He seems so rarely, if ever, to have a bad game. Even when Barcelona loses, and it lost some big matches in 2012 with him playing, Messi still shines. The speed of his play, his agility, his passes, the way he draws defenders and opens up gaps that teammates exploit, makes the team visibly better.
Proof of his quality as an entertainer is Messi's new world record, for goals scored in a single year. His 86 goals in 66 matches for Barcelona and Argentina works out at an average of more than a goal per game and surpassed the 40-year mark of Gerd Mueller, who got 85 goals in 60 matches for Bayern Munich and West Germany in 1972.
In some games, of course, Messi scored more than once, in others none. But, essentially, if you tuned in or bought a ticket to watch Messi in 2012, you were pretty much guaranteed a good time.