OT: Greatness defined...SECRETARIAT!
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For younger people, I don’t think you can quite comprehend what a big deal that was at the time. Harness racing was a much bigger deal at that time than it is today.
Also, I’ve never seen a more dominant athlete in any sport. It was literally odd looking how much better that horse was than everyone else.
I’ve seen the greatest of the great where it looks like they are playing on a different level than everyone else. I’m talking about guys like Gretzky or Lemieux in hockey, Jordan in basketball, or Tiger in golf; guys like that. Guys who just did what they wanted, when they wanted to do it and how they wanted it to be done.
They are incredibly rare but those types of guys do come around every sport every so often.
However, I am telling you that in all my years of watching sports, I’ve never seen anything remotely like what Secretariat did to the field during those Triple Crown races.
It was astonishing in the moment and it remains astonishing decades later.
Also, I’ve never seen a more dominant athlete in any sport. It was literally odd looking how much better that horse was than everyone else.
I’ve seen the greatest of the great where it looks like they are playing on a different level than everyone else. I’m talking about guys like Gretzky or Lemieux in hockey, Jordan in basketball, or Tiger in golf; guys like that. Guys who just did what they wanted, when they wanted to do it and how they wanted it to be done.
They are incredibly rare but those types of guys do come around every sport every so often.
However, I am telling you that in all my years of watching sports, I’ve never seen anything remotely like what Secretariat did to the field during those Triple Crown races.
It was astonishing in the moment and it remains astonishing decades later.
You said it all, Doctor. Secretariat was in a word magnificent. The greatest ever and it’s not even close.
One of the greatest events (exception of my wedding day@ my children's births) what a thrill of a lifetime they were!!! hTP/Forever!!!
Horse racing at that time was still I believe the number one attended spectator sport in the country.
At a time mostly wo cable , no social media et al , the bump & buzz he created might never have been duplicated.
It really was something to see.
Yeah, it’s hard to explain how big horse racing and boxing were at the time, versus where they are now.
It’s an incredibly different sports landscape. I think a lot of younger people don’t really understand just how different things were back then.
It’s an incredibly different sports landscape. I think a lot of younger people don’t really understand just how different things were back then.
Regarding how big boxing was, I attended a sold-out Stanley Theater (now The Benedum Theater) to watch the live, closed circuit feed of The Rumble in the Jungle, Ali vs Foreman and a sold-out Civic Arena to watch The Thrilla in Manilla, Ali vs Frazier III.
Incredible atmosphere at both local venues resulted in special memories for all who attended.
Well, yeah. I thought ESPN already settled this whole debate whenever it was talking about the greatest athletes of the century and it included horses?
It’s not a machine, it’s a living, breathing animal – like a person. That means that to beat other living, breathing animals in an athletic competition it needs greater athleticism - hence, it is an athlete.
I don’t know? This whole thing is a slippery slope. Some people think that Tiger Woods should be considered an athlete in the same vein as Michael Jordan and Mario Lemieux and I don’t think that’s true either.
I know that pisses off a lot of people, but from where I sit, he is (was?) just dominant over his game similarly to the way those guys were dominant over their respective sports. However, that does not make him a comparable athlete it doesn’t even make what he achieved comparable to what they achieved because their depth of competition was much, much greater. He’s still just a golfer and clearly not the same caliber “athlete” - in the strictest sense of the word - that those guys were.
At least that’s what I believe. However, when I say that the golf fans’ heads always start to spin and their eyes bug out of their heads and they start speaking in tongues – it turns into a whole thing.
That’s why I say it’s a slippery slope and if you want to talk about Roger Federer or Tiger Woods or Earl Anthony to be considered with guys who are generally accepted as our greatest athletes from the traditional major team sports, that’s fine too. However, if we’re going to do that then I want to talk about the horse as well.
It’s not a machine, it’s a living, breathing animal – like a person. That means that to beat other living, breathing animals in an athletic competition it needs greater athleticism - hence, it is an athlete.
I don’t know? This whole thing is a slippery slope. Some people think that Tiger Woods should be considered an athlete in the same vein as Michael Jordan and Mario Lemieux and I don’t think that’s true either.
I know that pisses off a lot of people, but from where I sit, he is (was?) just dominant over his game similarly to the way those guys were dominant over their respective sports. However, that does not make him a comparable athlete it doesn’t even make what he achieved comparable to what they achieved because their depth of competition was much, much greater. He’s still just a golfer and clearly not the same caliber “athlete” - in the strictest sense of the word - that those guys were.
At least that’s what I believe. However, when I say that the golf fans’ heads always start to spin and their eyes bug out of their heads and they start speaking in tongues – it turns into a whole thing.
That’s why I say it’s a slippery slope and if you want to talk about Roger Federer or Tiger Woods or Earl Anthony to be considered with guys who are generally accepted as our greatest athletes from the traditional major team sports, that’s fine too. However, if we’re going to do that then I want to talk about the horse as well.
Awesome....
I sat in Artic weather ,outside at 3R , to watch Frazier v Ali 1......
Can’t never take that away from Smokin Joe.
