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Best American Athlete Ever
- Thread starter TSE
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'There are only three true sports. Motor racing, bull fighting and mountaineering. The rest are merely games.' - Most often attributed to Hemingway.
There's nothing to be sorry about... You're right, Alexander Karelin is in a league of his own... Probably the most amazing feat accomplished in the history of all sport. This thread though is all about U.S. athletes. Karelin is not from the USA so, yeah.
I think that anything 1 vs 1 can't determine if you are a great athlete or not. Boxing, wrestling, and other 1 vs 1 activities only determine that you are better than the individual. Multiple oppenents in different activities weighs very high with me. Thorpe is way up there on my list.
Multiple sport stars like Bo Jackson, are way up there on my list. Jordan is no where close. He sucked at baseball, and probably a ton of other things.
People that compete at several events and win in the Olympics are way up there.
Multiple sport stars like Bo Jackson, are way up there on my list. Jordan is no where close. He sucked at baseball, and probably a ton of other things.
People that compete at several events and win in the Olympics are way up there.
That's nuts.
Michael Jordan (compeitive drive, creativity, supreme athleticism)
Usain Bolt (fastest man in the world)
Michael Phelps
That was my thinking, as well. To me, a truly great athlete is someone who can use their natural ability to excel at multiple sports. That's why I believe it's Thorpe. The decathlon has 10 events in it, and he had never competed in one of them until the Olympics, and he won gold. Then he played several other sports, and by most accounts, was good at them.
I admit, it's hyperbole, but it's not nuts. Between the three you mentioned, two engage in a raw athletic endeavors. The other one plays a game.
Think about it. One plays baseball. One plays football. I play video games. Soccer, hockey, volleyball, it's all the same. The goal of the activity as either a participant or spectator is entertainment.
I find this to be true of any of the ball 'sports.' Those are games first, athletic activities second. I can't take them seriously. These are children's games that adults play for money.
Yeah, I lost the thread on that one.
Triple-Crown winner Secretariat! OK, OK, you probably mean people
So, in that case: Jim Thorpe
n-th'd, too. That was the first thing that came to my mind. Also got a postage stamp honoring him as well.
He was featured on not one, but two postage stamps (1984 and 1998, respectively):
The quality of the athlete isn't necessarily determined by what they choose to do with their athleticism.
I'll add another vote for Jim Thorpe. What he accomplished and his athletic ability are far beyond what anyone else has done. Can you imagine how much more well known he would be had the media and internet been around in his day. Obviously, the way sports have evolved it would be next to impossible for an athlete to do what he has done. The seasons and specialization required prohibit it.
As far as the ESPN article posted previously that ranks sports as far as difficulty, I disagree entirely.
There's no way fishing comes in last. It takes an amazing amount of skill to use a rod and reel, drive a boat, eat a sandwich, and get a "farmer's tan" all at the same time while being under the influence of alcohol. Show me any other athlete that can multitask while drunk like a professional fisherman can.
As far as the ESPN article posted previously that ranks sports as far as difficulty, I disagree entirely.
There's no way fishing comes in last. It takes an amazing amount of skill to use a rod and reel, drive a boat, eat a sandwich, and get a "farmer's tan" all at the same time while being under the influence of alcohol. Show me any other athlete that can multitask while drunk like a professional fisherman can.
this table is a joke.
particularly telling is that they have baseball/softball in the top ten.
in general, I subscribe to the Jim Thorpe school of thought. Or Michael Jordan.
If we are considering absolutes, than Dan O'Brien or Bryan Clayshould be in the mix
No.
Team sports are a test of your athleticism on several disciplines, ability to work with others, and in football, rugby and hockey, putting your body on the line for the good of the team and not for your own personal gain. Yes these sports started as games, and are still practiced for recreation, but look at the way these people test their bodies and mind to the limit. Usain Bolt is the fastest man, but he isn't being tested on several disciplines. Just one thing. Wide Receivers in football are tested on their speed, reflexes, ability to catch in high pressure circumstances, footwork for being able to complete a catch (and if against the Steelers, facing a huge Samoan at Strong Safety!). In rugby, Jonah Lomu was 6 foot 5, 250lbs and ran 10.8s 100metres. He helped change the face of Rugby. He was the size of a second row forward, had the power of a forward, but the ability to run as quickly and with as much flair of a much lighter man.
