We’ve all seen how pressure in sports can affect athletes in the moment. Missed free throws, kicks that go wide right; you can almost see the weight of the pressure on an athlete at critical moments sometimes.
Even superstar athletes aren’t immune to fumbling an opportunity when the pressure sets in; however the pressure of a sport or a particular position does separate the superstars from the supposed to be stars. The importance of a sports moment dictates how much pressure is involved for an athlete who’s trying to perform their best when it’s most critical that they do.
Even though pressure can affect sports results negatively- the opposite can also be true for the special athletes in the sports world. The burden of the expectation to win can bring the best out of athletes also.
This is the pressure principle that separates Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, and Floyd Mayweather from James Harden, Philip Rivers, and Adrian Broner.
A true Hall of Fame caliber athlete isn’t just great by themselves, they elevate the level of their teammates and they’re clutch crunch time performers. A real superstar is made in moments; pressure moments.
The pressure knelt; supposed-to-be star player will give you great play when there isn’t anything on the line. Things change quickly when you add the pressure of a playoff game, or the deciding game of a series. You start to see a pattern develop of subpar performances and disappearing acts when a team needs their superstar to show up the most.
When you understand the pressure principle it makes it a no-brainer that Tom Brady is the goat. Pressure moments were always thriving and excelling moments for 12. Speaking of the goat – Michael Jordan filled you with dread if you were rooting against the Bulls. You just knew that if it was winning time, it was Jordan’s time to shine. Michael Jordan had the ultimate killer instinct and he was absolutely lethal when it was time to win.
Athletes like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady and Floyd Mayweather were absolute closers when it was time to perform at their highest level in the most important moments.
History has also shown us that there are athletes that stand on the other side of the pressure principle. Players like Philip Rivers. There was never a pressure situation that Rivers couldn’t find a way to collapse under. Philip Rivers took a 14-2 record into the playoffs and lost the only game his team played. As time passed, Rivers almost became predictable when it came to throwing crushing late game interceptions-even pick sixes.
In basketball James Harden does a good Philip Rivers impression by never showing up when you need him to the most. His disappearing acts were well documented-so much so, the narrative became deafening once he left the Nets to play with Joel Embiid on the 76ers. He went from being the possible reason that the 76ers might take the next leap; to the reason they couldn’t make any noise in the playoffs.
The pressure principle at work in different athletes produces cracks and breaks of different sizes. Carson Wentz and Ben Simmons have endured pressure induced chasms and sinkholes in their careers. Simmons ended up not being able to bring himself to step foot on the floor in Philadelphia again, and Wentz has been swallowed up by his habitual mishaps everywhere he’s been.
Whenever were seeking clarity about what exactly we’ve seen from an athlete, hopefully the empty calorie stats of somebody like Philip Rivers won’t distract people from seeing that he never led teams to wins by elevating in the moment like Tom Brady.
Someone like Kobe Bryant made a global, reptilian name for himself based on not only his physical talent; but also his full embrace of the biggest moments for his teams. He never shrank from a challenge and inspired people the world over to attack their goals like the Black Mamba did.
Now this is the pressure principle at work, and to put it simply: How will you react when the stakes are highest and the pressure weighs a ton? The answer to that is written all through the legacy of the G.O.A.T.s.
