Heading into the Super Bowl, it seemed like the Steelers-Cardinals matchup was destined to be a flop. But with a fourth quarter that included a safety, a 64-yard touchdown pass and an incredible two-minute drill for the victory, it turned out to be pretty exciting. In fact, many have been quick to deem it one of, if not the, best Super Bowls ever. Many have also been quick to deem the Steelers the greatest franchise in NFL history, as their six Super Bowl rings are now the most of any team.
To those people, my message is simple: Chill.
Yes, it was a great game, but Giants-Pats, Eagles-Pats, Panthers-Pats, Rams-Pats (say, did anyone notice the Pats have been in the Super Bowl a lot recently?) and Rams-Titans were all great games, and that's just the past decade. And to Steelers fans, it is now inarguable that your team has been the most successful during the Super Bowl era, but are they the "greatest" team ever? The 49ers and their five Super Bowl rings are pretty great. The Giants and their seven combined Super Bowls and NFL Championships are pretty great, as are the Packers with their 12 combined victories (though twice they won them both in the same year when they briefly overlapped).
So, as you can tell, I'm hesitant to label anything from Sunday's events as particularly historic. Well, except for one thing. And it had nothing to do with the Super Bowl.
A little less than 12 hours before the big game started, something more significant happened in the world of sports. Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in a four-and-a-half-hour marathon to claim his first Australian Open title and secure his place as the best tennis player in the world.
So, you're asking, what's so profound about the ATP's world No. 1 player being the best? Because he's not just the best right now -- he's the best ever.
Let's make this clear. I'm not saying he's the most successful ever; his six Grand Slam titles are still a far cry from Pete Sampras' 14. But I am saying he's the best ever to grace a tennis court. And it's not just because I'm a fan of his hairstyle.
If you've ever seen Nadal play, you know how magnificent he is. There's almost no serve he can't return, no drop shot he can't get to. He hits impossible, opposite-court (not cross-court, when you pull the ball -- opposite-court, when you go the other way) winners like it's nothing. The topspin he gets on the ball is outrageous, even when compared to other elite players. But don't just take my word for how good he is. Look at what he's done.
He's now won three Grand Slams in the past calendar year, beating Federer in the finals of each one. Mind you, Federer has 13 Grand Slam titles, and many have argued that he is the best ever. But Nadal has defeated him 13 of the 19 times they've met --including a straight-set victory at age 17 in their first matchup -- and in each of their past five duels. That also includes their legendary match at Wimbledon, in which Nadal ended Federer's five-year winning streak on his nemesis's best surface.
He's won four straight French Opens, something that only Bjorn Borg has done, and his 81 consecutive wins on clay represent the longest winning streak on any surface in the open era.
He's an Olympic gold medalist in singles, unlike Federer or Sampras. And with his most recent victory on Sunday, he becomes just the fourth player in history to win Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces -- a list from which Federer and Sampras are also conspicuously absent.
Still, the majority of the people will remember Sunday for Larry Fitzgerald's touchdowns or Santonio Holmes' final-drive performance or how much money they won or lost. They probably won't remember that it was the day Rafael Nadal proved that Wimbledon was no fluke.
That's OK, though. I have a feeling he's about to prove it over and over and over again.
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David Heck is a junior majoring in philosophy. He can be reached at David.Heck@tufts.edu
