BobDigital
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2013
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The Olympics got me thinking. Who are the best athletes that ever lived? Since we can't go back indefinitely we will go back about 100-50 years depending on available info and tape. It makes it easier to compare and athletes are better these days than ever anyway due to science and training. This list will include overall athletic ability, hand eye coordination, ability to preform under pressure as well as speed and power. Obviously a lot of debate can be had but generally most of these people will be those who dominated their respective athletic skill sets. Also it is important to remember these people while having great talent had great drive and this is a list based on athletic ability which goes hand and hand with best sportsman but not automatically (sorry no Brady here)
#10 Roger Federer - The best to ever play his sport precisely cause he is the most physically gifted. His hand eye is crazy and often goes for the harder shots for the crowd and makes them.
#9 Deoin Sanders - The first sport to be represented 2 times will be football. While maybe not the best CB of all time he is the best athlete the position ever had. His highlight reel speaks for itself. Speed, quickness, body control, hand eye. I don't want to sell him short as a football player but whenever he strayed from the book his athletic ability let him do so and succeed.
#8 Bruce Lee - This one will no doubt raise eye brows. However when you read and see some of the things he was able to do it drops your jaw. This is not about him being a great fighter (I am confident he was) but about the things he did with his body and at his weight that make him deserve strong consideration in any top athletes list.
#7 Bobby Orr - While Gretsky deservse mention he is not the athlete Orr was IMO. Part of being a great athlete is great vision and anticipation as well as ability to understand your game like no one else has before. Orr did these things and is not only the best to ever play his sport but a highly underrated athlete though he is considered a great player.
#6 Pele - The best player in the biggest sport in the world is a strong case in and of itself. I only watched him a bit though on a few replays and don't feel comfortable putting him any higher. Clearly he belongs on any top 1o list though.
#5 Usain Bolt - He built his body to do one thing and did it better than anyone ever did. The fastest man who ever lived and he blew the record away. The only reason he is not higher is cause he is so specialized so while super athletic is is hard to judge against those above who have much more across the board athletic in various areas.
#4 Michael Jordan - Arguably the best player in his sport but even if not he is the best all around athlete in his sport. He did things on the floor that have never been seen before or since in the modern game.
#3 Sugar Ray Robinson - It would be easy to tout Ali as the most impressive athelete of all time but IMO Sugar is the best athlete to ever lace them up. His dominance in his sport is something amazing. His speed, power, hand eye and fluid body movement were great to see. It is a shame we didn't have HD cameras while he was around.
#2 Bo Jackson - Bo would be great at anything he did. If he had a longer career he might have topped this list. Sadly that is not the case but he succeeded at high level in multiple professional sports cause of what an amazing athlete he was.
#1 Michael Phelps - After thinking long and hard about it I have to give it to him. He dominated his sport like no one else and has done things no one else has ever done over a period of time unheard of in his sport. People will say "it is easy to get a lot of medals in swimming. If this were true we would expect other swimmers to be right up there with him in medal count. Nope. Next closest has 12 and most of the top winners are in gymnastics. He trained to be the best in several styles which is absolutely key to his case. While swimming in general translates well it is probably understated if anything. Give him his due. The best who ever lived.
HMs
Lance Armstrong: I don't know if it is fair to include him or not. What he did was incredible and he was likely no more dirty than anyone else. For now I will leave him off but if I were to look past that he would be on.
Jim Thorpe: Heard great things but never saw him play.
Ali: Many would put him #1. I think he would be #11 and 20 guys can deserve the top spot. He dominated his weight class and deserves all the praise he gets for his ability.
#10 Roger Federer - The best to ever play his sport precisely cause he is the most physically gifted. His hand eye is crazy and often goes for the harder shots for the crowd and makes them.
#9 Deoin Sanders - The first sport to be represented 2 times will be football. While maybe not the best CB of all time he is the best athlete the position ever had. His highlight reel speaks for itself. Speed, quickness, body control, hand eye. I don't want to sell him short as a football player but whenever he strayed from the book his athletic ability let him do so and succeed.
#8 Bruce Lee - This one will no doubt raise eye brows. However when you read and see some of the things he was able to do it drops your jaw. This is not about him being a great fighter (I am confident he was) but about the things he did with his body and at his weight that make him deserve strong consideration in any top athletes list.
#7 Bobby Orr - While Gretsky deservse mention he is not the athlete Orr was IMO. Part of being a great athlete is great vision and anticipation as well as ability to understand your game like no one else has before. Orr did these things and is not only the best to ever play his sport but a highly underrated athlete though he is considered a great player.
#6 Pele - The best player in the biggest sport in the world is a strong case in and of itself. I only watched him a bit though on a few replays and don't feel comfortable putting him any higher. Clearly he belongs on any top 1o list though.
#5 Usain Bolt - He built his body to do one thing and did it better than anyone ever did. The fastest man who ever lived and he blew the record away. The only reason he is not higher is cause he is so specialized so while super athletic is is hard to judge against those above who have much more across the board athletic in various areas.
#4 Michael Jordan - Arguably the best player in his sport but even if not he is the best all around athlete in his sport. He did things on the floor that have never been seen before or since in the modern game.
#3 Sugar Ray Robinson - It would be easy to tout Ali as the most impressive athelete of all time but IMO Sugar is the best athlete to ever lace them up. His dominance in his sport is something amazing. His speed, power, hand eye and fluid body movement were great to see. It is a shame we didn't have HD cameras while he was around.
#2 Bo Jackson - Bo would be great at anything he did. If he had a longer career he might have topped this list. Sadly that is not the case but he succeeded at high level in multiple professional sports cause of what an amazing athlete he was.
#1 Michael Phelps - After thinking long and hard about it I have to give it to him. He dominated his sport like no one else and has done things no one else has ever done over a period of time unheard of in his sport. People will say "it is easy to get a lot of medals in swimming. If this were true we would expect other swimmers to be right up there with him in medal count. Nope. Next closest has 12 and most of the top winners are in gymnastics. He trained to be the best in several styles which is absolutely key to his case. While swimming in general translates well it is probably understated if anything. Give him his due. The best who ever lived.
HMs
Lance Armstrong: I don't know if it is fair to include him or not. What he did was incredible and he was likely no more dirty than anyone else. For now I will leave him off but if I were to look past that he would be on.
Jim Thorpe: Heard great things but never saw him play.
Ali: Many would put him #1. I think he would be #11 and 20 guys can deserve the top spot. He dominated his weight class and deserves all the praise he gets for his ability.
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