In defence of sports greatness, from Justify to the Warriors
Watching the super horse Justify cruise to the Triple Crown on Saturday by winning the Belmont Stakes in New York City was a sublime moment for lovers of sports. The three-year-old became just the 13th horse in the modern history of American thoroughbred racing to win the three jewels of racing’s Triple Crown.
In a sports world overflowing with superlatives – many of them unwarranted – his gallop to glory is worthy of all the praise Justify earned. He defeated 35 horses in the three legs of his Triple Crown win, more than any horse in history. He was also just the second horse in modern history to win the Triple Crown without racing as a two-year-old.
And yet there were still some who wanted to disparage the accomplishment because it came just three years after the immortal American Pharoah won a Triple Crown. Or won in a slower time than the mighty Secretariat in 1973. That plus the lack of a legitimate rival is thought to have diminished Justify’s wonderful triumph in the eyes of some critics.
But casting shade on great sports accomplishments seems in vogue these days. When the Golden State Warriors swept LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers a couple of days before Justify’s triumph, it was met with a similar “meh.” To many, the fact that the Warriors and Cavs met in the National Basketball Association Finals four years in a row has somehow lessened the Warriors’ feat.