Even though there is no real reason for me to make this thread outside of my juvenile desire to have some sort of record of this claim, I am slightly interested in the reaction it will receive. I am interested because, as the title indicates, I am here to tell you that Andy Mahre is skiing’s next monumentally great skier, and I say it with complete confidence.
I know what you’re thinking, and you’re wrong. It’s not Corey Vanular, Sammy Carlson, Jacob Wester, or anybody else that you can think of. (While those three guys are all superbly talented rising ski stars, and pretty nice guys, they are not the next great skier. I also place stress on the word next, because I would never discount the potential those young men harbor.)
Within skiing we have thousands of amateurs, hundreds of “pros”, many established professional skiers, and a few indisputably great skiers that are clearly a cut above the rest. You don’t even have to ask who these aforementioned greats are, you just know.
If you really need examples, for the sake of clarity I can throw out names like Tanner, Seth, and Pollard. (If you adventurously wanted to guess the most recent skier to enter this holiest of groups, you’d be correct if you said Pep.)
Now I’m not saying that Andy is going to wake up tomorrow, roll out of bed, and realize his feet aren’t touching the ground because he’s so good he now strictly levitates. I’m just saying that if you give it some time, your 20/20 hindsight will show you the truth. He will be the one. Some have come before him, many will come after him, but he will be the next.
Footnote:
The fact that Andy is guaranteed to read this thread makes it instantly “gay”, and if you intend to point that out, you should clearly note right now that I am aware.