Can you be the greatest of all-time without winning a championship?
My answer is no. You don’t have to win many. But you’ve got to win one.
If Dan Marino had won one Super Bowl, he’d be the greatest quarterback of all-time. Marino put up huge numbers. He’s probably the best-ever pure passer of the football. Light years ahead of, say, Joe Montana and Tom Brady.
But Joe Montana won four Super Bowls, and was MVP in three.
Brady has won five Super Bowls, and was MVP in four.
Montana and Brady have great stats, too. Most feel that Montana and Brady are better than Marino. Winning is part of the standard.
But I’d take Marino over Montana or Brady. Over Brett Favre and Terry Bradshaw, too. Marino was better than lots of QBs who won rings.
I don’t know if Alexander Ovechkin cares about his legacy. I suspect he does. Ovechkin’s legacy needed that Stanley Cup. Despite scoring 607 regular-season goals en route to 800, Ovechkin was going to be remembered as the guy that never won.
Just like Marino.
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