Athelete of the decade

[Echoes]

The decade began in 2001. It will thus be over in 2010. No debate for me.

 

[Kevin Rudd's Hairdryer]

Anyone heard of Kelly Slater?
9 times world surfing champion.
Youngest ever world champ, oldest ever world champ.
Most career event wins ever (54).
I doubt anyone has ever dominated a sport in a similiar manner.
His consistency in a sport performed all around the world on the most unpredictable of playing surfaces is mind boggling.
He tops my list.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Anyone heard of Kelly Slater?
9 times world surfing champion.
Youngest ever world champ, oldest ever world champ.
Most career event wins ever (54).
I doubt anyone has ever dominated a sport in a similiar manner.
His consistency in a sport performed all around the world on the most unpredictable of playing surfaces is mind boggling.
He tops my list.

hey Kev,
It would be nice being the PM of Australia that you would spend more time in your own country than overseas.!!!!!!!

 

[Feldy82]

Zinedine Zidane - And I'm not French
Usain Bolt - This guy is FAST

 

[Ferminal]

That's just wrong. Boxing is a sport, one of the greatest and most storied sports in history. In fact wasn't Muhammad Ali voted by pretty much everyone as the greatest sportsman of the 20th century? AP, BBC, Sports Illustrated? I think he was. He lit the Olympic Flame in 1996 for crying out loud.

Oh I completely agree, but you can't just make up your own rules regarding what is a sport and what isn't. If I went and punched someone, it's fighting, but if I punch someone in a ring in front of millions of viewers, it's a sport. Somewhere in between those two is where fighting becomes a sport. Just like golf, somewhere between hitting a ball and the PGA, it becomes a sport. Football is not a sport unless you're playing another team etc etc.

 

[Moondance]

Oh I completely agree, but you can't just make up your own rules regarding what is a sport and what isn't. If I went and punched someone, it's fighting, but if I punch someone in a ring in front of millions of viewers, it's a sport. Somewhere in between those two is where fighting becomes a sport. Just like golf, somewhere between hitting a ball and the PGA, it becomes a sport. Football is not a sport unless you're playing another team etc etc.

You can't reduce this argument to pure relativism. There are some hard and fast rules. I consider golf to be a game of skill. Incredible skill for those who practice it at a high level, but a game nevertheless. It is not athletic. Bridge and chess could be considered sports than as well. The simple fact that golf is played outdoors and requires walking and involves some physical movement doesn't make it a sport.

Also, it's as exciting as watching paint dry.

 

[workingclasshero]

My list looks something like

1. Tiger Woods
2. Roger Federer
3. Michael Schumacher
4. Lance Armstrong
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
6. Michael Phelps

schumacher isn't an athlete, he drives cars. tiger woods isn't an athlete, he plays a purely skill based sport

cristiano ronaldo has been widely considered the best footballer in the world for one single season (07/08). no one would argue he is the number one footballer of the decade never mind one of the top athletes

1) Roger Federer
2) Lance
3) Cristiano Ronaldo

same goes for this one. like our dutch friend said, ronaldo hasn't really done that much for portugal. really needs to perform in south africa

Anyone heard of Kelly Slater?
9 times world surfing champion.
Youngest ever world champ, oldest ever world champ.
Most career event wins ever (54).
I doubt anyone has ever dominated a sport in a similiar manner.
His consistency in a sport performed all around the world on the most unpredictable of playing surfaces is mind boggling.
He tops my list.

i've heard of him but tbh this is a shíte sport.

my favourites - only athletes in the sense it seems most people agree upon are considered - not ranked

(btw i'm putting aside all doping speculations)

roger federer

michael phelps

haile gebrselassie

 

[Kevin Rudd's Hairdryer]

i've heard of him but tbh this is a shíte sport.

Your ignorance of surfing is irrelevant. Kelly Slater's record is outstanding

 

[Ferminal]

You can't reduce this argument to pure relativism. There are some hard and fast rules. I consider golf to be a game of skill. Incredible skill for those who practice it at a high level, but a game nevertheless. It is not athletic. Bridge and chess could be considered sports than as well. The simple fact that golf is played outdoors and requires walking and involves some physical movement doesn't make it a sport.

Also, it's as exciting as watching paint dry.

And in that definition we reduce legitimate sports to very few in such a way that half of the medals awarded at the Olympics would be for "games" or "contests" or "not sports". Personally I prefer a general approach, I don't see the need to rigidly apply definitions - for what result?

Is weightlifting a sport or a "not sport" ?

