# Which of these atheletes is the best all-time?



## Relaxation (Jul 12, 2010)

Which one of them is the best all-time?


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

Where's Jordan? Gretzky? Are you just listing athletes who are still active?


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## Dub16 (Feb 28, 2010)

Diego maradonna was the best of them all.


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## Dub16 (Feb 28, 2010)

haha, hes not on the list ya muppet Dub! Well oot of those, i wouldnt know half of them. Lionel Messi isnt anywhere near his peak yet so I wouldnt pick him. He WILL go on to become our generations best though. But its 3 or 4 years away.

I dont know enough aboot American sports to comment on the rest. So Nadal would get my vote. Hes just amazing. I never liked Sampras so I might be biased but Nadal is as good as any (male) tennis player I've seen in my own lifetime. 
And when he gets interviewed he seems genuinely humble and shy. I like that too.


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## Perfectionist (Mar 19, 2004)

I am voting Crosby because I have a Tim Hortons gift card with his picture on it. 

In my very Canadian opinion that's pretty much as ballin as you can get.


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

Ya I'll go with Crosby too. He did win us a gold medal after all.


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## silentcliche (Jun 30, 2010)

GnR is right. All the people listed are still active.

With that said, I'm biased as feck but this list needs Manny Pacquiao.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Ichiro and Rivera are great, but the best baseball players are Pujols and Halladay (assuming you mean active players).

Anyway, I voted for Tiger, but cross-sport comparisons are difficult. Apples and oranges, really.


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## veron (Apr 29, 2009)

I was pleasantly surprised to see Rafael Nadal listed as the first option. Vamos Rafa!


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## Manfi (May 30, 2010)

I was gonna go with Maradona but he's not there (??) so I chose "the flea." 


btw, American football players and golfers should be taken out of this list. These two aren't sports. I loose more calories running after my cat.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

These would have to be separated by sport. It is like comparing apples and oranges.
Each sport has their own.
LeBron James gets my award for "Biggest Ego" in 2010. He just put Tiger "Text" Woods in second place.


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## Manfi (May 30, 2010)

MichaelWesten said:


> Agreed on golf, but I hope you're joking about American football.


Not joking one bit!
At least golfers aren't obese! Eggball players are all obese and out of shape. I've never seen a "sport" where people do nothing for most of the game. There is a reason why after a century no other country on earth plays egg ball.


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## basketball is my drug (Jun 20, 2010)

I'd have to say kobe right now even though i absolutely hate him but in a couple years Lebron will take his place when he gets a few championships.


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## Toad Licker (Nov 2, 2007)

I don't know who most of those people on that list are, as far as I'm concerned Joe Montana was the best NFL player I've ever seen and Michael Jordan was the best NBA player ever.


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## Manfi (May 30, 2010)

MichaelWesten said:


> What a joke. I'm guessing that you have no real idea what you're talking about with statements like that. Lineman are big guys, but that's necessary for the position. Even so, they're more athletic than you could ever dream to be. Football players are world-class athletes regardless of what you seem to think. There is more to being athletic than running back and forth kicking a ball for 90 minutes.


Eggball players are world class eaters. I don't know if you can consider that a sport though.


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## anx1ety (Aug 16, 2010)

Im going to say kobe because he's my favorite player and im a Lakers fanatic.


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## Prodrive (Aug 5, 2010)

Needs more racing drivers 

/runs before the "they are not athletes crowd xD


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

I know he's only won half as many majors as Federer,but I honestly think Nadal is the best tennis player ever - I don't think anyone from the past would have a chance against him if they played at their peaks and he has won the majority of the time against Federer.


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

Manfi said:


> I was gonna go with Maradona but he's not there (??) so I chose "the flea."
> 
> btw, American football players and golfers should be taken out of this list. These two aren't sports. I loose more calories running after my cat.


Have you walked 8-10 kilometres and swung a golf club close to 100 times in 4-5 hours? You burn a ton of calories, believe me.

As for my vote, it goes to Ichiro. He didn't start playing in the Major Leagues until he was 27 years old, and he has a real chance at still reaching 3000 hits over here. He has 2181 hits in 10 seasons, and that will be 2200+ in 10 seasons once this one is over. That's 220+ hits per season, on average, and he shows no signs of slowing down. And that's without mentioning his defense, where he's been named the best defensive player at his position, every year since he got here.

Also, none of these players in this poll are the best ever at their sport, except maybe Tiger Woods and Roger Federer.


