There is a time and place for evaluating and understanding who the roshei revavos alfei yisroel are. Adhering to gedolei yisroel is the road to both national and personal success. It is the only way for the mesorah to be perpetuated, because even though much is written down, the aynay ha’eidah are the ones who transmit the body of torah tradition in its proper understanding and application. If we were to say that the “speaker rabbis” are links in that unbroken chain, we would be doing a disservice to the future lf torah in klal yisroel.
Not everyone who is prominent is a gadol, nor is everyone who influences irreligious jews even on a relatively large scale (90% aee still not frum).
I’m only mentioning the lubavitcher rebbe’s status because it’s been claimed that he’s this messianic figure of biblical proportions. I wanted to show how this is myopic and false. You can’t make massive claims about the lubavitcher rebbe and then accuse someone of “gedolim olympics” if they point out why this isn’t true.