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Those pics 
Muhammad Ali has died at age 74...RIP to the GOAT
- Thread in 'General' Thread starter Started by stillin729,
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This might be my favorite picture of him
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Not trying to pour salt on the wound (RIP), but the greatest of my era and all-time (IMO) was Tyson.
Let the flame begin.
Let the flame begin.
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^ nobody cares
Buster Douglas would have never beaten Ali, never, not even in a video game.
RIP to the greatest. This one hurts because he was such a leader outside of sports while so many other athletes and celebrities won't even speak up.
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Frazier beat Ali and IMO he was the best of that era. Tyson was a beast. He woulda wrecked Douglas, but lost the discipline of training once Gus died...
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You do know that there was a second fight, right? And in addition to beating Frazier in the rematch, Ali also beat Foreman who absolutely destroyed Frazier. So basically at one point there was a rock-paper-scissors relationship between Ali, Foreman and Frazier during that period, but in the end Ali turned out to be the paper that could beat the scissors as well.
And Tyson was not on Ali's level. He was probably not on Frazier's or Foreman's level either while we're at it.
alp
Banned
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Rip ali
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R.I.P. to the goat
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So many legends lost. RIP to the greatest of all time.
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Like many of you, this is a tough one for me.
In reading through many of the tributes to Muhammad Ali, I find myself troubled by the tendency to minimize or restrict his legacy to his athletic achievements.
Muhammad Ali should not be remembered as a sports hero. Muhammad Ali should be remembered as a hero, period.
I'm too young to have witnessed Muhammad Ali box live, in real time. My sports heroes, as a child, were athletes like Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson, whose stories were actively unfolding before me. By the mid-80's, Ali's victories, it seemed, were all in the past. His greatness, I thought, consisted of a bunch of musty footage and faded, iconic photographs, synonymous with triumph and glory. In the current day, I would see him playfully posing for pictures with celebrities and world leaders. Everyone over the age of 20 likely recalls Ali carrying the Olympic torch in 1996. It had yet to occur to me that these mainstream celebrations of Ali were, in fact, fresh victories - not a victory tour.
Whatever we might think, now, of Ali endorsing Ronald Reagan in 1984, the fact that Muhammad Ali - a man who refused to serve the United States military and vociferously decried the scourge of American racism and White Supremacy - would be invited to the White House was a victory.
While the demagogue currently attempting to follow Reagan's footsteps responded incredulously to the notion of Muslim sports heroes ("Obama said in his speech that Muslims are our sports heroes. What sport is he talking about, and who?"), it seems worth noting that, during his 1983 visit to the White House, Ali presented Reagan with an autographed Muslim prayer book.
We expect bravery from professional fighters, Ali's courage and resolve transcended his sport.
Whereas Michael Jordan in his prime refused to openly support Harvey Gantt, a challenger to the notoriously racist Senator Jesse Helms, under the rationale that "Republicans buy sneakers, too", Muhammad Ali in his prime refused what would have been a purely ceremonial induction into the armed forces and faced the loss of his titles, banishment from boxing in his home country, and the scorn of millions to stand up for what he believed.
Today, everyone with a few dozen social media followers worries about their "brand." Wealth and fame are seemingly prized above all else and glorifying military service is viewed as an unquestioned act of patriotism.
How many people - let alone celebrities - would risk what Ali risked on principle?
He won.
What others prop themselves up to be, Ali simply, effortlessly, was. His exploits as a boxer were the stuff of legend before words like "legendary" and "epic" became threadbare from overuse. Everyone knows about the "rope a dope." Everyone knows "Ali bomaye." Everyone knows the "Thrilla in Manilla."
To many of us, though, his greatest achievements occurred outside the ring - and his greatest opponent was not Frazier, or Foreman, or Norton, or even MS.
When Ali fought racism and injustice, he fought for all of us.
He was, and will always be, our champion.
In reading through many of the tributes to Muhammad Ali, I find myself troubled by the tendency to minimize or restrict his legacy to his athletic achievements.
Muhammad Ali should not be remembered as a sports hero. Muhammad Ali should be remembered as a hero, period.
