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| Carli Lloyd: did we witness the greatest ever performance in a US title game? | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Carli Lloyd is the new American sports superstar. | Carli Lloyd is the new American sports superstar. |
| The 2015 Golden Ball winner’s performance in the World Cup final was so dominant it raised the question – in real time, before half-time even rolled around – of whether we were witnessing the greatest performance ever in a title game in the history of American sport. This isn’t the usual post-game sports media hyperbole. We’re not debating if a game-winning shot hit by someone on the Detroit Pistons in February is the greatest shot ever. | The 2015 Golden Ball winner’s performance in the World Cup final was so dominant it raised the question – in real time, before half-time even rolled around – of whether we were witnessing the greatest performance ever in a title game in the history of American sport. This isn’t the usual post-game sports media hyperbole. We’re not debating if a game-winning shot hit by someone on the Detroit Pistons in February is the greatest shot ever. |
| When you score a hat trick in the first 16 minutes of a World Cup Final with tens of millions of people watching across the world, essentially ending the match and clinching the tournament before most players worked up a sweat or Japan had a chance to throw in the towel, your status as a sports legend is forever secure – and any favorable comparisons thrown your way are deserved. | When you score a hat trick in the first 16 minutes of a World Cup Final with tens of millions of people watching across the world, essentially ending the match and clinching the tournament before most players worked up a sweat or Japan had a chance to throw in the towel, your status as a sports legend is forever secure – and any favorable comparisons thrown your way are deserved. |
| Related: Unleashing Carli Lloyd and lucky yellow cards: how USA won the World Cup | |
| We already know Lloyd’s performance was among the best ever. It’s greatness was the equivalent of soccer porn: we knew it when we saw it. Let’s just add some context to our instant history and find out if we can tell people we witnessed the greatest performance ever. | We already know Lloyd’s performance was among the best ever. It’s greatness was the equivalent of soccer porn: we knew it when we saw it. Let’s just add some context to our instant history and find out if we can tell people we witnessed the greatest performance ever. |
| The last World Cup won by USA came in 1999, beating China on penalty kicks. Brandi Chastain gave us a historic image with her sports bra-revealing celebration, but zero regulation goals and a good picture don’t get close to trumping Lloyd’s three goals in 16 minutes. Michelle Akers scored two goals in the first ever women’s final in 1991, but an introductory course in soccer analytics will teach you that three is greater than two. Lloyd’s best competition in women’s soccer actually comes from someone named … Carli Lloyd. | The last World Cup won by USA came in 1999, beating China on penalty kicks. Brandi Chastain gave us a historic image with her sports bra-revealing celebration, but zero regulation goals and a good picture don’t get close to trumping Lloyd’s three goals in 16 minutes. Michelle Akers scored two goals in the first ever women’s final in 1991, but an introductory course in soccer analytics will teach you that three is greater than two. Lloyd’s best competition in women’s soccer actually comes from someone named … Carli Lloyd. |
| In the 2012 Olympics gold medal match, she staked Team USA to a 2-0 lead over Japan with two goals, and the US. held on, 2-1, to take gold. She also scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Games. | In the 2012 Olympics gold medal match, she staked Team USA to a 2-0 lead over Japan with two goals, and the US. held on, 2-1, to take gold. She also scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Brazil in the 2008 Beijing Games. |
| As for the men’s side in international soccer championship matches … yeah, put Lloyd down for the greatest title game performer in US history. | As for the men’s side in international soccer championship matches … yeah, put Lloyd down for the greatest title game performer in US history. |
| Now let’s see how the two-time Olympic gold medal winner compares to other Olympians. The Holy Trinity of American summer Olympic performances are: Bob Beamon’s leap of 8.90m (29ft 2.5in) in 1968 – a jump so remarkable for the time that Beamon landed beyond the measuring equipment; Florence Griffith-Joyner’s four goldsin 1988, including world records in the 100m and 200m that still stand today; and Michael Phelps’ eight golds in 2008, capped by his final millisecond victory in the 100m fly. | Now let’s see how the two-time Olympic gold medal winner compares to other Olympians. The Holy Trinity of American summer Olympic performances are: Bob Beamon’s leap of 8.90m (29ft 2.5in) in 1968 – a jump so remarkable for the time that Beamon landed beyond the measuring equipment; Florence Griffith-Joyner’s four goldsin 1988, including world records in the 100m and 200m that still stand today; and Michael Phelps’ eight golds in 2008, capped by his final millisecond victory in the 100m fly. |
| All of those athletes competed in individual sports, relays notwithstanding, while soccer is far from an individual sport … but Lloyd made the opening minutes of USA-Japan look like her own event. At the very least, she deserves to be in the conversation with Beamon, the woman from the Sir Mix-A-Lot song and the Subway commercials guy. That’s pretty good company. | All of those athletes competed in individual sports, relays notwithstanding, while soccer is far from an individual sport … but Lloyd made the opening minutes of USA-Japan look like her own event. At the very least, she deserves to be in the conversation with Beamon, the woman from the Sir Mix-A-Lot song and the Subway commercials guy. That’s pretty good company. |
