Greatest Sportsperson of All Time?

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Who do you think it is?

I generally think individual sports are much tougher, because the workload is not spread, you are 100% responsible for winning/losing, and there is not emotional support on the field/court/etc.

So I think Federer is the greatest sportsperson ever, unsurprisingly.
I also think Tiger Woods is in the conversation.

Team players can be included though, but the bar is a bit higher IMO.
Wayne Gretsky, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi would also be candidates.

What say you guys?
 
Firstservingman said:
Who do you think it is?

I generally think individual sports are much tougher, because the workload is not spread, you are 100% responsible for winning/losing, and there is not emotional support on the field/court/etc.

So I think Federer is the greatest sportsperson ever, unsurprisingly.
I also think Tiger Woods is in the conversation.

Team players can be included though, but the bar is a bit higher IMO.
Wayne Gretsky, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi would also be candidates.

What say you guys?
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For me when we refer to sportsman I believe behaviour (just my opinion) off the field/court comes into play also - hence I would rule out the likes of Woods/Phelps/Ali.

For me Fed & Rafa are up there.
 
irishnadalfan1983 said:
For me when we refer to sportsman I believe behaviour (just my opinion) off the field/court comes into play also - hence I would rule out the likes of Woods/Phelps/Ali.

For me Fed & Rafa are up there.
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Fair enough.
I didn't say "best", I said "greatest", and yeah, maybe it's difficult to be great if you have a terrible personality or behave unethically/illegally.

Fed and Rafa are definitely both in the conversation.
 
I don't think that individual sports are harder, if anything it can be easier for individual greats because they aren't handicapped by teammates and coaches.
 
BringBackSV said:
I don't think that individual sports are harder, if anything it can be easier for individual greats because they aren't handicapped by teammates and coaches.
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That's a two way street. They can also rely on their teammates and coaches when they aren't playing up to snuff.
 
Firstservingman said:
Fair enough.
I didn't say "best", I said "greatest", and yeah, maybe it's difficult to be great if you have a terrible personality or behave unethically/illegally.

Fed and Rafa are definitely both in the conversation.
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Best or greatest are kinda the same for me shall we say!! For me when we are looking at the greatest or best sportsman (either one really) I look at their behaviour on the field and off the field. For me they need to be a decent person/good character/etc. - that kind of stuff so to speak. For me the term 'sportsman' doesn't just look at records/stuff won/etc. although obviously important. Hence I wouldn't even look at Woods for example.

I love Michael Schumacher but can't deny his behaviour was dubious to say the least - he doesn't touch the likes of Rafa/Fed in terms on being a sportsman.
 
Mustard said:
It's Phil Taylor, the darts player. I've watched his whole career, and there's no better champion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Taylor_career_statistics#Performance_timeline
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LOL.

Debatable darts is even a sport!! I doubt most people on this forum are familiar with darts - maybe throw up a picture of Phil and see what people think :) I'd imagine they would be shocked that Phil could be suggested to be the greatest sportsman of all time! Phil ain't much of an athlete shall we say :)
 
Gretzky. The classiest champion and GOAT ever. He didn't have to be. He dominated a sport to the point no one will dominate ANY sport to that degree barring maybe Phelps
 
irishnadalfan1983 said:
LOL.

Debatable darts is even a sport!! I doubt most people on this forum are familiar with darts - maybe throw up a picture of Phil and see what people think :) I'd imagine they would be shocked that Phil could be suggested to be the greatest sportsman of all time! Phil ain't much of an athlete shall we say :)
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It's snobbery, pure and simple, because darts is a working class sport with its roots in pubs, instead of being a middle or upper class sport with roots in universities or in rich clubs. For instance, how many people say that golf isn't a sport, compared to those who say it for darts?

The point is, I believe that Taylor's winning mentality over the years trumps all.
 
I personally disqualify anyone from a team "sport." It's embarrassing to watch grown men playing with each other.

Since combat sports are the purest form of sport...

