Muhammad Ali passes away

[Whisper]

I don't tend to get overly affected by 'celebrity' deaths, but Ali has always been one of my heroes, despite being way before my time. As horrible as this news is, it was awful to see him in such poor health these last few years.

He had a fascinating life outside the ring and was truly the greatest in it. Probably one of the most influential people in modern history, and not just within sport.

Rest in peace, champ.

 

[CobraKaiEnTai]

Yep June was going along just fine, knew it couldn't last long.

No matter what you thought of the man, there's no denying the profound influence and lasting impact he made as athlete, entertainer and in life.

2016 continues to sucker punch us, but this one feels like a knockout blow from the champ himself.

If this keeps up, pretty soon all of EWB's forums will have to be renamed

RIP Muhammad Ali aka Cassius Clay aka "The Greatest"

[DavidMarrio]

One of the most famous sportsmen inside and outside of their sport. A larger than life character with so much charisma and talent and a guy who stood up for what he believed in. 

Truly a one of a kind and you can see just how much he has influenced a wide range of athletes. At least he won't be suffering anymore.  

RIP

[Lineker]

RIP, greatest.

[Noah]

Kind of shocked to hear this really. I've been out most of today and the last word I heard was that 'sure stuff is up with his health but damn you all you rumour spreaders for saying he was on deaths door when he wasn't.' So I've pretty much gone about today believing it was another hoax.

 

[MDK]

Seriously, the term legend is thrown around all too easily these days. Ali is a legend.

[gunnar hendershow]

Nobody ever puts "boxer" after The Greatest when discussing Ali. That's because he was simply The Greatest, other people can be greatest baseball player or greatest writer, but only Ali can The Greatest.

Spent the morning being reminded of his impact on the world, in his own words:

[Noah]

I remember hearing a story about Ali once about how this woman was in tears at a meet and greet and he was so kind and gentle with her and 2 minutes later he's talking to the next guy and telling him about how he's even uglier than Frazier.

[Adam]

This man is and was a one of a kind, inspirational human being. I don't know if anybody ever will be able to challenge the assertion that Ali is the greatest sportsman to ever grace us.

Watching him take down Foreman on BBC News this morning gave me goosebumps.

[EndOfAnEra]

loved this bit. 

 

Petition to rename the Sports Bar to Rumble In The Jungle

[Colly]

Counter petition: Kinshasaaaaaa!

[Walker]

Cannot say he is someone who resonates with me a great deal because I never watched him fight, but it is impossible to not know about the guy and his achievements. Like Bruce Lee he is a recognised figure of all round excellence, and one of a kind talent that will likely never be topped. Outside of the boxing ring though, the way he carried himself and his legendary trash talking is what will be his lasting legacy. As a friend said, no sportsman today shows the absolute confidence that Ali did, and no one seems to actually go out of the way to claim to be the best and prove it like Ali did. He is without a doubt one of the biggest cultural icons of all time.

[MDK]

2 hours ago, Walker said:

Cannot say he is someone who resonates with me a great deal because I never watched him fight, but it is impossible to not know about the guy and his achievements. Like Bruce Lee he is a recognised figure of all round excellence, and one of a kind talent that will likely never be topped. Outside of the boxing ring though, the way he carried himself and his legendary trash talking is what will be his lasting legacy. As a friend said, no sportsman today shows the absolute confidence that Ali did, and no one seems to actually go out of the way to claim to be the best and prove it like Ali did. He is without a doubt one of the biggest cultural icons of all time.

Have a watch of When We Were Kings, cracking stuff.

[gunnar hendershow]

 

[Draevyn]

For the man to make it as long as he has with all the issues that he's had over the years is amazing. It's so sad that he couldn't beat this.  The world lost an amazing game changer.

[Pizza]

This hit me harder than all the other terrible deaths in 2016. This hit hard even though Ali retired years before I was born, from a sport I've never particularly cared for. Muhammad Ali stood up for what he believed in, and the world is a better place because Ali was here for a little bit. He was the Greatest.