 

[Galic Ho]

My list looks something like

1. Tiger Woods
2. Roger Federer
3. Michael Schumacher
4. Lance Armstrong
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
6. Michael Phelps

Does this list get you excited? Three on that list are chumps. Can you guess which lot? The bold or unbolded? The other three are legit. Cristiano Ronaldo? Have you seen the rankings lately? Henry is rightfully the world No.1 ranked soccer player. Hands down, no debate needed. The greatest soccer player of the decade was another Frenchman, Zinedine Zidane. Ronaldo can get back to us in five years time. Also the chumps on your list share another common trait. They treat women like dirt and disposable commodities. Coincidence or another douchebag trait?

Golf is a game. You play against yourself. Sure you have a caddy hold your balls and clubs, but what other sport allows this kind of mentoring as you play? Competitors are not all competing in the same conditions at the same time, unless in a playoff. Golf is about mastering yourself and a course. Hence a game, as there is no real sports contest. A contest in skill, endurance and conditions between combatants in the same environment at the same time is needed for a game to progress to a sport. Golf will never meet this. Video game contests have more sports characteristics than golf.

 

[Galic Ho]

schumacher isn't an athlete, he drives cars. tiger woods isn't an athlete, he plays a purely skill based sport

cristiano ronaldo has been widely considered the best footballer in the world for one single season (07/08). no one would argue he is the number one footballer of the decade never mind one of the top athletes

You had one correct line there, the Ronaldo one. F1 racing is a sport. Worlds best sportsman, not athlete! Duh! Better exclude the dolphin if you want to use that terminology.

Kelly Slater

i've heard of him but tbh this is a shíte sport.

Another idiotic statement. Surfing requires far more talent than golf. Slater is the only legit sporting hero I believe america has left. The rest are drug cheats, liars and frauds. His record is amazing. Considering the competition he is up against, it is amazing he has come back in his 30s and still been able to kick ****. Name me one surfer who is a complete douchebag. Arguably the purest and possibly cleanest sport in the world.

my favourites - only athletes in the sense it seems most people agree upon are considered - not ranked

(btw i'm putting aside all doping speculations)

roger federer

michael phelps

haile gebrselassie

One of these is an athlete. Tennis has some athletic discipline. Swimming has none. Get the terminology right or just stick to the topic, ie: best sports person. Kenenisa Bekele is better than Gebrselassie, though both have amazing records. I'd put a cricketer or two in the top 10 list. Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne.

 

[Galic Ho]

I'd have Valentino Rossi in a top 5 list. Probably at 3 behind Federer and Woods and ahead of Armstrong who I'd have 4th.

Schumacher and Rossi win over Lance and Tiger for all eternity. Actual talent who compete in:
a) A sport
b) don't need to dope to win
c) against an even field in skill and machinery

Argue all you want about Schumacher but he is coming back next year. He will win. The FIA and Ecclestone even changed the rules, unsuccessfully, to counter the Ferrari juggernaut in his glory in 2002. Awesome. Rossi needs no introduction. Won in every class he's raced. Second highest no of wins, behind the legendary Agostini. Schumacher is one win short of equalling no.2 and no.3 on the all time F1 wins chart, with 92 first places. Those guys are Ayrton Senna with 42 wins and Alain Prost with 51 wins. Legends in their own right. Sportsman of the decade is either an Italian or a German, with Slater and possibly Roger posing a challenge.

 

[Galic Ho]

The decade began in 2001. It will thus be over in 2010. No debate for me.

Did I bring this up on this forum? Perhaps another thread, the one I started on Tiger. You are spot on. We have another year left. Note it was americans who started this craze in 1999 with their millennium celebrations and again now with an award to make Tiger smile. Sheesh, go back to school people and learn a thing or two. To those americans on this forum with common sense, you are exempt from any judgement.

 

[Moondance]

And in that definition we reduce legitimate sports to very few in such a way that half of the medals awarded at the Olympics would be for "games" or "contests" or "not sports". Personally I prefer a general approach, I don't see the need to rigidly apply definitions - for what result?

Is weightlifting a sport or a "not sport" ?

Nope, it's not a game, but it ain't a sport either. It's just an activity.

 

[Echoes]

Did I bring this up on this forum? Perhaps another thread, the one I started on Tiger. You are spot on. We have another year left. Note it was americans who started this craze in 1999 with their millennium celebrations and again now with an award to make Tiger smile. Sheesh, go back to school people and learn a thing or two. To those americans on this forum with common sense, you are exempt from any judgement.

That's right.

Sorry I haven't read that other thread.

 

[Ferminal]

left. Note it was americans who started this craze in 1999 with their millennium celebrations and again now with an award to make Tiger smile.

