There's not a more meaningless mug's game than the debate over who's the greatest player in the history of a particular league or sport - a debate that began anew when Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo broke Damon Allen's CFL record for career touchdown passes.
The futility of the exercise is rooted in the inevitable differences in playing styles. Calvillo is Canadian pro football's most prolific passer, but he's not the equal of Allen, Doug Flutie or Warren Moon as a complete athlete.
In a league where a mobile quarterback has traditionally been considered the ideal model, Calvillo's one-dimensional style can't be ignored in the debate, which is why the debate is best ignored altogether.
It's like arguing over whether Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe or Bobby Orr was the greatest hockey player who ever lived.
Gretzky was indisputably the most productive, Howe the most durable and Orr revolutionized the game like no one before or since, and that's how these discussions are best approached - from the perspective of who brings what to the table, not who's better than whom.
We do the debate and its subjects a far greater service by measuring them against themselves, rather than tearing one down to build up another.
Any discussion about Anthony Calvillo is incomplete without acknowledging the professional and personal adversity he's overcome, from being booed out of Hamilton early in his career to his wife's battle against cancer and a cancer scare of his own.
Through it all, his resolve, poise and humility have been unshakeable.
In the pantheon of legendary CFL quarterbacks, there might be better athletes, but there's never been a better person.
