G.O.A.T

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About

G.O.A.T, is an acronym for the expression "greatest of all time," which is commonly used in sports when referring to players who are widely considered the most talented. Online, It is often used on sites like reddit and 4chan when referring to someone who is believed to be the best at a certain skill.

Origin

On September 12th, 2000, rapper LL Cool J released his eighth studio album G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time). The album was a commercial success, reaching the number one position on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.^[1]

Spread

On September 28th, 2003, Urban Dictionary^[3] user WhiteFolks submitted an entry for "G.O.A.T.", defining it as "an acronym for Greatest Of All Time."

G.O.A.T anacronym for G.reatest O.f A.ll T.ime Ultimate competitor G-O-A-Tetc.,etc. by WhiteFolks September 28, 2003

On February 1st, the book Goat: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali was released, referring to boxer Muhammad Ali as the "greatest of all time." On February 22nd, 2007, Tennis-Warehouse Forums^[4] member BeckerFan posted a thread titled "Where did the G.O.A.T. acronym originate?" On May 30th, 2012, posts using the acronym were submitted to the /mu/ (music) and /v/ (video games) boards on 4chan.^[6]^[7]^[8] On December 29th, 2014, the Animation Domination High-Def YouTube channel posted an animated music video about the acronym titled "GOAT" (shown below). Within two years, the video gained over 589,600 views and 920 comments. On October 21st, 2015, the pop culture news blog Bustle^[5] published an article about the acronym.