Boxing: Ali
Wrestling: Alexander Karelin
MMA: Fedor Emelianenko

Those are my top 3.

Only considering heavyweights of course.
 
Firstservingman said:
Who do you think it is?

I generally think individual sports are much tougher, because the workload is not spread, you are 100% responsible for winning/losing, and there is not emotional support on the field/court/etc.

So I think Federer is the greatest sportsperson ever, unsurprisingly.
I also think Tiger Woods is in the conversation.

Team players can be included though, but the bar is a bit higher IMO.
Wayne Gretsky, Michael Jordan, Lionel Messi would also be candidates.

What say you guys?
Click to expand...

Jesse Owens. With his truly Olympian, unforgettable talent and presence of mind, he not only made history in competition, but crushed--with absolute authority--a government's idiotic myth of racial supremacy. How unfortunate it is that the root philosophy still exists among some sports fans--tennis most certainly included.
 
Zoid said:
I'm sorry, big cricket fan here but beefy botham simply can't be in the conversation for greatest sportsmen of all-time. Amazing player and talent, but not in the same league as other names getting thrown around here.



no….It would be a joke to every other sportsman if Phil Taylor was crowned the greatest sportsman - it's darts ffs. Maybe he could get a special mention in the back pages somewhere or something.



Nice ignorance 90's clay, have you heard of Don Bradman? Quite possibly the greatest outlier in sports of all-time.
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Oh man. That was funny... so emphatic. Glad I wasn't drinking while reading that.
 
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
Jesse Owens. With his truly Olympian, unforgettable talent and presence of mind, he not only made history in competition, but crushed--with absolute authority--a government's idiotic myth of racial supremacy. How unfortunate it is that the root philosophy still exists among some sports fans--tennis most certainly included.
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Indeed, he could be the track and field entry for this conversation easily.
Agree about racism too, how does that still exist in 2015?

Zoid said:
Nice ignorance 90's clay, have you heard of Don Bradman? Quite possibly the greatest outlier in sports of all-time.
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Holy **** I forgot about The Don.
Yep, he's either the greatest or the second greatest ever.
99.94 average, son!
 
THUNDERVOLLEY said:
Jesse Owens. With his truly Olympian, unforgettable talent and presence of mind, he not only made history in competition, but crushed--with absolute authority--a government's idiotic myth of racial supremacy. How unfortunate it is that the root philosophy still exists among some sports fans--tennis most certainly included.
Click to expand...

But, wait, how about Bruce Jenner?
 
Zoid said:
A 'sport' that can be dominated by 50-year old, fat, drinking men….is not a sport.
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I do think it's a sport, but it ain't that high up the totem pole, and no way could a darts player even come close to being the greatest sportsperson ever.

It's darts ffs.
 
Mustard said:
It's snobbery, pure and simple, because darts is a working class sport with its roots in pubs, instead of being a middle or upper class sport with roots in universities or in rich clubs. For instance, how many people say that golf isn't a sport, compared to those who say it for darts?

The point is, I believe that Taylor's winning mentality over the years trumps all.
Click to expand...

Darts is a sport, just not one worth mentioning.
 
Darts is a game. It takes skill yes but no real physical exertion. Like playing on a games console takes more physical exertion.
If i played on my PS4 right now would i be considered playing a sport.
 
Brady plays football as a QB many would say right?

Jordan and Ali are way up there for many reasons on this question. Jesse Owens at the Olympics made a monumental statement too. Talk about thriving under pressure and the weight of the world!

jesse-owens-2.jpeg


olympics-jesse-owens.jpg


JesseOwens_12052009.jpg


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We have already had this thread. It goes on for pages and pages and actually contains some quality debate.

The arrogance of Mustard to declare Taylor as sports GOAT as if it was fact. A bit like Taylor himself.

AP McCoy (Taylor's idol) was more dominant than the power anyway, regardless of Phil (stripped of his MBE for sexual assault) Taylor competing in split fields.

