I had sprinting in mind, thought the thread was more about team sports...
Still think there's a high player pool for soccer, but who knows.
Which sport has the best athletes?
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I had sprinting in mind, thought the thread was more about team sports...
Still think there's a high player pool for soccer, but who knows.
Soccer is the most popular game in the world. Being amongst the best in it probably translates in being one of the best athletes in the world simply because of how much competition there is.
Not that it really matters.
Also i think that school sports hold back a lot of athletes as opposed to being signed at age 11 and getting to train with the best coaches in the world.
Not that it really matters.
The logic really doesn't translate because while plenty of people actually play soccer in teams there's very few people in comparison that start running to compete, there's an insane amount of technique that you can really only learn with a good trainer.
Also i think that school sports hold back a lot of athletes as opposed to being signed at age 11 and getting to train with the best coaches in the world.
I Big JG I
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American Football with out question.
RottenTanuki
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American Ninja Warrior
PlayALLtheGames
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There's a definition of athleticism that I'm obviously missing because I would never say basketball. Basketball courts are small and dunking for a tall guy isn't hard. You're taken out throughout the game to rest and there are tons of timeouts and TV timeouts.
I think it's soccer or hockey. Skating for long periods of time is fucking exhausting and it's probably not easier when the guys on the opposing team are trying to deck you and put you on your ass. Sticks can fly up and bust your face open and those guys continue to play when it happens. Get your face busted open in basketball and you're done for god knows how long. There are very few stops in the game.
Soccer is 45 mins straight of going up and down a huge field with no timeouts and sometimes requires sprinting up and down that same, huge field.
I'd put rugby and football over basketball, too.
I think it's soccer or hockey. Skating for long periods of time is fucking exhausting and it's probably not easier when the guys on the opposing team are trying to deck you and put you on your ass. Sticks can fly up and bust your face open and those guys continue to play when it happens. Get your face busted open in basketball and you're done for god knows how long. There are very few stops in the game.
Soccer is 45 mins straight of going up and down a huge field with no timeouts and sometimes requires sprinting up and down that same, huge field.
I'd put rugby and football over basketball, too.
I think some of the positions in Football like the running backs, linebackers, tight ends, recievers and cornerbacks are probably the most insane athletes in all of sports.
So fucking big, so fucking fast, so fucking athletic. Freaks of nature.
Then you have people like Bo Jackson who could have probably been a hall of famer in Baseball and Football if he didn't get injured.
So fucking big, so fucking fast, so fucking athletic. Freaks of nature.
Then you have people like Bo Jackson who could have probably been a hall of famer in Baseball and Football if he didn't get injured.
Mighty Chin
Banned
I use to have this argument when I was younger.
My feeling was that you could put a hockey player in the other major sports in NA and they would be able to hit a baseball, throw a pitch, field a ball. In Basketball they could dribble and shoot a three pointer, in football the could block, run, throw and catch.
An athlete from those other sports probably couldn't skate, stick handle through defenders and let loose a wrist shot though.
My feeling was that you could put a hockey player in the other major sports in NA and they would be able to hit a baseball, throw a pitch, field a ball. In Basketball they could dribble and shoot a three pointer, in football the could block, run, throw and catch.
An athlete from those other sports probably couldn't skate, stick handle through defenders and let loose a wrist shot though.
XShadows69
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Basketball and/or tennis.
that...makes no sense at all.
I'd say Hockey, but it could be bias talking. I think when you take into account toughness, agility, endurance, coordination, it's tough to beat hockey.
Peak athletes, I'd probably go with American Football, some of those guys are insane.
Peak athletes, I'd probably go with American Football, some of those guys are insane.
They'd look like toddlers if you threw skates on them though
PlayALLtheGames
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To an extent it does but defenders sometimes become offensive guys and because possession can change so quickly there's still a good amount of running for everyone involved and for 45 minute chunks.
It's just a lot more stamina needed and a lot more tiring than guys going up and down a basketball court, especially as they're frequently getting rotated to rest.
Maybe it isn't soccer but it sure as fuck is not basketball.
Sure but stamina doesn't define an athlete. Just because (some) NFL players need more explosiveness than stamina doesn't mean they're worse athletes.
Baseball had a statistics culture that put a lot of onus on numbers, far greater than any other of the mainstream American sports. That's why fans of sports like track and field, baseball etc are very sensitive to PED use because the raw numbers are "marred." American Football, as a comparison, is more subjective in nature, and hasn't had the blowback baseball's PED era got.
The Matrix
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Boxing at the top level trumps everything else.
BFIB
Member
Not yet, but I have a feeling it will be worse than what MLB went through.
Nah. Everyone knows 80 percent of the league is doing it now. It's a brutal sport, team oriented, strength is but one part of the game, etc etc.
I don't know why long-term endurance for not high impact activity is synonymous with athlete and fitness but it's quite stupid.
DrForester
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I'd go with Hockey and rugby. You have the stamina you see in Basketball and Soccer, with the more physical nature of football.
Tennis has some important characteristics that should put it higher on most peoples' lists.
