affirm wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:43 pm
Jasper wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:12 am
There is no question about the world wide fame of Clint Dempsey. Soccer is the most popular sport on the planet and he was certainly a great player. However, aside from Furman circles, I don't hear his name associated that much with Furman. The athlete who garnered the most recognition in American sports circles and was always associated with Furman was Frank Selvy. Most Americans outside the South had never heard of FU until Selvy dropped 100 on someone one night and became a national figure as a result. Even when his name comes up these days, the name of Furman is usually referenced.
I realize and believe that Frank Selvy and his accomplishments were great, but I doubt he is considered to continue to be relatively very famous to basketball fans in the general public.
You are entitled to any opinion you wish but that is not what I said. Dempsey just retired this week. Selvy's accomplishment were 65 years ago. Of course many fans today have not heard of him. But for his time and in the USA, he had great notoriety with basketball fans across the nation. And that notoriety was very much associated with Furman University. I don't ever recall a story about Selvy that DID NOT mention Furman. I don't think that Dempsey's name had that degree of association despite his greater accomplishments in his particular professional sport. I assume you are too young to recall the phenomenon of Frank Selvy's 100 point outburst. It occurred at a time when entire college teams did not score 100 points combined in one game. Add to that his small town background and the small school he attended far away from the basketball hotspots and it made for a great story. I hope that some old coot 65 years from now recalls Clint Dempsey as fondly as I recall Frank Selvy.
