It’s used to describe “Jack Macpherson, a key figure in the 1960s Southern California surf scene,” a New York pizza maker and “Bo Schembechler, who became one of college football’s great coaches.”
They’re all “legends” or “legendary.”
With all due respect, is the surfing guy, according to Merriam-Webster, “a story coming down from the past; especially one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable?”
The man’s only been dead two weeks, and apparently, he’s already semi-forgotten.
I’m not a pedant. Promise. But I read “legend” nearly every time some sports figure kicks the bucket. Use “great” or “marvel” or “revered” or “sensation” or heck, even “titan” if you must. But let’s do us all a favor and save ‘legend” for writing about Atlantis and the Abominable Snowman.
