Saturday's Wimbledon match between Venus and Serena Williams didn't possess the standing-ovation deliciousness of Federer and Roddick. The actual tennis was, quite frankly, extremely deflating.
Roger Federer made tennis history with his 15th Grand Slam title in marathonic form but what the Williamses did despite their pedantic scrap was nonetheless even more eternal. Two sisters winning eight of the 10 Wimbledon singles titles this decade puts them among the top 10 most important American sports stories ever.
Sure, yes, ever.
|
|
| With their domination of Wimbledon, sisters Serena and Venus Williams have one of the best rivalries around. (Getty Images) |
The list is ever-shifting, but the Williamses are now on it.
Want to see the list? No problem. Here it is: definitive and cocksure.
Remember this is a list of the most important stories in American sports history. So please don't be offended if you're Canadian or Tasmanian. It's also not a most-popular-athlete list. It's the most important. As you'll notice many of the listed generated social and pop culture impact.
Defining important is tricky but it's mostly about impacting the sports world and/or society at large for better or worse (mostly, I'm sticking with better).
And remember: I'm only doing 10. Not 12, not 20, not 100 but 10. If I did more there'd be a lot more names here but I'm not. Just 10. Ten. Got it?
Ten.
You'll also notice three significant absences and both are from the baseball world: Barry Bonds breaking Henry Aaron's all-time home-run record and the epic battle between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Normally both would be worthy of the top 10 (especially McGwire and Sosa) but the steroid cloud has so eviscerated both moments that the only thing left of them is skeletal remains.
There's also no Secretariat. Animals and humans should have separate lists. On the animal list, Secretariat is probably No. 1.
Now, onto it. Feel free to rip or compliment or post your own ... but mostly feel free to rip.
10. Hank Aaron: Broke Babe Ruth's home-run record while receiving numerous death threats.
9. American women win the World Cup: Bigger than Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs when it comes to the importance of women and sports.
8. Black Sox scandal: Seen as the centrifuge for baseball -- and in some ways for all sports -- fighting gambling.
7. The Williams sisters: Will one day go down as one of the top rivalries in all of sports.
6. Tiger Woods: Was at first hesitant to put him in the top 10. My argument has long been that Woods' social impact and importance are greatly exaggerated by the media. But I'm constantly told I'm wrong by numerous people I respect so I'll shut up and add him already.
5. Michael Jordan: Really, anything to do with Jordan. Talk about impact. Millions wanted to be like Mike. On the court, dominant. Off the court, dominant. His marketing ability set the table for athletes like LeBron James and Woods.
4. Jesse Owens: Anyone who embarrasses Adolph Hitler automatically scores high. Can't imagine any more pressure on an athlete than trying to prove the myth of Aryan superiority wrong.
3. Muhammad Ali: In 1999, Sports Illustrated named him "Sportsman of the Century."
2. Miracle on Ice: Symbolic of American will and spirit during the Cold War era. The story still sends chills up the spine.
1. Jackie Robinson: The catalyst for ushering in a multi-cultured sports world.
Just missing the top 10:
Riggs and King in The Battle of the Sexes. ... The 1958 NFL championship game that ushered in pro football's popularity. ... Doug Williams becomes the first black quarterback to play in a Super Bowl. ... John Madden's video games. ... Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points. ... Lance Armstrong (though he is hurt by the suspicion of performance-enhancing drugs). ... Eric Heiden grabs five gold medals and sets four Olympic records and one world record in 1980 at Lake Placid -- great, but not so sure it was important enough to be top 10. ... Ditto for Michael Phelps. ... Pete Rose finally admits to gambling on baseball.
One final thing: There is no mention of the Dream Team. We sent a bunch of Hall of Famers to kick the butts of what was then a bunch of outclassed world players. That wasn't an achievement, that was a U.N. violation.