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

MichaelWesten said:


> Football players are far better athletes than soccer players.
> 
> End of story.


That would depend on what position they play.


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## Mr. SandMan (Aug 24, 2007)

Are you ****ing kidding me? No MICHAEL JEFFREY JORDAN?

Anyways, besides Michael it's Tiger.


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## Mr. SandMan (Aug 24, 2007)

MichaelWesten said:


> Football players are far better athletes than soccer players.
> 
> End of story.


Yea, centers probably do have way more athletic ability than any soccer player.


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## thesilenthunter90 (Mar 18, 2010)

MichaelWesten said:


> Football players are far better athletes than soccer players.
> 
> End of story.


Are you joking man.

most footbal (american) players are fat and eat too much. Soccer (football) players are fast and atletic as well as strong. My god american football ranks with cricket as the most intensly boring sport on the planet. They look like apes in helmets trained to run around a bit tbh


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## Mr. SandMan (Aug 24, 2007)

^^^
I wouldn't say all that. Half backs, tight ends and wide recievers, corners and safties are all VERY athletic.

I agree that pretty much the whole team of proffesional soccer players are all very athletic, and the whole football team isn't.

I think basketball players are very athletic as well.

Athleticism is all different though. Basketball players run, jump, juke, box out, slide there feet. American football players run, juke, takle, jump. Soccer players run ALOT, box out in whatever way they do it, bang with each other, jump, keep control of the ball with there feet.

Personally, coming from a die hard basketball fan, I think the most amazing thing in sports is when a soccer player mixes (jukes) up a defender with his feet controlling the ball, it's jus amazing to me.

But Tiger is the best athlete only because golf is not a team sport.

And for people to say golf isn't a sport is ignorant. Golf takes major skill, and strength to even hit the ball that far.

PEACE!


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## thesilenthunter90 (Mar 18, 2010)

^^^ I agree about golf. amazing skills and abilities. They amaze me with their mental strenght.


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## thesilenthunter90 (Mar 18, 2010)

^^^ we will just have to agree to disagree then


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## Manfi (May 30, 2010)

MichaelWesten said:


> Football players are far better athletes than soccer players.
> 
> End of story.


lets see, when I played football (not referring to eggball) we had 3 practices a week and one game on the weekends during regular season. One of our practice days was reserved solely for running and conditioning. The other two days we did a mix of football and conditioning. In every game I averaged 8+kms and we were just amateurs. During tournaments we sometimes played 3 games a day!
Also compare the bodies of football players and eggball players. I think it's pretty obvious which group is healthier. I don't know how it is in the US but where I come from fat people aren't considered athletes. 
btw, worldwide running is considered the "mother of all sports." 





























Italian soccer team


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## Prodrive (Aug 5, 2010)

Arguing who is more of an athlete from varying sports is retarded. Most sports require a different skill set, for example rugby requires more outright strength than golf, but it does not make one any less of an athlete imo.

Same goes with fitness, various sports require more than others etc.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Prodrive said:


> Arguing who is more of an athlete from varying sports is retarded. Most sports require a different skill set, for example rugby requires more outright strength than golf, but it does not make one any less of an athlete imo.
> 
> Same goes with fitness, various sports require more than others etc.


Totally agree. I can't stand "my favorite sport is more of a sport than your favorite sport" debates. We like what we like.

And in any case, what we like has a lot to do with culture anyway. I prefer baseball and football to soccer not because I've come to some objective conclusion that soccer is an inferior sport, but simply because I was born and raised in a country where baseball and football are much bigger parts of the culture than soccer is. I'm sure if I was from Europe or somewhere else, I'd be a huge soccer fan.


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## thesilenthunter90 (Mar 18, 2010)

Manfi said:


> lets see, when I played football (not referring to eggball) we had 3 practices a week and one game on the weekends during regular season. One of our practice days was reserved solely for running and conditioning. The other two days we did a mix of football and conditioning. In every game I averaged 8+kms and we were just amateurs. During tournaments we sometimes played 3 games a day!
> Also compare the bodies of football players and eggball players. I think it's pretty obvious which group is healthier. I don't know how it is in the US but where I come from fat people aren't considered athletes.
> btw, worldwide running is considered the "mother of all sports."
> 
> ...


^^^^why did you post this. I like soccer a little less now. Way to blow a argument man.:b


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## mike8803 (Feb 21, 2010)

Georges St. Pierre

:insert laughing icon here:


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## Manfi (May 30, 2010)

MichaelWesten said:


> Get over it, man. You can go on and on, but you're not going to change my mind. I've seen soccer players and I've seen NFL players and I'd put my money on NFL players any day of the week. Also,* let's cool it with the posting dudes in their underwear*.


