The news has come out that Pele, the legendary Brazilian football star has died. He was 82 and suffering from colon cancer, so you could say that this was to be expected. However, there is a sense that the world has lost something valuable and for the second time this year, I find myself feeling emotional over the loss of someone I never knew at all (the first time being the Queen).
Why does the
loss of a man, I never met, feel so sad? I guess, you could say that although I
am as far away as possible from Pele, it feels like he was part of my life for
so long. The funny thing is, when I started watching international soccer, Pele
had long since retired and the star of international soccer in the 1980s was
Diego Maradona. I grew up seeing the magic of Maradona, yet, Pele whom I never
saw seemed so much “greater.”
So, the
question of what defines “greatness” needs to be asked. In answering that
question, I would probably say that the answer lies in “artistry” and “humanity,”
which are inevitably hard concepts to understand in a world driven by data and
statistics. Pele has statistically done many things which today’s modern
superstars are still struggling to overcome. However, the old saying is that “records
are made to be broken.” The recently retired Roger Federer, for example won 20
grand-slams and has seen his two rivals overtake his record. Yet, he’s still a
leading contender for the “greatest-ever” title. So, nobody doubts that Pele’s
records will eventually be surpassed, yet like Mr. Federer in tennis, nobody doubts
that Pele will remain the “greatest” in the minds of generations to come.
So, greatness
has to be more than something about recordable statistics. I’d argue that a
great figure is someone who transcends their profession and all sorts of boundaries
like race, class, nationality and so on. They are figures that belong to humanity
rather than to a particular group. Let’s take Nelson Mandela for example. He
was the first black president of South Africa. However, as far as humanity is
concerned, he’s more than a black politician in South Africa. He’s an example
of what the rest of us try to emulate.
In the case of
Mandela, it’s easy to see the greatness – he was a national leader of high
moral standing and inspired hope on a continent where national leaders are
better known for inspiring despair. Can the same be said of sports-heroes? Unlike
say, artist or musicians, the don’t leave behind something tangible. You can
see a Van Gough and you can listen to Mozart but do you know who was the best
boxer was two-hundred years ago?
Well, there are
two sporting icons that come to mind when you talk about greatness. They are Mohammad
Ali and Pele. Both became greater than their respective professions. You don’t
have watch boxing to know Muhammad Ali and you don’t have to watch soccer to
know Pele. Both men were artist. Watching Ali fight was to watch an artist in action.
Watching Pele in action was watching a virtuoso:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk-yRhF-VSU
As current Brazilian
superstar Neymar points out – “Pele turned football into an art.” How do you
define an art? Well, I guess you could say that an art is something so
beautiful that it makes people stop and look and feel something. Paintings of
great masters for example, are so powerful that people stop what they’re doing
to admire. For a sports star, you become an artist when even those on the opposite
end of the field find the privilege of playing against you greater than the
sting of defeat. Former England player described his experiences with Pele as “I
was proud to be on the pitch with him.” The tributes from today’s stars also
make the point that greatness is also about inspiring others to be great.
Like Mohamad
Ali, Pele also worked beyond his sport. After retirement, the man worked
tirelessly to give the poor hope and he fought against the corruption in Brazilian
soccer, earning him the enmity of fellow Brazilian João Havelange, who ran FIFA
at the time. Pele was also accused of having “leftist” sympathies by Brazil’s
military dictatorship.
Whilst Pele was
a little fond of the ladies (he was married three times), he avoided the hard
partying lifestyle of many of his contemporaries, including Diego Maradona
(Pele died at 82 – Maradona died at 60). He argued that it was important to set
an example.
I never watched
Pele play except for the clips of him on Youtube. Yet, he was a presence in my
life and I look at soccer matches through image that he created. This is a
greatness that lives beyond your prime and even your own life. If anyone
deserves to rest in peace, it is Pele.
No comments
Post a Comment