That was the Big One
And not only did he knock Ali on his ass...... Ali didn’t know where the hell he was.
Honestly almost nobody.
But anybody who’s followed it and studied it, it’s imo quite interesting....thoroughbreds are incredible and amazing animals.
And of course, you don’t have to read this.
From the Cheap Seats ; thoroughbred, not a standardbred. Best Flats horse I ever saw. Enjoyed the Affirmed/Alydar races more. Bret Hanover the best harness horse.
Ok, grasshopper...read and comprehend the following:
Secretariat was a media superstar.
Secretariat-mania reached a fever pitch as he prepared for the final leg of the Triple Crown: The week before the Belmont, Sports Illustrated, Time and Newsweek magazines featured him on their covers in the same week—an unheard of accomplishment that has never been repeated. After his victory, demand for the thoroughbred’s time grew go great that his owners hired the William Morris Agency to oversee his public appearances, surely making him the rare horse with a Hollywood agent. His fame continued long after his career ended. He was inducted into the Horseracing Hall of Fame just a year after winning the Triple Crown. In 1999, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative Secretariat stamp, making him the first equine to earn the honor; and ESPN named him to their list of the 100 greatest athletes of the 20th century.
Do you think Sham picked the wrong year to be born.
Sham broke the Derby record , and came in of course second. And the race he seemed bred for at Big Sandy he was crushed.
Thing is Secretariat just way over shadowed everybody else. Horses like Northern Dancer and Canonero ( the second greatest name for a horse) just can’t compare even though they were phenomenal racers
Oddly perhaps, Secretariat was not as successful a sire at first as expected especially his stallions...
But a few of his daughters produced lines to AP Indy , Smarty Jones and other champions.
Thing is Secretariat just way over shadowed everybody else. Horses like Northern Dancer and Canonero ( the second greatest name for a horse) just can’t compare even though they were phenomenal racers
Oddly perhaps, Secretariat was not as successful a sire at first as expected especially his stallions...
But a few of his daughters produced lines to AP Indy , Smarty Jones and other champions.
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I never cashed my tickets in. I believed a $2 bet across the board paid something like $2.20. One of the greatest horse ever in winning the triple crown. What an athlete and inspiration even today. Thanks for bringing the memory back.
You know, that’s why I have always maintained that the Thrilla in Manila was the greatest sporting event of the 20th century. Really, neither combatant was ever the same again - either as a boxer or as a human being.
Yep. At one time the Heavyweight Champion of the World was likely the most recognizable sports figure, and in the case of Ali, the most recognizable person on earth. Now? I couldn't tell you who the Heavyweight champ is without googling it.
That is why I laugh when people think football is too big to fail. Boxing is so much lesser of an attraction than it once was. And the fall of it is only 30 years in the making.
none involving humans. Horse racing, dog fighting are about it. If you ban gambling, not one horse race happens ever again. You ban gambling, college and pro sports continue on.
hmm, cant say I disagree with that. Fantasy football helps the nfl, ALOT..
Eh...what would NFL ratings be if people couldn't bet on it or play fantasy football? Betting drives all sports in this country.
Edit: just noticed that you referenced fantasy football in the post above this one.
Gambling helps sports, I’m not debating that. Gambling is the only reason why you have animals run in a circle with a midget on its back. There is no other reason. Without gambling, horse racing would cease to exist immediately after.
Again, it’s like dog fighting but legal. You wouldn’t have dig fights if you couldn’t bet a winner, it wouldn’t make sense.
In recognition of the deep feelings of appreciation this thread has caused, here is an article that most will enjoy. The death of the author Bill Nack, had someone post this Sports Illlustrated article on twitter. Outstanding.
https://www.si.com/longform/belmont/index.html
https://www.si.com/longform/belmont/index.html
Yes, horses can be athletes too. As a person who owns horses I can tell you that they train as hard as any athlete. They swim, pull weights and train for distance and sprints. When I buy a horse the first thing I look for is confirmation and agility ( athleticism).
I was 17 in 1973. That was an era where Vietnam was ending and the whole Nixon crap. Secretariat captured the attention of the entire nation. Secretariat was the Yankees Celtics, Packers only an animal. That’s all people talked about for three weeks after the Preakness. He was on the cover of magazines.
It was also the end of the black and white television era as more and more homes were investing in color television.
Secretariat was also owned by a women and she gained much notoriety for keeping that farm above water.
For a few weeks in the spring of 1973 a horse dominated the headlines and he gave people of all ages and backgrounds something to latch on too and cheer for. Might never happen again
It was also the end of the black and white television era as more and more homes were investing in color television.
Secretariat was also owned by a women and she gained much notoriety for keeping that farm above water.
For a few weeks in the spring of 1973 a horse dominated the headlines and he gave people of all ages and backgrounds something to latch on too and cheer for. Might never happen again
Just like Seabisquit in the 30's. Horse became folk hero, champion of the underdog.
Owner, jockey, trainer and horse all underdogs melding into a great championship team exactly when the country needed a feel good story.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
no they don't, what would be the point. It would be like playing the video poker machine at the local bar that doesn't pay out, it would be pointless.
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