But what about when a single man, fair or not, must carry the pressure of a country on his shoulders? How does one person handle such a burden?
For the past eight Wimbledon championships, Andy Murray has played on the grass courts not so much for himself — although it is, technically, an individual sport — but for Great Britain.
With each passing year, Murray inched closer to winning the country's first title on Centre Court since Fred Perry — wearing pants — last accomplished the feat in 1936. And as Murray rose in the tennis rankings and then, last year, came agonizingly close — losing to Roger Federer in the finale, before winning his first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open — the weight increased.
That's why I chuckled but also found it appropriate for ESPN to ask, during its coverage of Sunday's final between Murray and Novak Djokovic, if a win by the Scot would mean more to him or Great Britain.
Great question.
Of course, Murray was the one tasked with defeating the world's No. 1 player to achieve the feat. And after three brilliant sets of scrambling all over the court, hitting running forehands and blasting 130-mph serves, the 26-year-old did just that.
Andy Murray def. Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
In the late afternoon glow, Murray was able, for the first time, to talk candidly about the journey to Sunday's historic moment.
"It's hard, it's really hard," Murray said during his press conference about 30 minutes after Djokovic's backhand found the net on match point. "For the last four or five years, it's been very tough, very stressful, a lot of pressure.
"The few days before the tournament are really difficult as well, and the last two days are not easy. It's just kind of everywhere you go. It's so hard to avoid everything ... it's been very very difficult."
Imagine being in your mid-20s and feeling that millions of people are staking out their hopes on you winning a championship ... for them? It sounds silly, but it's an accurate portrayal of what Murray faced.
Now, the man can relax. Right?
"I think now it'll become easier," Murray said. "I hope it will, I hope it will."
If there's anything I've learned from watching hours upon hours of Grand Slam tennis during this golden age of the men's game, it's that the sport's greats separate themselves from the rest of the pack mentally. Physically, they're all about equal. They all crush the ball, all blast serves, all can volley at the net (well, at least most of them).
But when it comes to winning the big points, or coming back from down a break, or, hell, from down two sets to love, only a quartet of players over the past decade have proven they can survive.
Roger Federer, 17 major titles.
Rafael Nadal, 12 major titles.
Novak Djokovic, 6 major titles.
And Andy Murray, 2 major titles — including the most impressive of them all.
"I think I've persevered," Murray said. "That's really been the story of my career probably. ... Every year I always improve a little bit."
This is the pinnacle. Don't get me wrong — Murray will win more majors, potentially several. He and Djokovic, and Nadal when healthy, will have many more slugfests. But none of them will be more trying and tiring than this one for Murray.
It was a straight set victory, but it felt like a five-setter, the champion said. He looked out of the second set, down 4-1, but won six of seven games to gain all the momentum. Then he took the first two games of the third set and was up 0-30 on Djokovic's serve.
A double break coming? An easy final set?
Puh-lease. There was no chance this was going to end that way. When you're playing for something so big, so momentous, you have to earn every point, and that's what Djokovic forced Murray to do — the Serb winning four straight games.
In the final games — during yet another comeback — Murray showed off an incredible ability to chase down Djokovic's drop shots and hit topspin-heavy forehands down the line. He stole two points that the Djoker seemingly controlled to tie the set 4-4 and then break to get within a game of history.
And this is the part of the story that, minutes after it was finished, Murray could barely remember. He is human, after all.
“I have no idea what happened," Murray said of the last point. "I can’t even remember."
Well, it took awhile for him to reach it. At first, it seemed he would cruise through the final game. With Murray up 40-0 and the crowd silently going delirious, Djokovic, who's OK in pressure situations too, dug deep and saved three match points. He then gained three break points — all saved by Murray.
Who the heck knows what would have happened had he gotten the break. Sure, Murray entered Sunday 76-0 when leading a match two sets to none, but the combination of the pressure and playing Djokovic could have yielded a different result.
But Murray didn't let the game slip away. Even if his mind was all over the place, as he admitted afterward.
"I worked so hard in that last game. It's the hardest few points I've had to play in my life."
"How that last game went was my head was almost everywhere."
"The last 30 minutes have been a bit of a blur."
"Toughest game I've played in my career. Ever."
Murray's feelings about one game sum it all up. The journey. The expectations. The weight.
Toughest. Accomplishment. Ever.
On Centre Court afterward, Murray was asked what he thought the millions of fans — inside Centre Court, where tickets were going for $15,000; strewn all about the grounds of Wimbledon; back in his hometown; and throughout the Kingdom — must have been going through during the match.
To which he, impeccably, replied:
"Imagine playing it."
Yes, Andy, that's all anyone but yourself can do. Well done, Wimbledon champion.