Also how dominant would Fed be if he played only against Murray, James Ward and Robin Haase?

Sadly an argument I used (Lomanchenko as sports GOAT) is no longer valid due to a defeat.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Darts isn't a sport imo.

That's not snobbery. I just don't consider things that don't require any physical exertion sports.
 
Firstservingman said:
Actually yeah, he has a point.

Fedalovic have to play all the shots, cover the whole court, and do everything.

In a team sport, the workload is divided significantly.
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Because there is much more work overall.
 
Some good picks, I would nominate Ali and Fed, and a special mention to Usain Bolt, simply because he is the fastest human ever. He is the goat at the most primal, fundamental homosapien skill, that has got to automatically qualify you as one of the greatest human specimens if all time.

I would also vote to eliminate any athlete from USA-only sports like handegg and baseball, since no one else in the world bothers to play them, you could hardly consider those athletes 'greatest ever' because of sample size issues.
 
Firstservingman said:
Actually yeah, he has a point.

Fedalovic have to play all the shots, cover the whole court, and do everything.

In a team sport, the workload is divided significantly.
Click to expand...

Communication is also big, knowing what your teammates are going to do even before they do at times.

Maybe doubles is the best combination?
 
jiddy-p said:
Some good picks, I would nominate Ali and Fed, and a special mention to Usain Bolt, simply because he is the fastest human ever. He is the goat at the most primal, fundamental **** sapien skill, that has got to automatically qualify you as one of the greatest human specimens if all time.

I would also vote to eliminate any athlete from USA-only sports like handegg and baseball, since no one else in the world bothers to play them, you could hardly consider true athletes greatest ever.
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Sprinting is not our most primal skill. Every other mammal our size (and many much smaller) has us beat in that regard.

Long distance running... maybe. But I maintain that combat is more primal than running.
 
WhiskeyEE said:
Sprinting is not our most primal skill. Every other mammal our size (and many much smaller) has us beat in that regard.

Long distance running... maybe. But I maintain that combat is more primal than running.
Click to expand...

I love how "hοmo" is censored.
 
WhiskeyEE said:
Sprinting is not our most primal skill. Every other mammal our size (and many much smaller) has us beat in that regard.

Long distance running... maybe. But I maintain that combat is more primal than running.
Click to expand...

Fair enough about the distance running. We are not the fastest, but we are the best distance runners in the animal kingdom. But combat? You are a cynical man...
 
King Fed WW said:
We have already had this thread. It goes on for pages and pages and actually contains some quality debate.

The arrogance of Mustard to declare Taylor as sports GOAT as if it was fact. A bit like Taylor himself.

AP McCoy (Taylor's idol) was more dominant than the power anyway, regardless of Phil (stripped of his MBE for sexual assault) Taylor competing in split fields.
Click to expand...

I prefer to say that I speak with confidence, but call it "arrogance" if you wish.

Nobody was close to Taylor, in either field, during Taylor's dominance. In 1997, Taylor beat Burnett (the 1995 BDO World Champion) 4-1 in sets, averaging well over 100. In 1999, the two world champions met in a challenge match, with the chance of winning £60,000 and all the bragging rights. Taylor beat Barneveld 21-10 in legs over 60 minutes of play. The other challenge match between the two world champions was in 2004, with Taylor beating Fordham 5-2 in sets.

The people who use that argument of split fields completely miss the point that Taylor won 2 world titles in 1990 and 1992, when there was still a unified field. At that time, Taylor was certainly not as good as he would become in the future. Taylor's average in the 1992 World Championship final of 97.59, is still the best ever average in a BDO World Championship final, to this day. That's been beaten a lot of times in the PDC World Championship finals.

King Fed WW said:
Also how dominant would Fed be if he played only against Murray, James Ward and Robin Haase?
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This is so laughable. There isn't a single player who has a winning head-to-head record against Taylor. Not one. He certainly never had a Nadal equivalent as a rival who put one over him so many times.
 
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