Forsberg Feedback

from ben schuchardt:

I get your point with Forsberg. You want the “best player in the world” to be the Great One, or the Great One you don’t remember, Bobby Orr. Guess what? He isn’t that good. Neither are other countless “best players in the world” who occupy the slot because somebody has to. Larry Holmes wasn’t one of the best fighters of all time, in my opinion, but he was clearly the “best fighter in the world” when he held the championship. Tom Watson was never Tiger Woods, even though he damn sure was the “best player in the world” for a time. Peter Forsberg has been the best player in the world for several years now. He isn’t heads and tails above everyone else. He has a peer group. Tough break.

What angers me about your post is the gratuitous comparison to Brett Favre, who was arguably the most overrated player of all time, but was never “the best in the world” by a long shot. You could have been fairer by choosing any number of players that were in fact the best for a period of time, but not of all time.

If not for the herd-think of NFL watchers who are overly influenced by John Madden, Brett Favre would be just some guy with a strong arm who caught lightning in a bottle from time to time. Think Kerry Collins with a little more consistency.

i certainly didn't mean to anger anyone and i'm sorry if my off the cuff comments offended, however, i don't think comparing forsberg to favre is unreasonable. while favre has been unjustifyably given god status by the media, IMO he was for a time the "best QB in the world". i'd say for the period between 1994 and 1998, there wasn't a better QB on the planet. favre wasn't head and shoulders above his peers during those years (aikman, young, elway), but neither has forsberg been head and shoulders above his peers during his period of dominance (as you mention above). i'm as sick of the brett favre worship as the next guy, but he was 10x the player kerry collins was.

i think it is more unfair to categorize forsberg with tom watson and larry holmes than favre. while watson and holmes don't compare favorably to the greatest players ever in their respective professions, both of them were head and shoulders ahead of their competition during their careers. you cannot say the same thing about forsberg. those guys were clearly the best, while forsberg was/is arguably the best.

you're right that expecting to see someone as impactful as 99 is unreasonable, but i do expect someone being billed as the best player in the world to be obviously impactful every game. i don't see that with forsberg right now. i don't say that with any sort of malice or agenda, i'm just talking about what i am seeing. as a flyers fan, i'll be glad to be wrong. maybe my expectations for the "best player in the world" are too high? i don't think they are, but that's a possiblity as well.

bottom line, i still root for him, i still like having him on the team, and i still wish we hadn't traded him away in the first place. i'm a peter forsberg fan. i'm just questioning this notion that he's the best player in the world (with the caveat that i admit i didn't get to see enough of him in his prime).