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Kristaps Grabovskis is good at soccer. Like, really good. So good he's being compared to Messi by adults who should really know better at this point (including, now, us).
We can't seem to help it though. Every time we see a 10-year-old in a Youtube video who can dribble a soccer ball withoug falling down we run to anoint him the next Messi. Or some other legendary player, but it's nearly always Messi.
This is a stupid comparison. There is only one Messi. He may well go down as the greatest footballer ever, better than Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, etc. Do we really think the 10-year-old in question (whether it's Kristaps Grabovskis or some other 10-year-old who definitely doesn't need this) will be as good as Messi?
The answer is a definitive no, but we keep doing it anyway because we are stupid and the phrase "next Messi" draws a lot of people to the site. Anyway, here's a cool video of a 10-year-old playing soccer.
Kristaps Grabovskis
There's always been an unhealthy amount of hype heaped on any young athlete the public deems to be "the next one". It happens in every sport in every country. I love the internet, but one thing I that bothers me is how fast this process seems to have sped up.
The blame for this is divided into two parts: the fans, for thirsting (and there really is no other word for it) over finding out who "the next one" is and news organizations (like us!) who, again, should know better, but feed the beast anyway by going out and discovering as many of these young talents as possible then hyping them so people visit our site.
It's a stupid process, sure, but I can't really see an end to it. It's not like the general public is going to stop wanting to guess who the next superstar is going to be, and the media isn't going to stop playing into that desire in order to make money. I kno I'm not. My bills aren't going to pay themselves.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