I don't know about you but dudes in underwear don't turn me on. I was just making a point. Also not all cultures are like yours. In Europe and Asia men kiss and hug each other without being labeled gay. Get over it.


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

MichaelWesten said:


> Get over it, man. You can go on and on, but you're not going to change my mind. I've seen soccer players and I've seen NFL players and I'd put my money on NFL players any day of the week. Also, let's cool it with the posting dudes in their underwear.


here are some amazing NFL athletes:



















Seriously though the NFL does have some good athletes like Barry Sanders, Randy Moss etc. But positions like QB, K, and P don't really need a lot of athleticism. The OL, DL, and LBs are either fat or juiced up. I'd say soccer has players that are better fit overall.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

shynesshellasucks said:


> Seriously though the NFL does have some good athletes like Barry Sanders, Randy Moss etc.


Don't forget Bo Jackson!


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## veron (Apr 29, 2009)

Lol, this thread has sure gone down an interesting road... opcorn


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## BetaBoy90 (Jan 5, 2010)

I'm a hude Peyton Manning fan. I feel he is the best QB of all time, and he's just a rock who makes the big plays and keeps his team competitive every year. I'm not in the boat where I feel the guy with the most success is the greatest, because these are TEAM sports and I think it's really unfortunate that we tend to only judge the player and not look at the whole team and how the supporting cast may not be up to par. 

Special mention to Lebron James, I still can't believe the teams he was on won 60+ games and were as competitive as they turned out to be.


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

BetaBoy90 said:


> I'm not in the boat where I feel the guy with the most success is the greatest, because these are TEAM sports and I think it's really unfortunate that we tend to only judge the player and not look at the whole team and how the supporting cast may not be up to par.


I feel the same way; I've never been liked the idea of judging individual players by team championships. I really hate how team success gets factored into MVP voting as heavily as it does, in whatever sport.

Though I'm a Patriots fan, I agree with you that Peyton Manning is the best QB.


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## ThisGuy (Jul 13, 2010)

Manfi said:


> Not joking one bit!
> At least golfers aren't obese! Eggball players are all obese and out of shape. I've never seen a "sport" where people do nothing for most of the game. There is a reason why after a century no other country on earth plays egg ball.


You're kidding, right? Offensive/Defensive linemen are big/strong/fat most of the time, but nearly everyone else is in SPECTACULAR shape. Maybe it's just the Canadian football league, idk.


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## ThisGuy (Jul 13, 2010)

Sooo, what exactly makes Tiger Woods an ATHLETE again??? Golf is a game, not a sport.


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## Lachlan (Jul 3, 2008)

I dont know about the greatest of all time, but John Brzenk did pretty well in his sport, makes for a cool movie anyway.


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

MichaelWesten said:


> Athletic and fit are different things. NFL lineman are fat, but you better believe they're athletic. Soccer players are just skinny runners. All there is to it.


I would actually consider soccer fitness very athletic they run around for an hour and thirty minutes. The German national team is very fast and they do it non-stop for an hour and thirty minutes. American football is a three hour sport which only consists of an hour worth of action (offence and defense only get 30 minutes of play time each, maybe even less taking into count every time they huddle up). There are also only 16 NFL regular season games (They only play Sundays). The NFL is even planning to reduce it. Soccer gets way more games. Don't be fooled, you also need strength when playing soccer (Just not get too much strength so they could run faster than the big roided up fat boys you see in the NFL). Also compare the athleticism of Messi to that of Manning's; And then of Messi's to that of Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush>Messi>>>>>>>Manning. I would say that the NFL and Soccer have very good athletes it all just depends on what they are asked to train on.


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

ThisGuy said:


> Sooo, what exactly makes Tiger Woods an ATHLETE again??? Golf is a game, not a sport.


What defines a sport then? 
I'm pretty sure golf is a sport. An individual sport. American football would be a team sport. They're both games.


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## Robot the Human (Aug 20, 2010)

I'd have to go with Kobe, being a biased basketball fan. He did save our butts from losing the gold though. That was a great moment.


