Pirlo

Caught a little Champions League at the gym today. Juventus playing Monaco, I believe. Maybe it was a replay. Who knows. But it gave me a few minutes to watch the man I consider the only genius to be playing sports right now: Andrea Pirlo. Watch the man play for 30 minutes and you'll see what I mean. He sees openings a few crucial tics before anyone else. The balls he plays are ridiculous. You watch him play and think - how come that guy never runs, is undersized, slow, and not physically up to snuff for this high level soccer - and yet, is often the most effective player on the field.

I'm not saying he is the best soccer player in the world. I'm saying he's the only sporting genius I know. I call him a genius because he literally sees things that ALL the other players do not. He is one of the only players I watch who makes plays I cannot see from the TV.

Name another athlete like this. I cannot think of one off the top of my head. There are no basketball players. Steph Curry has an insane skill. LeBron is a freak athlete. But none of these guys are geniuses. Perhaps Magic or Bird in the old days...or Tony Allen's defensive freakishness.

Maybe Federer. Maybe Peyton Manning when in top form. No one is coming to me...