Following John Elway's induction in the Pro Football Hall of Fame last month, talking heads began asking the same question.

Who was the greatest quarterback of all-time? Elway? Montana? Certainly a case could be made for both. What about Staubach and Bradshaw? If you base your assessment strictly on Super Bowl victories, you automatically eliminate several qualified candidates like Dan Marino and Fran Tarkenton. Depending on the tailgate parties you attend, you might never reach a consensus. Especially if some guy with an Oakland Raiders costume stumbles through the parking lot with a belly full of liquid personality, armed with an opinion, and starts touting nonsense about Kenny Stabler. Oh, the humanity!

No matter what sport you follow, these debates will never end. Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus? Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron? Sandy Kolfax or Nolan Ryan? Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt?

I can think of only four professional sports in which the all-time greatest is not subject to debate. At least among the enlightened.

Secretariat. Wayne Gretsky. Michael Jordan. Muhammad Ali. Enough said.

But what about bass fishing?

Fans of this sport will soon get a chance to voice their opinions in the "The Greatest Angler Debate." (See related story on page 32.) Certainly, a case could be made right here and now for Takahiro Omori. For three days in North Carolina last month, the Japanese native was the greatest. At least on Lake Wylie. Of course, this debate does not hinge on a single tournament or, for that matter, a single season like the one posted by Mark Davis in 1995.

As in other sports, superlatives are earned through long-term accomplishments and I suspect this will be the determining factor in bass fishing. Hopefully, it won't come down to a popularity contest based on who's got the greatest television fishing show. And I think you know who I'm talking about.

I'm tempted to go ahead and begin the debate right now by revealing my choice. But I won't.

I will share a little internal business, however.

The judging criteria in this debate was not without some controversy. In addition to achievements on the Bassmaster Tournament Trail, consideration was given to top performers on the FLW tournament trail, since many of the same pros now compete on both circuits. That made sense. Where the judging criteria began to show signs of weakness, in my opinion, was with the omission of several Western bass fishermen.

Granted, there are a few anglers on this list with West Coast roots, but they were the ones who eventually relocated below the Mason-Dixon Line in order to avoid punishing their odometers and draining their wallets. Jay Yelas and Gary Klein were among the eastward migrants. Conspicuously absent were some who should have been included or at least received some consideration.

Not to single out anyone, but how can you include someone like Dan Morehead and omit a "stick" like Dave Gliebe, that eclectic angler from the West who could have fished the doors off anyone in the late 70s and early 80s. Four-time Classic champion Rick Clunn once called Gliebe the most talented angler he'd ever met. "He fishes on pure instinct. No one else does it better," Clunn said of Gliebe.

Cases could also be made for Dee Thomas, the father of the fishing technique known today as flipping, and Don Iovino, one of the pioneers of the finesse fishing craze. Check the list. Virtually every angler included owes his inclusion to one of these Western pros. At least indirectly.

Granted, professional bass fishing was born in the South and the judging criteria had to be based on a common playing field. So that automatically eliminated many of the Western pros who simply did not have the time nor the inclination to hit the road in the sport's formative years.

You might disagree. But your opinion will be counted in what promises to be a lively debate among bass fanatics from Temecula to Apopka.

The fan's choice will be announced at next year's Classic in Pittsburgh.

Where, by the way, the Steelers won four Super Bowls behind the Steel Curtain, and not some Hall of Fame quarterback named Terry Bradshaw. My opinion, of course.