Who is most athletic athlete?

[Emmz]

Absolutely agree, and you still kinda have to have respect for what they did, it's not easy to ever be as dominant as Gretzky was. I can't say I knew that, I always assumed he was the greatest because he has pretty much every record.

 

Everything is advancing all the time. Look at the NFL, the 73 Dolphins or 85 Bears couldn't beat the 08 Lions. I still have to respect that, because they were also working with primitive schemes, etc.

 

I don't necessarily feel athletes/teams lose points for that.

[Whiteandnerdy42]

While Gretzky was undoubtedly the best hockey player ever (offensively, at least), he is definitely not the best athlete ever.

[Emmz]

There's a question of tactics involved, Emmz. Not trying to call you out in particular, but it's definitely possible to be right the wrong way. Even worse when you're only dubiously right, or when you're arguing a matter of opinion.

 

I never said anyone was wrong anyways, just making that clear.

 

As for your point, being right the wrong way just means that you think you're right. If you can't formulate a good, thoughtful response with support, then while you might not be wrong, that's how it's going to seem.

 

It is totally subjective, I could argue Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, but I pickes Bo Jackson because it's obvious by the eye test that he was just natural at everything.

 

I also used some stats, and that'll be that. I don't seek to change anyone's mind, I'm really just trying to make a case for Jackson. I think Thorpe's case is as good as anyone's, and I've said that like 3 times.

[Dojji]

While Gretzky was undoubtedly the best hockey player ever (offensively, at least), he is definitely not the best athlete ever.

 

I think Boston has claim to a hockey player who was far better all around than Gretzky.

 

Don't forget that Bobby Orr was a defenseman. He scored by the ton, and had to play strong defensive hockey too.

 

I think that considering that hockey asks more of a player than any other sport as an intense anaerobic and aerobic effort, you have to give a hockey defenseman a lot of credit, especially an elite one. It's why I was on here eariler stumping for Chara. I still think Chara is a very good case when talking about today's athletes simply because of how strong he is. He frequently has to hold back physically in the most intensely physical major sports league. You can tell he does hold back too, because of the rare times someone pushes his buttons hard enough that suddenly, he doesn't.

 

Z's big problem in a discussion like this is that he doesn't have flashy skill. Most of what he does is based on positioning, intelligence, strength, balance and coordination that can be a bit on the subtle side, so compared to the very unsubtle LBJ and other flashy offensive athletes Z is going to get a bit underrated at times.

[jopete19]

Mark Melancon.

[User Name]

The question is about "most athletic" athlete, as in the one with greatest athletic ability. That's a lot more about physical skills than accruing stats. For that reason, a lot of guys like Gretzky and Jordan probably aren't better suited to this discussion than multiple sports players like Bo, Deion and Thorpe, who showed the ability to excel at multiple activities.

[Dojji]

I'm not sure that's as relevant as you think it is, because there are athletes that excelled at their own sport that made that sport their own and didn't decide to cross the fence. I'm not going to dismiss the work of those men just because they never took certain career risks.

 

These men deserve credit for being competent major leaguers in multiple leagues. That's rare. That said let's not let the "hybrid" angle carry more weight than it should. There are football players that were much better football players than Deion Sanders, and much more athletic football players than Deion Sanders. There are baseball players as well that are both more skilled and more athletic.

 

As for Jim Thorpe, he may have come in during a deadball era, but a career .648 OPS doesn't exactly scream "overwhelming success at baseball." Especially for an outfielder. He had a couple good half seasons. That's pretty much it. A lot of Mauro Gomezes have been as successful in the big leagues as Jim Thorpe. If his big league "success" in other sports is on par, then he's a jack of all trades master of none.

[User Name]

There's a question of tactics involved, Emmz. Not trying to call you out in particular, but it's definitely possible to be right the wrong way. Even worse when you're only dubiously right, or when you're arguing a matter of opinion.

 

Or be wrong the right way. Either way, points can be presented while maintaining civility and without ridicule.

[Emmz]

^Funny coming from you.

 

Sad mess, you should worry about yourself more.

[Northern Star]

Interesting thing about Gretzky is he's second to Orr in the "who is the best?" ELO Rater "game" at hockeyreference.com. This is where anyone can go on the website and it pulls up two players with their stats and the user selects which is better and it adds/subtracts points from the players' totals.

[onlybereaved]

Some other things to consider: The definition of athlete)

a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill.