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## PHD in Ebonics (Jan 5, 2010)

shynesshellasucks said:


> I would actually consider soccer fitness very athletic they run around for an hour and thirty minutes. The German national team is very fast and they do it non-stop for an hour and thirty minutes. American football is a three hour sport which only consists of an hour worth of action (offence and defense only get 30 minutes of play time each, maybe even less taking into count every time they huddle up). There are also only 16 NFL regular season games (They only play Sundays). The NFL is even planning to reduce it. Soccer gets way more games. Don't be fooled, you also need strength when playing soccer (Just not get too much strength so they could run faster than the big roided up fat boys you see in the NFL). Also compare the athleticism of Messi to that of Manning's; And then of Messi's to that of Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush>Messi>>>>>>>Manning. I would say that the NFL and Soccer have very good athletes it all just depends on what they are asked to train on.


not to mention the fact that they get to rest when the other unit is out, or that they have time outs, and a play will last at most 15 seconds...

I can assure that Chris Johnson doesn't have enough stamina to last a complete game in a professional league.


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## coldsorehighlighter (Jun 2, 2010)

Psychedelic Breakfast said:


> not to mention the fact that they get to rest when the other unit is out, or that they have time outs, and a play will last at most 15 seconds...
> 
> I can assure that Chris Johnson doesn't have enough stamina to last a complete game in a professional league.


That's cause Chris Johnson hasn't trained his whole life for long-term endurance. That doesn't mean he isn't in as good, or better, athletic shape. 
Chris Johnson can run in a straight line, for a 100 yards or less, faster than almost anyone on the planet, while dodging 7 or 8 guys who are 6'3, 6'4 and 250-300 pounds.


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## hiimnotcool (Apr 28, 2009)

shynesshellasucks said:


> I would actually consider soccer fitness very athletic they run around for an hour and thirty minutes. The German national team is very fast and they do it non-stop for an hour and thirty minutes. American football is a three hour sport which only consists of an hour worth of action (offence and defense only get 30 minutes of play time each, maybe even less taking into count every time they huddle up). There are also only 16 NFL regular season games (They only play Sundays). The NFL is even planning to reduce it. Soccer gets way more games. Don't be fooled, you also need strength when playing soccer (Just not get too much strength so they could run faster than the big roided up fat boys you see in the NFL). Also compare the athleticism of Messi to that of Manning's; And then of Messi's to that of Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush>Messi>>>>>>>Manning. I would say that the NFL and Soccer have very good athletes it all just depends on what they are asked to train on.


the NFL is planning to increase the season to 18 games, not reduce it.


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## tennislover84 (May 14, 2010)

The greatest athlete of all time isn't even on the list. It has to be Esther Vergeer, the wheelchair tennis player from the Netherlands. :nw Ranked world number 1 since 1999 and won almost 400 matches in a row since 2003! She didn't lose a match in seven years!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Vergeer

It puts this Kobe Bryant person to shame really! As far as I can tell, he only plays against Americans anyway, so he can't even claim to be the best in the world at his sport. :b Hehe.


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Manfi said:


> lets see, when I played football (not referring to eggball) we had 3 practices a week and one game on the weekends during regular season. One of our practice days was reserved solely for running and conditioning. The other two days we did a mix of football and conditioning. In every game I averaged 8+kms and we were just amateurs. During tournaments we sometimes played 3 games a day!
> Also compare the bodies of football players and eggball players. I think it's pretty obvious which group is healthier. I don't know how it is in the US but where I come from fat people aren't considered athletes.
> btw, worldwide running is considered the "mother of all sports."
> 
> ...


Looks like they would be good kickers in American football or cross country runners. Compared to several NFL guys with beastly physiques (yeah many are not fat linemen).


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Psychedelic Breakfast said:


> not to mention the fact that they get to rest when the other unit is out, or that they have time outs, and a play will last at most 15 seconds...
> 
> I can assure that Chris Johnson doesn't have enough stamina to last a complete game in a professional league.


So a lot of long-term prolonged endurance = athleticism? TBH from a raw athletic perspective American football players at the skill positions have some of the best overall athleticism on the planet with ridiculous relative strength, speed, agility, coordination, open motor movements, and overall explosive ability. Sports like soccer and basketball (I'm a huge basketball fan) have huge conditioning and skill variables, it still requires fast motor movements but not near as much focus on that raw athleticism that is displayed in football. I think people often confuse skill with athleticism.

Even combine tests basketball players on average have much lower verticals than American football players. 40 times, agility tests, broad jump, cone test, etc.


