan fan tweeted, “Let’s stop the Tom Brady vs Michael Jordan talk. Michael never lost to the Lions.”
In the same widespread debate, an ardent Brady fan tweeted “IT’S OFFICIAL TOM BRADY IS THE GREATEST NFL PLAYER OF ALL TIME…..EVEN BETTER THAN MICHAEL JORDAN IN GOAT TALK.”
In spite of the vehement conundrum, I found myself disinterested in the comparisons between Jordan and Brady. Yes, both players are legendary athletes who have created impeccable legacies in the world of sport. However, in my own humble and honest opinion, there is no comparison between Jordan and Brady. By looking beyond their single similarity, one can distinguish between the two sport titans by analyzing their influence.
The only striking similarity between Michael Jordan and Tom Brady is that they’ve accumulated six championship rings. Brady and the Patriots won the SuperBowl in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Jordan helped the Chicago Bulls win the NBA championship 6 times, taking home a ring in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 1998. In addition to creating an impeccable connection with his hometown of Chicago, Michael Jordan has built himself an empire through both a pristine image in the NBA as well as an illustrious shoe brand.
It would be easy to compare the careers and accomplishments of Jordan and Brady by only viewing their championship wins. Nevertheless, it’s not only silly, but also impractical. Both players are phenomenal, but fans, in comparing and contrasting the their respective careers, seem to forget the undying impact that Jordan has made.
Jordan’s iconism peaked in the 1990’s. On top of achieving two three-peat championship wins, in this decade Jordan has fostered an athletic drive and play-style perceivable in some of today’s biggest NBA athletes. More so than any of the great players that came before him (William Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson), Jordan set the bar for what defines excellence in the world of basketball. When people think of Jordan’s legacy, they think of iconic moves like when he performed the legendary switch of the hands against the Lakers in the 1991 NBA finals.
Yes, Tom Brady has also displayed plays that defined excellence in football, but not to the same standard. Before Tom Brady, there was Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, and Joe Montana. Sure, Brady was able to take the Patriots to the SuperBowl more times than any other football player has done for their own team. Of course, Brady managed to present awe-inspiring plays (like when he threw a 79-yard touchdown to Deion Branch in a 2010 thanksgiving game). However, in the world of football, Brady’s plays don’t outshine the playstyle of all the legendary football players that came before him. Additionally, Brady’s individual highlights don’t define the bar of excellence within the NFL.
Although Michael Jordan hasn’t set foot on an NBA court in 16 years, he is still referred to as the greatest athlete by many. Disregarding a small amount of expressed frustration towards his unwillingness to speak on issues in the Black community, Michael Jordan is still widely loved and adored.
Brady, on the other hand, has faced a significant amount of criticism within his career. Perhaps the greatest backlash Brady has faced (and still receives today) comes from Deflategate, an event where Brady allegedly helped the Patriots deflate the footballs used in their American Football Conference match against the Indianapolis Colts on January 18, 2015.
Joseph Stromberg, in his article for Vox titled Tom Brady’s Deflategate scandal, explained, said that the deflation of the Patriots’ footballs during the AFC match would significantly help Brady’s performance. Stromberg stated that the deflated footballs would “be easier for Brady to grip and for the team’s running backs and receivers to catch and hold on to during the game’s rainy conditions.” Stromberg also explained that since both teams have a different set of footballs in the match, the act of the Patriots deflating their own balls would greatly contribute towards their chances of winning.
Therefore, this cheating allegation against Brady provides a striking contrast between the football icon and Michael Jordan. Even though Michael Jordan and Tom Brady have the same amount of championship rings, Jordan has never been caught or extensively accused of cheating to win.
In the world of sports (and not just in the NBA), Michael Jordan is the original superstar. Disregarding his impressive six rings, Jordan’s playstyle and skill has fostered today’s current roster of A1 athleticism, and his career style will continue to inspire future athletes for generations to come. Therefore, if you’re going to compare a player to Michael Jordan, using the amount of championship wins as a measure of greatness is undoubtedly insufficient.
