THUNDERVOLLEY
G.O.A.T.
All true. Nadal is the overall superior physical/athletic model for tennis than one such as Federer.
All true. Nadal is the overall superior physical/athletic model for tennis than one such as Federer.
M
monfed
Guest
What about Ralph,Senti sir? Isn't he more athletic than Fred? Is he not on the list because of the silent ban?
Goosehead
Legend
Andyroddickfan
Rookie
All Day not on the list? Torn acl, 9 months later almost has record breaking season. Don't think anyone else on the list can do that. No megaton? Athletic dominant freak. Lebron James? 6'10 PG who can cover the other teams C. Dude is unstoppable. My picks for best athlete.
Andyroddickfan
Rookie
You clearly know nothing about MMA. So why even argue against Silva? Maybe you should of googled a couple of the "spiders" fights. Idiot.
Federer is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players of all time, and also a very good athlete, but he isn't even the best athlete in his sport, let alone the greatest athlete in any sport of all time. In terms of raw athleticism, I would take Nadal, Monfils, Tsonga, Haas, Hewitt among others over Federer, but none of these guys are close to the level of the true top athletes of all time. The most important thing to be successful in tennis is skill mastery, which is where Federer undoubtedly comes out number one.
In terms of the greater athlete, Federer vs. Bo Jackson, it really isn't even close. Bo Jackson is legitimately one of the greatest athletes of all time who should be a serious contender to win this (he won't because it is partly a popularity contest). Bo Jackson was a world class athlete in 3 different sports (baseball, football, and track) and probably could have been world class at other sports as well if he tried them. He is like that guy at your high school who was among the best at every sport he played, except that his high school was the world.
Jordan will probably win this and he is undoubtedly one of the best and deserving, but he couldn't reach a top level in his second sport even when he focused solely on that sport. Most athletes are great at their chosen sport, but few are athletic enough to be world class in multiple sports. Jim Brown is another multi sport star that comes to mind.
I also do not think that being great at triathlons is similar to being world class in 3 separate sports. The best people at triathlons typically would not be winning much at any of their 3 events individually, instead they are simply the best at all 3 combined. Being world class at football, baseball, and track is more similar to being a world class marathoner, a world class swimmer, and a world class biker all in one. That person would never be challenged in a triathlon, let alone lose one.
I say all of this as a big Federer fan.
In terms of the greater athlete, Federer vs. Bo Jackson, it really isn't even close. Bo Jackson is legitimately one of the greatest athletes of all time who should be a serious contender to win this (he won't because it is partly a popularity contest). Bo Jackson was a world class athlete in 3 different sports (baseball, football, and track) and probably could have been world class at other sports as well if he tried them. He is like that guy at your high school who was among the best at every sport he played, except that his high school was the world.
Jordan will probably win this and he is undoubtedly one of the best and deserving, but he couldn't reach a top level in his second sport even when he focused solely on that sport. Most athletes are great at their chosen sport, but few are athletic enough to be world class in multiple sports. Jim Brown is another multi sport star that comes to mind.
I also do not think that being great at triathlons is similar to being world class in 3 separate sports. The best people at triathlons typically would not be winning much at any of their 3 events individually, instead they are simply the best at all 3 combined. Being world class at football, baseball, and track is more similar to being a world class marathoner, a world class swimmer, and a world class biker all in one. That person would never be challenged in a triathlon, let alone lose one.
I say all of this as a big Federer fan.
Fugazi
Professional
He got schooled by a grinder with limited talent and got a lucky win in the end, and beat him with an illegal knee in the rematch. And he lost several fights in his career, including 3 or 4 against good (but not THAT good) Japanese fighters. So no.
N
NadalAgassi
Guest
I agree with all you said except in no way is Haas more athletic than Federer, and Hewitt is highly questionable (I would say definitely no for him too), but I do agree Nadal, Monfils, and Tsonga are all better athletes than Federer. Sampras, Borg, McEnroe, Nastase, Laver, and possibly Vilas are some others who were also. Federer is far from even the best tennis playing athlete of all time, let alone athlete in all sports.
