Mike Bianchi: Move over Tiger, Shaq, Arnie and Annika, Marta is the GOAT of Orlando sports

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 8, 2025

Published in Soccer

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ORLANDO, Fla. — I got to thinking about this the other day and I wanted to present the question to you:

Who do you think is the greatest professional athlete in Orlando sports history?

Before you answer, here are the ground rules:

The athlete has to have spent at least a portion of his/her competitive career playing for an Orlando team or (in the case of solo sports such as golf, tennis, NASCAR, etc.) the athlete has to have resided full-time in Orlando while playing their respective individual sport.

Most people would probably vote for Shaq or Tiger Woods as the greatest athlete in Orlando history, but I disagree. Some might even say Arnold Palmer, but he was well past his prime when he made Orlando his home (although Arnie did win a couple of PGA Tour events after he moved to Bay Hill). And if we were picking an athlete who had the greatest impact in the community, Arnie would win in a landslide.

Without further adieu, here’s my Super Seven list (in reverse order) of Orlando’s greatest pro athletes: (7) Dwight Howard. (6) Kaka. (5) Shaq. (4) Arnold Palmer. (3) Annika Sorenstam. (2) Tiger Woods and (1) Marta.

You heard me, Marta.

While the Orlando Pride of the NWSL don’t have the marquee value and fan interest of the NBA or the PGA Tour, the question is who is the greatest professional athlete in Orlando history; not who is the greatest professional athlete in a marquee sport in Orlando history.

Marta is the only one on the Super Seven list who is universally considered the greatest athlete in her sport’s history (sorry, Tiger, Jack has three more majors than you do.) Not only is Marta the six-time FIFA World Player of the Year (more than any player in history — male or female), she helped lead the Pride to Orlando’s first major league sports title last year. And, at 39 years old, she just came off the bench last weekend and scored two goals — including the equalizer in stoppage time — to lead her native Brazil to a ninth Copa America women’s title.

So go ahead and make your case for Tiger, Shaq, Arnie or Annika, but if we’re talking GOATs in Central Florida, I’m rolling with Marta — the Pride of Orlando and the Queen of the Pitch.