Pardon me, I hate to rain on the Tiger Woods parade, but why is everybody so focused on this guy as the World's Greatest Athlete?

Care to consider another nominee for the honor?

What about Roger Federer?

Tiger is getting all the attention and adulation, except during the two or three annual interruptions to fuss over Federer's latest victory in a major. We are obsessed with Tiger. It's Tiger 24/7 — updates about his wife, his knee, his surgery, his rehab, his baby, his comeback, his endorsements, his latest amusing TV spot, his latest amusing interview (he smiled! He made a joke!).

Tiger's popularity is partly attributable to his being an American, which draws the big American audience and thus network TV and sponsors. And, of course, there is Tiger's prodigious talent, which puts him in the company of others who have risen above (and beyond) their sport — Gretzky, Jordan, Ali.

But what about the other guy — the Swiss tennis player? He doesn't look the part, with his thin, nondescript, man-on-the-street build, but he's already being widely hailed as Greatest Tennis Player Ever. He's got cat reflexes, Bjorn-Borg cool and footwork by Astaire.

Here it is — the case for Federer as World's Most Greatest Athlete (and for a moment, we will suspend the great debate about whether golf is a sport and golfers are athletes):

I'll begin by making just two points:

1. Federer's thrilling five-set Wimbledon victory over Andy Roddick on Sunday made him the all-time leader in Grand Slam victories, with 15.

2. He is only 27 years old.

I rest my case.

OK, not quite.

Tiger is 33 years old and has victories in 14 majors in 13 years, leaving him four wins behind record-holder Jack Nicklaus.

Federer is six years younger than Tiger, and he has claimed 15 Slam victories in a seven-year period.

He has done this in a sport that is much more athletic, more grueling, more demanding and more physical than golf (ask Rafael Nadal).

Yet Federer has appeared in 21 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. He won both Wimbledon and the U.S. open five consecutive times. During one stretch, he claimed 27 consecutive wins in a Grand Slam.

Who can touch that?

He regained the No. 1 world ranking last weekend after loaning it to Nadal for a year. Before that, he was ranked No. 1 for a record 237 weeks — that's four and a half years.

He has won Wimbledon six times, the U.S. Open five times, the Australian Open three times and the French Open once. He's won on clay, hard court and grass. He could win on linoleum if he had to.