1) You can't sit down whenever you desire. If you don't feel like continuing, your only option is to forfeit. There's no one who will play for you.
2) If you pace yourself, you'll probably lose.
3) Victories are earned. Always. There's nothing that can happen in 10 seconds that will save a losing effort. This separates it from a boxing match which can be won with a single punch. Long matches are four hours long and the amount of time players are able to catch their breath is negligible compared to how long they're running.
4) Tennis is always a test of will and wit. You can't win with brute force alone.
5) Tennis players compete all year long and for several days at a time.
1) You can't sit down whenever you desire. If you don't feel like continuing, your only option is to forfeit. There's no one who will play for you.
2) If you pace yourself, you'll probably lose.
3) Victories are earned. Always. There's nothing that can happen in 10 seconds that will save a losing effort. This separates it from a boxing match which can be won with a single punch. Long matches are four hours long and the amount of time players are able to catch their breath is negligible compared to how long they're running.
4) Tennis is always a test of will and wit. You can't win with brute force alone.
5) Tennis players compete all year long and for several days at a time.
Vicetrailia
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Football. Just because many positions require top tier strength, agility, quickness, speed, endurance, coordination to compete. Football demands pique power and speed, where as soccer does not, so it's not that easy to make these comparisons imo.
I think its running backs, linebackers, Safeties, then decathletes.
I think its running backs, linebackers, Safeties, then decathletes.
Dark Stalkers
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competitive eating
George Claw M.D.
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Wrestling.
But in popular professional sports, American Football. The only position that doesn't require you to be in great condition are the kickers, but they make up such a small percentage of the team. They need strength, power, quickness, agility, and take a beating. Linemen are commonly underrated do to their physical appearance. But they are some of the rarest physical specimens on the planet. Huge guys with not just immense power, but endurance, quickness, and even agility. They can jump higher than most mortals, and football players probably have higher vertical leaps on average than basketball players. And football players do all that shit while being weighed down with armor.
But in popular professional sports, American Football. The only position that doesn't require you to be in great condition are the kickers, but they make up such a small percentage of the team. They need strength, power, quickness, agility, and take a beating. Linemen are commonly underrated do to their physical appearance. But they are some of the rarest physical specimens on the planet. Huge guys with not just immense power, but endurance, quickness, and even agility. They can jump higher than most mortals, and football players probably have higher vertical leaps on average than basketball players. And football players do all that shit while being weighed down with armor.
RedBaron17
Member
My first response was going to be soccer but i remember watching some highlights of water polo matches during the olympic games and that is not an easy sport to play.
Seriously. That shit is though.
Seriously. That shit is though.
Robot Pants
Member
I'm gonna try to be as objective as possible here, as many different countries/regions cater their best athletes to the most popular sports, but I think I need to say basketball, specifically NBA players. Some NFL players, defensive backs and wide receivers, might fit in there too.
Neffarias_Bredd
Member
Absolutely. It's mind blowing what Olympic decathletes can do
methane47
Member
This is so great lol thanks for the info
Halcyon
Member
Another thing about American athletics along the same lines of the "pool" of people, is that a good 95% of our pool of athletes gets sucked into football. Our best athletes are in the NFL.
It goes all the way back to youth sports. Sure we have other sports, but all of the money is put into our football programs. If you were the star soccer player in 3rd grade, you're probably going to be recruited to play RB/WR on the football team. Or if you're a track star, or a pitcher, they're going to hound you to play football.
The difference between that pool and the global pool is that American football is just a more physical game. Soccer requires speed, endurance, agility, and skill. It's more advantageous to be smaller and quicker. A soccer team is full of Wes Welkers. Wes Welker is a great athlete, but i'm not going to call him a better athlete than Megatron.
It goes all the way back to youth sports. Sure we have other sports, but all of the money is put into our football programs. If you were the star soccer player in 3rd grade, you're probably going to be recruited to play RB/WR on the football team. Or if you're a track star, or a pitcher, they're going to hound you to play football.
The difference between that pool and the global pool is that American football is just a more physical game. Soccer requires speed, endurance, agility, and skill. It's more advantageous to be smaller and quicker. A soccer team is full of Wes Welkers. Wes Welker is a great athlete, but i'm not going to call him a better athlete than Megatron.
MMA has the best athletes. You need a perfect balance between strength and conditioning. One of the most boring aspects of the sport to watch, grappling against the fence, requires a fighter to use all of the muscles in their body constantly, sometimes as long as five minutes at a time. No other big sport requires that.
Everything here is terrible.
crimzonflame
Member
I chose basketball because it has the least amount of fat people out of the 4 major NA sports.
Eh, hockey is another tough one. This is where the discussion gets mixed.
Are we talking about athletes who are chiseled from rock and can do otherworldly things, or just people in great shape?
To play professional hockey you don't need to be either of those things exactly, as there is a pretty diverse spectrum of players on the ice.
Shawn Kemp would eat you and not even share with his billion children.
crimzonflame
Member
I didnt say no fat people. Also, Oliver Miller.
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