I'm still looking for the year 0 too

 

[zapata]

Henry is rightfully the world No.1 ranked soccer player. Hands down, no debate needed. The greatest soccer player of the decade was another Frenchman, Zinedine Zidane. Ronaldo can get back to us in five years time.

Henry? Thierry henry? Good striker, but not nearly the world no 1. I rate him as about equal to anelka. Greatest current player is clearly lionel messi. 100% agree with you on Zidane and Ronaldo, though. Ronaldo was outstanding for manchester united one year, Zizou was the best in the world for years.

 

[Galic Ho]

Henry? Thierry henry? Good striker, but not nearly the world no 1. I rate him as about equal to anelka. Greatest current player is clearly lionel messi. 100% agree with you on Zidane and Ronaldo, though. Ronaldo was outstanding for manchester united one year, Zizou was the best in the world for years.

Henry is rated one spot ahead of Messi. I don't see it with Messi. He's overrated. Beating up lower teams in La Liga doesn't say too much about a club. Barca are no.2 in my book. Chelsea are the best team in the world right now. But I am a Gunners fan so that explains part of my liking Thierry Henry. You can tell how good the man is by what Canavarro did in the first two minutes of the 2006 world cup final. He almost knocked Henry out, because every time Henry received the ball he made the Italian backline loose their bowels. The only things Anelka has in common with Henry is that they are both French, shave their heads and use to play for Arsenal. Anelka has resurrected his career in the absence of a solid forward goal scorer in the EPL (he won the golden boot last season in Chelsea's final game). An absence I might add that occurred when Henry joined Barcelona FC. Anelka struggled to get 20 goals in all competitions. Henry went over 30 for 5 consecutive seasons. Then he joined Barca and got even better. If Henry and Ribery fire in the world cup France will challenge Spain for the crown as they are the two most dynamic players in the world right now. However that is a big IF.

 

[richwagmn]

Schumacher eh? That surprising. I wouldn't have ever thought about drivers in this regard. That wasn't meant as a jab at you, formula one, or his achievements. I just don't think I would rank him above Lance, Ronaldo, or Phelps.

I guess the question is are we talking about sport? Like others have said, level of physical exertion doesn't disqualify or qualify something as sport.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

I'd have Valentino Rossi in a top 5 list. Probably at 3 behind Federer and Woods and ahead of Armstrong who I'd have 4th.

Again, not to diminish Rossi's achievements, but I don't see him being ahead of a guy like Armstrong. You could certainly make the case though, considering his ummm....palmares. What do you call a rider's list of wins in motoGP?

EDIT: to Respond

I guess the question is are we talking about sport? Like others have said, level of physical exertion doesn't disqualify or qualify something as sport.

That really is the underlying question here. My definition has always been a high level of athletic prowess and direct competition between participants. For instance, I have a hard time saying gymnastics is a "sport" because its participants compete before judges, not each other. If you compete before judges, I'd call that a competition. Does that makes sense? That's not saying gymnasts aren't athletes though; quite the contrary, they are some of the most gifted athletes in the world.

 

[zapata]

Really? I really don't think messi is overrated. He seems to me do be doing everything that zidane and maradona did, only faster. Don't get me wrong, Henry is a phenomenal striker, and Anelka is one of my favourite players, but messi to me is a much more complete player. Not only scoring goals, but setting up others, delivering the most brilliantly unexpected passes, and generally driving defenders crazy.

 

[CentralCaliBike]

One of these is an athlete. Tennis has some athletic discipline. Swimming has none. . .

Not sure what you mean by saying swimming has no athletic discipline

 

[Feldy82]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG1Lcd60_Mo

I think Zidane was the most feared player period. He could take complete control of a game. Not only was he a great goal scorer, but he was a great setup man. He's my vote for best athlete of the decade, hands down.

 

[Oldman]

Anyone else here think the naming of Tiger Woods as athelete of the decade as bogus ? I doubt he gets his heart rate near 100 anywhere outside of bed; Lance like him or not, does represent someone from a sport that requires peak condition, training, planing and all that; and he didn't just bow out when he won the Triple Crown, he came back again and again; he was a kid (younger than most of his competitors) when he started and an old man ( older than his competitors) today- and he's still going at it. I mean, like really, golf is not a sport- it is a waste of time ( and a boring one at that ).

I haven't read the rest of the thread but as much time as Tiger has spent in bedhe clearly has "trained" a great deal. Otherwise my vote would be Michael Schumacher. No one will come close to the level of skill, training and sheer steely hard mancoconuts required to do what he did.

 

[Stephen D Aalderink]

Laird Hamilton - total bad-azz