by Bruce Tyson

Created on: February 23, 2010

One of the greatest running backs of all time, LaDainian Tomlinson, was just released by the team he helped make great, but he was also victimized by them because they never had a championship team. Sure, Tomlinson is sure not to experience hardships in life anytime soon, but his situation illustrates the overall dilemma where businesses put profits ahead of loyalty or other human considerations.

Tomlinson has posted impressive statistics over the course of his career. For example, he is 8th in all-time rushing and 3rd on the touchdown list with 153. His last season, however, resulted in career lows in multiple categories, and he has largely been written off as a superstar whose time has come and gone.

Many observers point to Tomlinson’s age of thirty as an indication that his career is pretty much over. After all, shouldn’t he know that running backs accomplish very little when they reach this age? The entire process of letting him go could have been avoided had he had the decency to retire when he saw his performance and health simultaneously decline.

LaDainian Tomlinson has a lot of enthusiastic fans who admire his style, his achievements, and his persona. Still, do fans make an athlete the best ever? Unfortunately not. For most of his career however, Tomlinson was under or over the 1,400 yard mark on the season and he had a record year for touchdowns in 2006. His opponents have always been afraid of him because of his well known potency.

Perhaps the greatest achievements of his career were incidental. His remarkable play is widely recognized to have paved the way for 2010 Superbowl-winner Drew Brees’ successful career. He is also credited for empowering quarterback Phil Rivers’ career.

Unfortunately, when athletes are evaluated for greatness, the critics look for championship victories, something that LaDainian Tomlinson has never enjoyed. While his performance has always been outstanding, his claim to fame has been limited by the organization he helped rebuild.

There is no doubt that Tomlinson will be a shoe-in member of Football’s Hall of Fame, but those who want his accolades to include being the greatest running back ever are likely to be disappointed. His numbers just don’t quite add up to make him the best ever running back in the game’s history, although we will all remember him as the best one we have ever had the privilege to see play.

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