USC legend asks interesting, thought-provoking question

In an era when terms are often overused and misapplied, former USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart took to X to ask a question that warrants further discussion.

His post asked about the nature of what truly makes a player generational. For some, as mentioned in the post, this will have more to do with ability or skill level. While for others, the distinction comes more from the physical nature of the athlete.

When looking at the topic in a broader sense, 'generational' has become watered down. Regardless of how individuals specifically define it, seemingly every team that is discussed in media spaces is viewed as someone of this classification.

Looking at the term at face value, though, there should only be a handful of athletes that are given this designation, maybe every couple of years. Even that would be too much if sticking to the strict definition of what 'generational' means.

There is not a strict definition as to how long a generation is in itself. It certainly, however, is not something that occurs every year. Most consider a generation in terms of time to be around 15-25 years.

Different approach needed when discussing term

Based on this metric, there should only be a handful of athletes ever to be in these types of conversations. Instead, anyone who looks to be above average tends to receive this classification. It has gotten to the point where it is almost a slight for the top players at any point to not be viewed as generational.

This is something that needs to reverse in trends. There does not need to be someone designated as 'generational' every 20 years. That would be too far the other way. The standard, however, needs to be raised before dubbing someone as such.