You can pretty much tell when Stephen A. Smith hasn't followed a particular sport by the way he talks about the top stars in the game. His recent comparison for Argentina megastar Lionel Messi is further evidence of it.
On Friday's edition of First Take, Smith was on a panel with Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and Roger Bennett giving their predictions for Sunday's FIFA World Cup Final between Argentina and Spain.
Smith declared that Argentina will win because they have Messi and then compared Argentina to the Michael Jordan Bulls of the late-90s and how dominant he was against Phoenix and Utah.
"I think Messi is great," he said emphatically. "I think Messi will be just like Jordan - beat a superior Phoenix Suns or a team like Utah - because they didn't have Jordan and Spain doesn't have Messi. It's just that simple."
"Messi closes," he added at the end of the segment.
Messi & Jordan
While Smith definitely meant that comparison as a compliment, fans quickly got expressed annoyance at him for comparing Messi to anyone, since soccer fans widely believe that Messi's greatness puts him above any athlete, in any sport, ever.
"Jordan wishes he could be Messi," one user angrily responded.
"Messi is greater than Jordan," another declared.
"What is this 'will be?' Jordan is Messi. Not the other way around," a third wrote.
© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
"Messi clears Jordan."
"You have seen nothing... you should have watched him in his prime.... it was really scary..."
"Messi is way bigger than Jordan lil bro."
"Messi > Jordan."
It looks like fans are being just a little pedantic over Smith's use of a comparison. To be fair, as massive as Messi is around the world, he still isn't revered by the wider American sports audience the way that the all-time greats of basketball, baseball and football are. Any Mt. Rushmore of all-time great athletes made in America will probably be missing the stars of soccer, which is widely seen as the fifth-most popular sport in the country.
Smith may come across as "wrong" to soccer fans, but he means well.
