Listing up alternative fathers for several athletes and teams.
First of all, shoutout to all the dads out there. Happy Father's Day! Dad jokes will not be scorned today. Not in this house.
We also have a special topic that wouldn't include any iconic father-son/father-daughter duo in sports. In a break from tradition, here's a list of athletes who dominated so much that they practically became the "father" of their opponents.
Toronto Raptors’ dad: LeBron James
LeBron James' historic run to eight straight NBA Finals has a lot of casualties. The Toronto Raptors might have been the biggest one. For years, the King made Canadians cry by eliminating the Raptors in the playoffs. Remember the Barney memes that came out after LeBron eliminated the Raptors? ESPN's Mark Jones even called the city "LeBronto." In total, LBJ has a 12-2 win-loss record against Toronto in the postseason, eliminating them three times. That includes this buzzer beater:
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Mexican boxers' dad: Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao's fights in the 2000s made us unconsciously memorize Mexico's national anthem (at least the tune). It could be argued that his best years started when he started dropping Mexican boxers in consecutive bouts. The eight-division world champion's fights against Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, and Juan Manuel Marquez are all classics. Pacman, who is now getting his feet wet as a coach by training a celebrity, was so dominant before that he even gained the nickname "Mexicutioner."
Meralco Bolts' dad: Justin Brownlee
If it weren't for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the heroics and magic of Justin Brownlee, the Meralco Bolts should have already won at least one PBA title. Four times the Bolts cracked the finals, and it always looked as if Meralco has finally figured out how to beat the Gins. They couldn't (so far). If anything, JB has the numbers of the Bolts and clearly rules the one-sided rivalry.
Olympics swimmers (particularly Ryan Lochte): Michael Phelps
A record 28 Olympic medals, including 23 golds. That's what Michael Phelps amassed in an almost-invincible run from 2004-2016. The legendary American swimmer ruled Olympic waters that it was expected then that he will win every race's he's on. His compatriot Ryan Lochte, who's had a superb Olympic career himself with 12 medals, had no choice but to live behind the shadows of Phelps. Even coming out of retirement, Phelps ruled his final showdown against Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
UAAP women's basketball teams: Jack Animam
Not many players can claim that they went through college without a single loss. One of those rare athletes is former NU Lady Bulldogs MVP and Gilas Pilipinas Women anchor Jack Animam. The towering presence played 96 games in college and won it all en route to six UAAP women's basketball title. We doubt that such feat will be emulated. Animam, now a Nike endorser, went on to trailblaze the path for Philippine basketball as the first Pinay hooper to play abroad.
(GM)