I don't have a lot of experience of American athletes being English and only recently starting to watch Football and Baseball and loosely following Baseball and Hockey since I was a child, but for recent history, my choices for best American (I'll say it as both of the continents), the best American athletes that stick in my mind are:
Pele (I know he's South American, but he was an amazing footballer, he possessed amazing skill and longevity and was probably the greatest footballer to ever live. Maradonna was great, but come on, 1986 ruins it for me).
Tiger Woods - He is just an amazing man with an awesome strength of character.
Michael Jordan - Everyone at my school loved the Chicago Bulls, and we were a school in an affluent part of Essex. Michael Jordan managed to spread Basketball to the imagination of kids all over the world, and that in itself makes him a great for helping to increase the popularity of a sport with its main fanbase and elite operations in North America.
Wayne Gretzky - Watching Ice Hockey as a kid, he just scored goals all the time. For over 17 years at the highest level.
Lance Armstrong - If only for his triumph over cancer.
I'm not too sure who else, but
Yes.
Who said that these games don't require athleticism? They obviously do. But at the end of the day, they're just games.
Then so is wrestling. Look, I know you probably got no respect for wrestling when you were a kid and now try to overcompensate by trying to delegitimize other sports, but there's nothing inherently different and it reeks of pettiness.
its a toss up between Tiger Woods or Mj if were talking american athleats.
Now overall
Basketball MJ
Hockey Gretzky
Football Jerry Rice.
Baseball to many great athleats but i would say Ruth or Dimmagio the reason i say Joe Dimmagio he holds probally the one record that may never be touched again.
Now overall
Basketball MJ
Hockey Gretzky
Football Jerry Rice.
Baseball to many great athleats but i would say Ruth or Dimmagio the reason i say Joe Dimmagio he holds probally the one record that may never be touched again.
It is really hard to compare Jim Thorpe against any sort of modern athlete. A couple of thoughts make it extremely difficult:
I. Competition - Babe Ruth argument: he played against no blacks in most of his events/games amongst other minorities.
II. Specialization - Thorpe can be recognized as one of the greatest athletes because of his success in such a wide variety, however when you break it down he really was not "Best" in much. His major league hitting average was in the 250s, his mile time is nearly a minute off the record. These are all incredible fetes, but only when placed next to his other accomplishments. Let's face it: there are plenty of athletes (Steve Nash, yes he is Canadian but Basketball/Soccer/Tennis, Jordan Basketball/Baseball, Iverson & Lebron Basketball/Football) today who can clearly play a variety of sports, but are forced to chose one because of how modern sports are.
III. It's a different world - In Thorpe's time some of the greatest athletes were amateurs, there is no way to ever know how good he could have been with the training and money that goes into today's sports.
I. Competition - Babe Ruth argument: he played against no blacks in most of his events/games amongst other minorities.
II. Specialization - Thorpe can be recognized as one of the greatest athletes because of his success in such a wide variety, however when you break it down he really was not "Best" in much. His major league hitting average was in the 250s, his mile time is nearly a minute off the record. These are all incredible fetes, but only when placed next to his other accomplishments. Let's face it: there are plenty of athletes (Steve Nash, yes he is Canadian but Basketball/Soccer/Tennis, Jordan Basketball/Baseball, Iverson & Lebron Basketball/Football) today who can clearly play a variety of sports, but are forced to chose one because of how modern sports are.
III. It's a different world - In Thorpe's time some of the greatest athletes were amateurs, there is no way to ever know how good he could have been with the training and money that goes into today's sports.
haven't read the thread in a while, but i hope someone has at least dropped a Lance Armstrong in there somewhere. The dude is a freak of nature.
I get the whole advancements in equipment and what not. I agree with you, but from an athletic perspective i think lance would have been just as dominate with the same equipment and time say Eddy Merckx