Manny Pacquiao and the Top 10 Pros to See Now so You Can Say You Saw Them Later

So many great athletes come into our lives that we sometimes forget to treat the truly great ones with the reverence they deserve.

Pros like Michael Jordan or Walter Payton only come around once in a lifetime, but how many of us have seen them play in person?

Too often we miss out on seeing the great ones before they retire. There are a few athletes that are still active that will eventually no longer perform on the field.

Will you be able to say you where there when these men were on the field?

10. Albert Pujols

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ATLANTA - SEPTEMBER 09: Albert Pujols #5 of the St. Louis Cardinals against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field on September 9, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Certain guys over time made you stop and watch their at-bats because you knew something great might happen.

From Darryl Strawberry to Barry Bonds to Mark McGwire, the chance of a home run made us all pay attention. The steroid era took some of that luster away.

We need to believe that our baseball heroes are not cheating. Pujols seems to have brought respect back to the art of hitting a four-bagger.

9. Peyton Manning

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INDIANAPOLIS - SEPTEMBER 19: Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts gives instructions to his team during the NFL game against the New York Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium on September 19, 2010 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Im

By the time Manning retires, he will probably have broken most of Brett Favre's passing records. Plenty of quarterbacks have the will to win. Very few have ever had Manning's drive for perfection.

8. Brett Favre

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MINNEAPOLIS - SEPTEMBER 19: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up prior to the start of the game against the Miami Dolphins on September 19, 2010 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Ge

He's won MVPs and a Super Bowl, and holds nearly every passing record ever posted. His love of the game is only surpassed by the drive to win one more Super Bowl... and possibly his love of publicity.

It's often stated ad nauseam that "Brett is having fun out there." The fact is that for the most part, he is.

7. Roger Federer

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NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11: Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during his men's singles semifinal match on day thirteen of the 2010 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 11, 2010

I don't know who these people are that attend tennis matches, but I have seen quite a bit on TV. In my opinion, and most everyone else's in the civilized world, Roger Federer is the best player in the history of tennis. Not a bad reason to go to a match and see him play.

6. Manny Pacquiao

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ARLINGTON, TX - MARCH 13: Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines celebrates in the ring after defeating Joshua Clottey of Ghana during the WBO welterweight title fight at Cowboys Stadium on March 13, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. Pacquiao defeated Clottey by unan

Pacquiao is considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. One day, if MMA has its way, great professional boxing may become a distant memory. Pacqiuiao is a throwback who reminds us of how great boxing can be.

5. Tiger Woods

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LEMONT, IL - SEPTEMBER 12: Tiger Woods lines up a putt on the 18th green during the final round of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club on September 12, 2010 in Lemont, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Putting aside his recent brushes with mortality, on a normal day, Tiger Woods' bad days on the course are better than 99 percent of the professionals playing.

Woods seems to have already put his turmoil behind him, and looks to have plenty of Woods-type-days in his future. Bad news for the rest of the professionals out there. Good news for the PGA, which has gotten extremely fat because of the money and interest Tiger has brought back to golf.

4. Shaquille O'Neal

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BOSTON - MAY 13: Shaquille O'Neal #33 of the Cleveland Cavaliers waits to shoot a free throw in the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics during Game Six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the 2010 NBA playoffs at TD Garden on May 13, 2010 in Bo

Shaq has been as big a figure as there has ever been in the NBA. His domination of the lane wowed his fans and frustrated his opponents. 

The namesake of the Hack-a-Shaq defense doesn't look to have that much more time left on the court. It might be wise to buy his early season game tickets rather than late season.

3. Martin Brodeur

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NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 10: Martin Brodeur #30 of the New Jersey Devils warms up before playing against the New York Islanders at the Prudential Center on April 10, 2010 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Brodeur has lived in the shadow of Patrick Roy for quite a while, but the three-time Stanley Cup winner seems to be getting better with age. He's been accused of benefiting from a defensive system, but somehow has maintained an elite level of play for more than 15 years. What is never brought up is the lack of scoring in front of Brodeur for nearly his entire career, yet he still manages to win games.

Brodeur owns nearly every goal-tending record possible, but a few stand out among the rest:

110 regular season shutouts—nearly a season and a half worth of shutouts... mindboggling.

Eight 40-win seasons—the next closest in NHL history has three.

602 regular season wins—it is possible that if Brodeur plays another three years, that he will win 700 games. This would make him the Cy Young of hockey, and could possibly be the most untouchable record in all of sports.

2. Derek Jeter

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CHICAGO - AUGUST 29: Deter Jeter #2 of the New York Yankees hits the ball against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field on August 29, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Yankees defeated the White Sox 2-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

With a team that has had all-time greats like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle wear its uniform, the Yankees have been a notch above the rest of baseball for nearly a century.

Whether it be because of inflated payrolls or an over-zealous owner or just having more talent than the rest of the league combined at times, the Yankees have found a way win almost a quarter of all World Series played. A big part of that is Derek Jeter, who has played the game with class and dignity and remained relatively controversy free.

Jeter embodies what a leader should be. One of the most clutch performers of his generation, Jeter deserves our respect (even if he did ham it up a little on the hit-by-pitch that didn't even touch him.)

1. Kobe Bryant

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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 17: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers goes to the basket against Rasheed Wallace #30 and Paul Pierce #34 of the Boston Celtics in Game Seven of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center on June 17, 2010 in Los Angeles, Californ

I personally have hated Kobe Bryant for years. I still do.

What I can't deny, though, is that when Michael Jordan retired, we all knew that no one would ever fill his shoes. I don't believe Kobe has, but he has come pretty darn close.

He has that "it" factor and killer instinct that made Jordan so unstoppable. Kobe will never be the face of basketball in the way Jordan was. He came into the league more hyped than any phenom ever, excluding LeBron James.

He has been immature and combative, but there's no arguing that when it comes to winning in the clutch, Kobe is the marquee player in the NBA.