Talking  About ‘GOATs’

( Those Icons called ‘Greatest of All Times )

In a world with ever-changing vocabularies and new slang being generated with every meme, rap song, and vine video, it’s hard (but important!) to keep up with everything the Gen Z and today’s generation of whiz-kid netizens on the block, say these days. For a long time I was afraid to use the term ‘FOMO’ with my young nieces and nephews, lest it meant anything impolite, till someone younger and wiser explained – that’s the reason why we check our mails, chats & breaking news first thing, it’s the ‘Fear of Missing Out’ !      

Much in vogue today is a massive acronym “GOAT” that took some time getting used to. Sometimes we have to go back to our ‘ROTE’’ schooling and unlearn to be relevant. Our teachers would eulogize the less talkative pupils and say ‘Look at him/her, as quiet as a lamb’ (or a docile goat !). Later while growing up with elder siblings, I’d overhear them exchanging talks ‘He Get’s My Goat !’ and showing disgust. It would make me wonder ‘Why the poor goat, again ?’. Studies revealed that it meant making someone annoyed or angry. This expression reportedly comes from a tradition in horse racing – thought to have a calming effect on high-strung thoroughbreds, a goat was placed in the horse’s stall on the night before the race. Take goat away and the horses lose their cool ! 

That however, has nothing to do with ‘GOAT’ we are now alluding to and with immense awe and respect. It is a kind of title obviously reserved for an incomparable legendary figure. The back-story of ‘GOAT’ as an acronym for “(the) Greatest of All Time” (also considered as a noun) originally referred to Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time. Ali himself  is reported to have publicly and immodestly proclaimed -‘I’m the Greatest’ and we are also informed that first written usage is from 1992 as G.O.A.T. Inc., the name of a company incorporated by Muhammad Ali’s wife. 

In our young days, ‘GOAT’ term hadn’t appeared but our parents & seniors were staunch fans of their idols from different fields. For my Dad, KL Saigal, the legendary singer of the 1930s was the ultimate in music but today’s generation would hardly know of him. ‘GOAT’ in true sense should relate to an era and to say ‘Greatest for all times’ may not work as choices, styles and technology evolves over time. To choose between ‘GOATs’ like RD Burman and AR Rahman, both masters of fusion music, wouldn’t do justice !  Rarely there’s universal acceptance save for icons like Tagore, Ray, Lata Mangeshkar. To focus on the ‘Greatest’, we need to wisely pick from different eras & diverse fields !

In the extraordinary world of politics, ‘GOATs’ may have champions while others may be detractors and tacitly putting any leader on a high pedestal is akin to idol worship. In school, some boys would claim ‘My Dad is Bigger than Yours’- that seems to have been adopted by the followers with the ideological slogan ‘Our GOAT is Better than Yours’ !