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## Iwillovercomeanxiety1 (Aug 23, 2010)

Haha.. I'd like to see you go through one NFL practice. I'm sure you wouldn't last. Football players may not be the most fit athletes in the world, but you definitely have to be in great shape to keep up. All the players in the skilled positions for football are in tremendous shape. Based on position you are going to have different body types in the NFL. The linemen of course are going to be generally a lot bigger and have a lot more body fat. In football you need some big mammoths up front to fight in the trenches... but believe me these men are in much better shape stamina wise and are much more athletic than you think. Larry Allen who was a legit 330 pound linemen ran a 4.9 40 yard dash. Probably faster than a good amount of basketball and baseball players. As far as greatest athletes go.. c'mon man Joe Montana! Greatest quarterback of all time!



Manfi said:


> Not joking one bit!
> At least golfers aren't obese! Eggball players are all obese and out of shape. I've never seen a "sport" where people do nothing for most of the game. There is a reason why after a century no other country on earth plays egg ball.


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## Iwillovercomeanxiety1 (Aug 23, 2010)

Psychedelic Breakfast said:


> not to mention the fact that they get to rest when the other unit is out, or that they have time outs, and a play will last at most 15 seconds...
> 
> I can assure that Chris Johnson doesn't have enough stamina to last a complete game in a professional league.


And I can assure you that there are plenty of NFL players that can last a full professional soccer game. Very few, if any.. soccer players would be able to endure the physicality that accompanies the game of football.


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## moxosis (Aug 26, 2009)

From the list the I voted for Kobe Bryant, because he has had a great career, and guy like Lionel Messi or Lebron James still have years a head of them to add.


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## Robot the Human (Aug 20, 2010)

Um, you have to admit that football linemen are quite a step up from sumo wrestlers. NFL players don't eat a meal and sleep on purpose. That's like the definition of poor health.


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## shynesshellasucks (May 10, 2008)

Prodigal Son said:


> So a lot of long-term prolonged endurance = athleticism? TBH from a raw athletic perspective American football players at the skill positions have some of the best overall athleticism on the planet with ridiculous relative strength, speed, agility, coordination, open motor movements, and overall explosive ability. Sports like soccer and basketball (I'm a huge basketball fan) have huge conditioning and skill variables, it still requires fast motor movements but not near as much focus on that raw athleticism that is displayed in football. I think people often confuse skill with athleticism.
> 
> Even combine tests basketball players on average have much lower verticals than American football players. 40 times, agility tests, broad jump, cone test, etc.


Yes you may have a point. There are many very fast soccer players (that reside in South America, and Africa) that could compare with Randy Moss, TO and many other NFL players in soccer but they go unknown since they just suck with the ball in their feet. A very athletic and skillful soccer player is ideal and would be a perfect player but that is just way too rare. It would be just like imagining Bo Jackson or Reggie Bush with Joe Montana's or Manning's throwing ability and mechanics. Can you imagine that kind of QB? You would destroy every defense with a wildcat formation.

Most of the soccer players are fast, maybe not Reggie Bush or Calvin Johnson fast but fast. It is just too rare finding someone to be as fast as Calvin Johnson and possess soccer dribbling and technique, as it is rare finding a Calvin Johnson playing QB in the NFL. That is because QB involves the most skill out of any position in football rather than just physical attributes. Mike Vick and Vince Young come the closest to mind, but they are very mediocre passers who lack mechanics and football IQ otherwise they would be amazing.


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## Ironpain (Aug 8, 2010)

When it comes to the most successful Athlete of all time I have to actually give it to American Kickboxing legend also known as a Full Contact Karate champion Benny the Jet Urquidez who holds the record of 6 World Titles in 5 different weight divisions and remained undefeated in his 27 year career, he maintained record of 63-0-0 and 57 knockouts. Also who can deny Wayne Gretzky's place among the most dominate 61 NHL Records stands as an accomplishment many athletes can dream of getting Wayne Gretzkey comes in at 2nd his record and skills on the ice speak volumes to the dedicated athlete he was. While Roger holds 16 Grand Slam titles and can claim his place among the Greatest like Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal is still young (I was actually surprised to learn he shares a birth year and month with me, he is a week or two older then me) but he has accomplished at the age of 24 what it took Roger till he was 27 to achieve and he has many more years to be among the greatest of all time. 

No doubt Kobe Bryant Carries on the legacy left behind by the Greats, Chamberlin, Abdul Jabber, Jordan.

but every sport is individual and you can't compare one sport to the other, you can compare the numbers. In Football if you were to make a list of the greats of all time, no matter how much you hate him, OJ Simpson would be among that list, even though a few of his records have already been eclipsed (yes that word is not just from Twilight lol) and it has been over 40 years since he retired from Football to become an Actor Jim Brown is still considered the greatest Running back the game has ever seen.


