Ronaldo Pictures
Apart from politics, it is evident to me that the arena of sports is the other in which partisan passion precludes reasoned judgement and measured commentary. I am led to this comparison for the reason that I have often heard the analysis of fans about the performance of an opposing team and been starkly reminded of the lazy analysis, ignorance and outright misrepresentation that accompanies most political commentary. Take as an example the announcement that soccer's leading striker of the mid 1990s and early noughties was taking retirement.
Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima (aka Ronaldo) is certainly in any list of top scorers compiled by a dispassionate soccer fan and has many solid achievements that qualify him as an outlier in that competitive field. My admiration aside, I am completely amazed at the way leading sports journalists are describing his career and achievements. The most accurate analysis of his achievements and demonstration of either the partisanship and ignorance of many journalists this one by Brian Phillips in Slate.
That piece restored my remaining faith in taking journalism seriously since as a person who is reasonably familiar with his achievements and able to verify some of the claims made about the same career, it was obvious that most renditions about his vulnerability to injury and unfulfilled promises are complete nonsense. Ronaldo won every prize that a soccer player would strive for and each, at least with a repeat. What I remember most about him is that if ever there was a soccer player with the ability to finish efficiently and with ease, Ronaldo was it. This guy was the big game player who delivered by scoring and celebrates by flashing his right index finger in the air as if to say, "that's nothing". To conclude, the guy is certainly a better player than many journalists can check facts.
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