The sheer amount of hype surrounding 18-year-old Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato has reached a fever pitch in Europe that makes the NBA arrival of LeBron James seem tame by comparison. Pato is already being compared to Lionel Messi, Barcelona's Argentinian superstar. Some are saying he is not only A.C. Milan's future, but the Italian club's last best hope to save this season. These astronomical expectations made our pal Brian Phillips at The Run of Play wax philosophical.
So what was better, watching him or not watching him? What, between achievement and potential, do we love more? Seeing a player accomplish something has the thrill of reality in it; but our imaginations are always larger than reality, and seeing a player accomplish something also means he can't accomplish more than what we see. In Pato's first match, I saw Ronaldo, one of the best players in the recent history of the game, return from injury and score two goals. But where Ronaldo was only what he was, Pato what infinitely more than he was, and it was Pato who made the game electric.
It's the presence of Ronaldo, however, makes Pato's Italian debut a much more interesting story.
