With the retirement of Darren Lockyer, the “I” word is being thrown around about several players with a relatively casual ease that belittles its lofty status.
There is little doubt that Queensland’s latest hero in number six is one of the best players in his generation and a hall of fame lock. But immortal status, not yet.
In today’s world of instant information and gratification, our description of athletes is so prone to hyperbole that every year we hear stories about how this player is the strongest, the fastest, best step, best reader of a defence and so on.
For instance, Billy Slater has been called the best fullback ever, which means we’ve already locked him in as an Immortal.
Johnathan Thurston is roughly at par with Slater as a player, so he must also be in the frame and so we can’t also forget about Andrew Johns.
If we keep pumping out Immortals at this rate, funeral homes are going to go out of business.
An Immortal, by definition, is supposed to live forever, in a rugby league sense, it is the memory of the player that we are referring to.
Isn’t it then, a little premature, to anoint someone when the grass is still fresh in the studs of their boots?
We can’t tell if these players will be immortal yet, as we can’t tell how they will linger in our memory.
I believe Wally Lewis is the best player I’ve seen play and yet I still think we jumped the gun with his immortality.
We didn’t allow the time to see if the legend could survive on its own.
We also need to honour the exclusivity. This honour isn’t for the greats of our game, that is what the hall of fame is for.
Most players being thrown up in this light need a visitors’ pass to get past the bouncer.
This is a club for those who don’t just stand out over time but stand above those greats.
For me, there are still two legends in David Brown and Dally Messenger, who fulfil the criteria of immortality more appropriately than any modern player and yet are still checking with the doorman to see if their name is on the list.
So I beg the journalists that are so prone to this overuse of hyperbole, to not destroy the Immortals’ concept.
Please, for the love of 1908, Sattler’s jaw, Brown’s toe, the little master’s broken arm and everything else that is sacred in rugby league folklore, don’t for the love of god, water down the immortals and make it just another hall of fame.
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