I'm too young to have witnessed Muhammad Ali box live, in real time. My sports heroes, as a child, were athletes like Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson, whose stories were actively unfolding before me. By the mid-80's, Ali's victories, it seemed, were all in the past. His greatness, I thought, consisted of a bunch of musty footage and faded, iconic photographs, synonymous with triumph and glory. In the current day, I would see him playfully posing for pictures with celebrities and world leaders. Everyone over the age of 20 likely recalls Ali carrying the Olympic torch in 1996. It had yet to occur to me that these mainstream celebrations of Ali were, in fact, fresh victories - not a victory tour.
Whatever we might think, now, of Ali endorsing Ronald Reagan in 1984, the fact that Muhammad Ali - a man who refused to serve the United States military and vociferously decried the scourge of American racism and White Supremacy - would be invited to the White House was a victory.
While the demagogue currently attempting to follow Reagan's footsteps responded incredulously to the notion of Muslim sports heroes ("Obama said in his speech that Muslims are our sports heroes. What sport is he talking about, and who?"), it seems worth noting that, during his 1983 visit to the White House, Ali presented Reagan with an autographed Muslim prayer book.
We expect bravery from professional fighters, Ali's courage and resolve transcended his sport.
Whereas Michael Jordan in his prime refused to openly support Harvey Gantt, a challenger to the notoriously racist Senator Jesse Helms, under the rationale that "Republicans buy sneakers, too", Muhammad Ali in his prime refused what would have been a purely ceremonial induction into the armed forces and faced the loss of his titles, banishment from boxing in his home country, and the scorn of millions to stand up for what he believed.
Today, everyone with a few dozen social media followers worries about their "brand." Wealth and fame are seemingly prized above all else and glorifying military service is viewed as an unquestioned act of patriotism.
How many people - let alone celebrities - would risk what Ali risked on principle?
Think about how Ali is revered today by people from all walks of life. At the time, even Jackie Robinson publicly chastised Ali. Today, people from all over the world will deeply mourn the loss of a conscientious objector, a proud, unbowed, unapologetic Black Muslim who refused to back down or sell out when it mattered most. In 1967, Ali took on the United States of America. Not thirty years later, he was asked to represent the United States and light the Olympic Cauldron at the '96 games in Atlanta.
He won.
What others prop themselves up to be, Ali simply, effortlessly, was. His exploits as a boxer were the stuff of legend before words like "legendary" and "epic" became threadbare from overuse. Everyone knows about the "rope a dope." Everyone knows "Ali bomaye." Everyone knows the "Thrilla in Manilla."
To many of us, though, his greatest achievements occurred outside the ring - and his greatest opponent was not Frazier, or Foreman, or Norton, or even MS.
When Ali fought racism and injustice, he fought for all of us.
He was, and will always be, our champion.
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In just thinking about the "protests" surrounding Donald Sterling from various athletes on the Clippers & the NBA, REALLY pales in comparison to what Ali stood for and actually carried out back in his day.
RIP to a true legend. Sad day.
RIP to a true legend. Sad day.
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RIP [emoji]128532[/emoji][emoji]128591[/emoji][emoji]127997[/emoji]
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Methodical Management
Well-written testimony. Your words, simply and succinctly, express the lost of an iconic hero. RIP
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r.i.p |I
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Top Boy
formerly jay patt
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RIP to the greatest to ever do it....
Getting a frame to throw in the new crib to commemorate the legend.
Getting a frame to throw in the new crib to commemorate the legend.
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2016 is no joke so far damn.
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Damn......
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Learned about this before going to bed and I wake and I'm still getting chills thinking of the gravity of this all...Rest in Power to the GOAT and one of the most charismatic and combative spirits who was never afraid to take a stand on meaningful issues no matter how it was perceived by the mainstream. There won't ever be another Ali
2016 has not been kind to the genuine legends
2016 has not been kind to the genuine legends
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R.I.P
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Damn
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Greatest promo of all time man.
Greatest combat sports heel of all time.
Had people so upset at him during the time leading up to fights that they paid their money to see him lose. People tend to forget that.
A practice copied by so many others. Flair, McGregor, and Floyd.
There is a good interview with Jim Ross and Mauro Ranallo that go in depth about Ali in the 70s.
I will post it later.
But yea man, damn.
Greatest combat sports heel of all time.
Had people so upset at him during the time leading up to fights that they paid their money to see him lose. People tend to forget that.
A practice copied by so many others. Flair, McGregor, and Floyd.
There is a good interview with Jim Ross and Mauro Ranallo that go in depth about Ali in the 70s.
I will post it later.
But yea man, damn.