I agree too what Bo Jackson did is far more impressive than most anyone on the list did, including Jordan who flunked out pretty badly at his attempt at a baseball career.
Andyroddickfan
Rookie
Lawlz. Give me a break. I don't even support silva and I like sonnen, but silva is the goat. Illegal knee, haha. The first fight silva got dominated but sonnen couldn't finish. If not silva, then who is the best?
Your examples are probably better than mine for tennis players more athletic than Federer, but I do think it is at least pretty close between Hewitt and Haas and Federer. Hewitt and Haas are built much more solidly which would likely translate better to other sports. I believe some in Hewitt's family played professional soccer in Australia, so I bet he could play at that level or close to it as well. He certainly has the right build and footwork for it. I can't really see Federer excelling at a power/speed sport such as soccer, football, or basketball.
I wouldn't say Jordan flunked out pretty bad in baseball. He did very well considering it was his second sport. Very few people who play baseball all their lives can ever make it into the minor leagues. The issue was that he set the bar so high for himself that anything less than the best was considered a fail. It is still impressive in its own right that Jordan was able to get to the minor leagues in his second sport and completely dominate his first sport.
I've never heard anyone refer to the definition of athletic as dexterity, precision, hand eye coordination, or technical proficiency. Would you say a world class bow and arrow shooter is the best athlete?
I think the most important attributes of athletic are power, speed, quickness, and agility (the best I can think of right now).
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
This may be true, but Fugazi is debating that he's the most dominant athlete among those listed, and you could easily make a case that he is not. Nobody is disputing that Anderson Silva is the most dominant in his sport. GSP has a case I guess, but I'd rate Silva a little higher. But among the athletes listed, I don't think Silva should win regardless of whether it's a popularity contest or not. I think Fugazi (correct me if I'm wrong) pointed to Sonnen because it shows that Silva is not as dominant in his sport as somebody else on the list, whoever that might be.
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
You haven't have you? Because I have. It does actually depend on what you define as athletic. However, I would say there's a reason why world class bow and arrow shooters are not on the list. Suspension of disbelief can only go so far. IMHO, it's bad enough there's a race car driver on the list.
Andyroddickfan
Rookie
Looks like your a fed fan. Here's a great example. Sonnen is a terrible matchup for silva. Rafa is a terrible matchup for fed. So is fed not as dominant in his sport? Because rafa has a winning record and in some matches has dominated fed? Do you understand the point I'm trying to make?
Silva is great, but I don't think he deserves the top athlete honors. You can make a good case that he is the greatest mma fighter ever, but he isn't so dominant that an argument cannot be made for other fighters. If he truly were the greatest ever in all sports, he would need to be able to move up in weight and take out Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez. I think if he did that he might actually be the greatest athlete ever, but I think he would lose those fights.
In terms of the most dominant run in a fighting sport, Silva's run does not come close to the dominance shown by wrestler Aleksandr Karelin who was undefeated for 13 years and did not even give up a single point for 6 years. I think that in order for a mma fighter to top the greatest athlete ever in all sports debate, he would need to go on a dominant run similar to Karelin's. Silva is up there and if he successfully defeated Jon Jones and Velasquez, I think that would be comparable.
Fugazi
Professional
I thought you were talking about the greatest athlete ever, not the greatest MMA fighter. In any case, he'll get destroyed by GSP!
Steve0904
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes I am, and I understand the point you're trying to make which is perfectly valid, which is why I said what I did a few pages back. I said I only voted for Fed because I was told to and didn't mind doing it because I'm a Federer fan and tennis doesn't get enough respect anyway. However, if I was to pick an athlete out of the list it would be Gretzky because he could lead the NHL in scoring on assists only. That is domination. Of course, I may be a little biased considering hockey is one of my favourite sports, but I still think Gretzky would be my vote anyway. The truth is neither Federer or Gretzky will win this thing because neither are American. But I guess if ESPN was based out of Switzerland Fed would probably win, and the same for Gretzky if ESPN was a Canadian station.
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