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## so_so_shy (Sep 5, 2005)

I don't have any idea why people are voting Kobe over Federer. Kobe is not the best at his sport all time, there are plenty of other guys up there with him. But Federer is the best tennis player ever(so far).


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## so_so_shy (Sep 5, 2005)

Manfi said:


> I was gonna go with Maradona but he's not there (??) so I chose "the flea."
> 
> btw, American football players and golfers should be taken out of this list. These two aren't sports. I loose more calories running after my cat.


Football players may not be able to run for as long as a soccer player, but they are athletically gifted in different way and are trained and conditioned to be the best possible at what their job is. Just like a soccer player is trained to be the best at what they do. They are just conditioned for completely different roles. Put a soccer player on a football field and he would get cracked in 2 first go!


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

so_so_shy said:


> But Federer is the best tennis player ever(so far).


Until Nadal passes him...


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## so_so_shy (Sep 5, 2005)

fonz said:


> Until Nadal passes him...


He may, but I don't think so. Federer is not as dominant as he once was, but he could still have easily a couple slams left in him. Just theoretically speaking here, but if Feds can win 2 more that means Nadal has to win 10 more to overtake him. And even as it stands now he needs 8 more which is still a very large feat.

Federer is the current clear number 2 in the world in my eyes(yeah i know Djokovic just beat him and took over 2 but i still think Federer is better) and is capable of the high level of play to get back to number 1. And all this at his age is amazing for a tennis player. It can happen but I will be surprised if Nadal has the longevity Feds has.


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## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

Donald Bradman. Here's proof,


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

alte said:


> Donald Bradman. Here's proof,


I have no idea where this chart come from or who created it, but it's over-simplistic and hardly "proof" of anything. Just considering baseball: batting average is not the best measure of a baseball player's ability, and I don't think anyone really believes (anymore) that Ty Cobb is the best baseball player of all time (though he's certainly among the best). The consensus (more or less) among experts is that the most dominant players of all time are Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.

(Not meant as a knock on Donald Bradman--I know nothing about cricket, so for all I know, Bradman might very well be the most dominant athlete of all time relative to others in his sport. But I can't take this chart seriously as proof of that.)


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## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

Ok, I should have quoted the source. I took the chart from close to the bottom of the page here. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Bradman

From the same page,

"The statistics show that "no other athlete dominates an international sport to the extent that Bradman does cricket".[2] In order to post a similarly dominant career statistic as Bradman, a baseball batter would need a career batting average of .392, while a basketball player would need to score an average of 43.0 points per game.[232] The respective records are .366 and 30.1"


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Ok, thanks. In any case, I'll just reiterate my point that batting average is not the best measure of a baseball player's overall ability (and not even the best measure of just his hitting ability). It's simply not a good measure to use at all when gauging a player's dominance, so for that reason alone it's hard to take that chart seriously.


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## alte (Sep 4, 2010)

ok, fair enough. I don't know enough about baseball and some other sports listed in the chart to know if the statistics used are a good measure of a player's ability.


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## fonz (Oct 15, 2008)

Yeah stats are better at measuring some sports than others. In a sport like basketball,a player can be instrumental in a team's success without being a really high scorer. Like Magic Johnson,most people would put him in the top 10 basketball players ever,but he's certainly well down the list in total points or points per game. In cricket,you have all rounders who are solid at both disciplines without being dominant in either but this can make them greater than a superior specialist batsman or bowler.

Bradman's record is always a mystery to me - how did he average almost 100? You might think,the bowling was slower back in those days and so it was easier for him,but no. If you go by that logic,everyone else's average from then would be really high as well,but they aren't. He's just one of those once in a century players...


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## kingfoxy (Oct 18, 2009)

Hulk Hogan


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## rockguitarist89 (Sep 22, 2010)

I'll vote for Michael Jordan, who you don't have listed. I watched a documentary on him recently and it covered his baseball career in depth. That was the point of the documentary lol. The guy probably could have made it to the MLB based on his skills, not just his fame. He sucked at first, but got MUCH better. Even some of the analysts agreed that he could have played in the Majors. He was actually invited to play in the MLB during the strike, but he declined b/c he wanted to be there when he deserved to be their.


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## Duke of Prunes (Jul 20, 2009)

Ayrton Senna.


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