| In Winter Games there’s speedskater Bonnie Blair at the 1992 and 1994 Games, winning two golds at each, including the 1,000m gold by a record margin, and Eric Heiden’s five individual golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. In team sports, 1980 Olympic ice hockey goalie Jim Craig deserves consideration, but his trademark game — 36 saves on 39 shots against the high-powered and heavily favored Soviet Union — came in the semi-final. Heiden’s feats may top Lloyd’s, but let’s not call it over until the US introduces ice soccer into the Olympics. (Don’t doubt it. If we got halfpipe in the Games, we can get that.) | In Winter Games there’s speedskater Bonnie Blair at the 1992 and 1994 Games, winning two golds at each, including the 1,000m gold by a record margin, and Eric Heiden’s five individual golds at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. In team sports, 1980 Olympic ice hockey goalie Jim Craig deserves consideration, but his trademark game — 36 saves on 39 shots against the high-powered and heavily favored Soviet Union — came in the semi-final. Heiden’s feats may top Lloyd’s, but let’s not call it over until the US introduces ice soccer into the Olympics. (Don’t doubt it. If we got halfpipe in the Games, we can get that.) |
| Individual performances outside the Olympics that deserve consideration are Joe Louis knocking out Max Schmeling in 2 min 4sec in 1936, John McEnroe dominating Jimmy Connors in the 1984 Wimbledon final, Serena Williams dominating most anyone she plays when she’s at her best in a championship match, and Tiger Woods at the 2000 US Open and 1997 Masters. (Remember Tiger Woods?) There’s also Secretariat in 1973, but if we’re throwing random animals into the debate, we have to add some especially fast cheetahs and falcons. Let’s keep it humans only, yes? | Individual performances outside the Olympics that deserve consideration are Joe Louis knocking out Max Schmeling in 2 min 4sec in 1936, John McEnroe dominating Jimmy Connors in the 1984 Wimbledon final, Serena Williams dominating most anyone she plays when she’s at her best in a championship match, and Tiger Woods at the 2000 US Open and 1997 Masters. (Remember Tiger Woods?) There’s also Secretariat in 1973, but if we’re throwing random animals into the debate, we have to add some especially fast cheetahs and falcons. Let’s keep it humans only, yes? |
| An easier comparison for Lloyd’s big game is the top performances in the traditional American team sports of baseball, basketball and football. | An easier comparison for Lloyd’s big game is the top performances in the traditional American team sports of baseball, basketball and football. |
| LeBron James’ 2015 NBA finals effort got of attention last month, but in addition to not winning the title, his game six performance in the series finale was more one of exhaustion that Lloyd-style dominance. Bill Russell – and not Michael Jordan, really! Sorry, children of the ‘90s) – is the bar in basketball. In game seven of the 1962 finals, he scored 30 points and had 40 rebounds in a 110-107 overtime win over the rival Lakers. Four years later, in another game seven win over the Lakers, Russell put up 25 points and 32 rebounds. There is a reason the Bill Russell award is given to the NBA finals MVP. Maybe the Golden Ball for the women’s World Cup should now be called the Carli Lloyd trophy. | LeBron James’ 2015 NBA finals effort got of attention last month, but in addition to not winning the title, his game six performance in the series finale was more one of exhaustion that Lloyd-style dominance. Bill Russell – and not Michael Jordan, really! Sorry, children of the ‘90s) – is the bar in basketball. In game seven of the 1962 finals, he scored 30 points and had 40 rebounds in a 110-107 overtime win over the rival Lakers. Four years later, in another game seven win over the Lakers, Russell put up 25 points and 32 rebounds. There is a reason the Bill Russell award is given to the NBA finals MVP. Maybe the Golden Ball for the women’s World Cup should now be called the Carli Lloyd trophy. |
| Baseball’s most famous championship-clinching performances are by pitchers. San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner closed out the final five innings of last year’s World Series in dominating fashion. That drew comparisons to Sandy Koufax’s game seven, three-hit, 10-strikeout performance in 1965 to win the Dodgers the title. But they both were trumped by Minnesota’s Jack Morris throwing 10 shutout innings in game seven of the 1991 World Series. | Baseball’s most famous championship-clinching performances are by pitchers. San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner closed out the final five innings of last year’s World Series in dominating fashion. That drew comparisons to Sandy Koufax’s game seven, three-hit, 10-strikeout performance in 1965 to win the Dodgers the title. But they both were trumped by Minnesota’s Jack Morris throwing 10 shutout innings in game seven of the 1991 World Series. |
| Football’s best is Steve Young. In Carli Lloyd fashion, he ended Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995 as quickly as it started, tossing four first half touchdown passes against the Chargers to give the 49ers a 28-7 lead. He threw two more in the second half and the 49ers won, 49-26. I don’t know how six Super Bowl touchdown passes compare to three World Cup final goals, only that I’ll happily take them both for my team. | Football’s best is Steve Young. In Carli Lloyd fashion, he ended Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995 as quickly as it started, tossing four first half touchdown passes against the Chargers to give the 49ers a 28-7 lead. He threw two more in the second half and the 49ers won, 49-26. I don’t know how six Super Bowl touchdown passes compare to three World Cup final goals, only that I’ll happily take them both for my team. |
| Like in any sports debate, there is no right answer. There is no clear greatest performance ever by an American athlete in a championship. The best compliment for Lloyd’s remarkable World Cup final performance – outside of the tangible rewards of the World Cup trophy and the Golden Ball (and the millions in endorsement dollars about to come her way) – is that, by any measure, her championship hat trick deserves to be mentioned with the top performances of all-time. Everyone has to agree on that. And getting sports fans to agree on anything might even be more impressive than scoring three goals in a World Cup final. | Like in any sports debate, there is no right answer. There is no clear greatest performance ever by an American athlete in a championship. The best compliment for Lloyd’s remarkable World Cup final performance – outside of the tangible rewards of the World Cup trophy and the Golden Ball (and the millions in endorsement dollars about to come her way) – is that, by any measure, her championship hat trick deserves to be mentioned with the top performances of all-time. Everyone has to agree on that. And getting sports fans to agree on anything might even be more impressive than scoring three goals in a World Cup final. |
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