 

We could all have differing opinions on which aspect of athleticism is more important or valid in being a deciding factor of who is the most athletic athlete.

 

Example:

 

World's strongest man competitions have these huge guys who out of sheer strength can pull a transport truck with a harness.

 

Gymnastics pro's use incredible precision and strength/coordination to do crazy flips on the matts, or to do whatever routines in the rings or on the pummel horse etc.

 

Point being, one person could argue that the sheer strength is the best athlete, the other could say well no he's just a huge beast but dummy with perhaps no coordination otherwise, etc.

 

So many categories and variables to consider. This is a super interesting topic - just nearly impossible to pick one overall person as a proven winner of the title.

[User Name]

^Funny coming from you.

 

Sad mess, you should worry about yourself more.

 

Really now? I'm not the one getting called out left and right on the forum. You should worry about yourself more?

[Emmz]

Really now? I'm not the one getting called out left and right on the forum. You should worry about yourself more?

 

What?

 

That doesn't even make sense.

 

I get "called out" a lot, so I need to worry about myself? How do you figure?

[Emmz]

"im rubber ur glu watever u say 2 me bounces off n hits u".

[User Name]

You can have the last word, otherwise you may not be able to sleep at night.

[Emmz]

Slept fine last night dawg. Hbu?

[rjortiz]

You seem like a pretty angry person.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Lmao.

[Emmz]

You seem like a pretty angry person.

 

You must learn the difference between anger and contempt.

 

How's that grab ya?

[yankees228]

Contempt toward other poster(s)?

 

EDIT: Only asking because that seemed like an answer that begged a question ... so I was curious and obliged. Such is the result of boring afternoons.

[Emmz]

The ones I don't much care for.

[yankees228]

Ah I see.

[rjortiz]

You must learn the difference between anger and contempt.

 

How's that grab ya?

 

Makes you sound like a narcissist.

[Bellhorn04]

Interesting thing about Gretzky is he's second to Orr in the "who is the best?" ELO Rater "game" at hockeyreference.com. This is where anyone can go on the website and it pulls up two players with their stats and the user selects which is better and it adds/subtracts points from the players' totals.

 

I can absolutely guarantee that if you conducted a poll of hockey fans old enough to have seen them both, Orr would beat Gretzky by a wide margin. I would predict that the top 3 would look like this:

 

1. Orr

2. Howe

3. Gretzky

 

This is not a diss on Gretzky by any means. He was undoubtedly the greatest point-producing machine that will ever exist, a mastermind of getting the puck in the net.

[Dojji]

Right, the reason Orr beats Gretzky is because Orr was the more complete player. It's no secret that defense wasn't exactly Gretzky's thing. He didn't ignore it exactly but, well, it's kind of like Marc Savard on defense. OK, yeah, sure, I can get that done, but that's not why I'm on the ice. As a defenseman, even a highly mobile, offensive minded one, Orr couldn't do that.

 

 

Since I consider hockey the most athletic of the major sports, and Orr was the best all-time hockey player ever, I consider Orr a very, very good candidate for the most athletic all-time athlete.

[Emmz]

Makes you sound like a narcissist.

 

How's that?

 

Edit: Anyways, doc, as much as I appreciate the amateur pathology diagnosis, I have to say that you're way way off. Not that giving psycho-analysis based on text isn't completely laughable or anything.

 

Ps: Let's try figuring out the difference between anger and contempt before throwing out new terms above our heads, shall we?

 

[Emmz]

Hold it, you know, your short and irritating posting style reminds me of someone who's been here before.

 

Edit: Gotcha. def SemperFi Sox. And someone else, too.

[ibot2much]

Hold it, you know, your short and irritating posting style reminds me of someone who's been here before.

 

Edit: Gotcha. def SemperFi Sox. And someone else, too.

 

 

Jeez....will you stop living in the past? The people who hated you then are gone and it is whole new batch of people now that find you annoying.

[Emmz]

Jeez....will you stop living in the past? The people who hated you then are gone and it is whole new batch of people now that find you annoying.

 

If that helps you cope with me running you off the site, and making you look pretty stupid on multiple occasions, then congratulations on your moral vic.

 

As to people finding me annoying, I'd be offended if that held any merit. Most people speak positively of me and realize that I'm opinionated and make some good points. If anything, you're the delusional broad with a chip on her shoulder.

[ibot2much]

Delusional much?? You never ran me off the site, but I was here when they banned you for your mouth about a year ago....something you have never recovered from.