You don't have to act like a twat. Now, if you put Bo Jackson then you can add Walter Payton, Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown or Willie Mays.
That’s part of it though when you’re trying to give someone their place historically.
I think it’s pretty telling that almost all the athletes on there were doing their thing before the internet really took off. In 50 years that list will probably look a lot different, and the passage of time will be kind to the likes of Floyd mayweather.
It’s not acting like a twat it’s sarcastic humour.
Bo gets in ahead of those guys and was always a guarantee for this list thanks to him winning ESPN’s sport science greatest athlete of all time contest.
Out of that list it’s Federer for me, he ticks all the boxes.
Talent, hard work, physical ability, dominance, longevity, consistency, making it look easy, legacy, records broken and set etc.
Plus bonus points for things like being a positive role model off the court too.
Talent, hard work, physical ability, dominance, longevity, consistency, making it look easy, legacy, records broken and set etc.
Plus bonus points for things like being a positive role model off the court too.
There are a few things worth considering for such a list. As mentioned earlier, when making a list you have to distinguish whether you are asking about the greatest athlete or sportsman (which imo could be completely different things). Also worth considering that there are people outside the US and Europe how may be worth of being included.
To be considered the best across all sports you first need to be the undisputed best in your own field so Jordan federer are out and second, the game must be played by a significant portion of the world. Gretzky out.
Bo was a better athlete than any of those guys though.
The problem with that is that swimming requires facilities that many poor countries don't have, F1 and Golf aren't popular games in most countries, same thing with the NFL and Baseball, and for Pelé we have Maradona. So Ali vs Bolt.
And they were far better sportsmen, in their field.
How are you defining “sportsman”?
Ali. Not the best but for me undoubtedly the greatest. Greatest story, greatest legacy, most memorable moments, most inspirational.
A man that plays a sport. Jim Brown and Payton were better running backs, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays better baseball players. Now, to be honest the simple fact that I use these four men as a benchmark gives more weight to your point.
I think global legacy has to be considered, and I don’t think there are too many more names that could be on that list.
Athlete and sportsman are different but together, it’s all encompassing.
In what way?
I will be happy with one of those as the winner.
This is true.A man that plays a sport. Jim Brown and Payton were better running backs, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays better baseball players. Now, to be honest the simple fact that I use these four men as a benchmark gives more weight to your point.
Bo was an All-Star in baseball and All-Pro in football.
Have you ever seen Bo play?
Those metrics cannot be compared between team and individual sports though. A footballer winning 5 CLs and a men's singles tennis player winning 5 grand slams cannot be compared under any metric. In which case the individual one obviously gets far more credit.
Ice hockey is huge in Canada and Russia, aswell as USA and several countries across Europe have professional leagues. Considering it’s popularity in the two biggest countries on earth, it has to be included.
You can compare it to some degree, and arrive at a conclusion which will be based around more than just whether it was an individual or a team sport.
Recently it feels like there are more Americans in this forum than British or Irish.
In the end I don't know, I don't know enough about Boxing to judge Ali, I'm not sure if Bolt is a better athlete than Michael Johnson. He is still active but Teddy Riner will in my opinion be in the conversation and Judo is as global as it gets.
Since when is Ali the undisputed best boxer ever? I don't think he should be in the discussion, unless it factors heavily their social and 'fame' impact.
For the record, since Jim Thorpe, the gold medalist in the Olympic decathlon has been called “the world’s greatest athlete”.
And I think that should be a factor when you have this conversation.
In what way do I compare a guy who was surrounded with 10 other players who had a contribution to his success in varying degrees over the course of his career to someone who has achieved everything on his own?
Nah by that logic you include all the shitty games American play, it should be based on popularity over the world not population size of the country playing it.
Dont know enough about boxing to say he isnt thats why was okay with him. So that leaves bolt?
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No, it was a genuine question
Balic is in the Maradona category. Very good at handball but not the athlete Guðjón Valur is. Hansen doesn't have the career behind him so you might as well name Neymar.
Narcisse and Omeyer, meh. We're talking greatest ever handballers and Omeyer is a goalkeeper. Narcisse > Richardson so not worth mentioning him.
Narcisse and Karabatic comparable to Guðjón Valur but he's got a record despite the worse team
Bo was 6’1” 230lbs and could run 100m in 10.5 seconds, ran the 40 yard dash at the NFL draft combine in 4.12 seconds, was an All-American and All-Pro running back, was an MLB All-Star, could hit for average and power, could cover all of right field, had an absolute cannon for an arm, and his performance in the weight room was phenomenal.
I thought he didn’t do weights?
That’s more an urban legend than anything.
Bo knows weights.
Auburn fullback Tommie Agee said:
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There’s two olympians in there that I think it’s difficult to justify picking one over the other.
Michael Phelps is the most successful Olympian of all time, and Usain Bolt was basically the face of track and field for a decade.
Michael Phelps is the most successful Olympian of all time, and Usain Bolt was basically the face of track and field for a decade.
And yet neither compete in the Olympic event in which the winner is actually called “the best athlete in the world”.
Such an unnecessary response.
Muhammad Ali transcends sport to be honest. No one in that list can match Ali's immense legacy off the ring.
Umm... It’s true.
The winner of the Olympic Decathlon is a better athlete than someone who specializes in one event and is called “The World’s Greatest Athlete”.
Regarding Jim Thorpe...
That’s in addition to playing football, baseball, and basketball professionally and before modern sports science.
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Yup but we have 10 people so far who couldn’t pick him or anyone else on that list.
Are any of the distance running world records as impressive as Bolt's 9.58 or 9.19? Or career dominance as unique as Bolt's? Nobody had won the 100/200m back to back at the Olympics and he did it 3 times.
Genuinely curious.