polishgenius Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 I'm not sure this is really gonna last but we're derailing the tennis topic. I was going to name the thread after Don Bradman because in so far as there can be an empirically greatest sportsperson, it's him, but too many people would sadly not know what I'm talking about. lmanion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLastWolf Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 1 minute ago, polishgenius said: I was going to name the thread after Don Bradman because in so far as there can be an empirically greatest sportsperson, it's him, but too many people would sadly not know what I'm talking about. If only he had the 100 average Which Tyler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 7, 2022 Author Share Posted September 7, 2022 3 minutes ago, TheLastWolf said: If only he had the 100 average I'm legitimately still upset about his final innings even though it happened 40 years before my birth in, as I say, a sport I don't otherwise care about. He only needed 4! TheLastWolf and Which Tyler 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 If jacking off counts as a sport there's heavy competition among fellow posters but I'm happy to take on all comers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 Sorry for the lewd post, it's late and I'm drunk. I do think this is an interesting topic though. In terms of American team sports, which is what I know, we got Jordan for basketball and Brady for football. Both are really hard to argue against. With baseball...man is it complicated. One thing I was thinking about in that Tennis thread talking about Serena is if it wasn't for steroids Barry Bonds almost certainly would be considered the GOAT at this point. And, man, by all accounts was he a HUGE dick to everybody. I don't know why that matters or really why I'm making this rambling post, but there ya go. Anyway the answer is Jim Thorpe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 (edited) Can we also do the always "fun" discussion of what counts as a sport? Both in terms of the split between "sport" and "game", and in terms of obscurity (both of which matter, even in terms of olympic sports). And, of course (as alluded to in the tennis thread) the difference between "Greatest" and "Best". How about multi-sport versus single-sport? If range matters, then the reiging record holder for Decathalon / Heptathalon is the outright winner, with a bunch of people most wouldn't have heard of (Jim Thorpe, CB Fry etc) really need to be right at the top of the list. I also love a good GOAT debate though - especially as I hear about people I've never heard of before, or at least, forgotten about since the last GOAT debate - which was what? London Olympics over here? As for who is the GOAT across all sports and since records began... the generally rule is: 1. Don Bradman 2. Wayne Gretzky 3. Whoever we're arguing about now Edited September 7, 2022 by Which Tyler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 (edited) Personally, I like to short-list things by GOAT candidates by sport (that I'm familiar enough with to venture an opinion). Also personally, Greatness is more than being the best, it's about influence on own generation, attitude, playing style... just... making things look easy (eg. "more time on the ball") Rugby (my sport): Gareth Edwards the most talented, Lomu the most influential (honourable mentions for Dan Carter, Hugo Porta and Maggie Alfonsi. Tennis: Federer & Navratilova the most talented; Nadal & Serena the best athletes who played tennis. Sprinting: Bolt the most talented, Owens the most influential. Running: Zatopek or Semenya. Football: Schmeichel (allowing that I don't know much about football) Gymnastics: Comaneci or Biles. Motorsport: Senna (challenging/winning with inferior machinery). Cricket (not Bradman): Warne or Ponting. Multi-sport: Jim Thorpe or Carl Lewis. American sports (not Gretzky): Jordan or Brady... I guess Cheeky add for my favourite WTF trivia: Fanny Blankers-Koen (google her!) Beyond that, and I'm out of my comfort zone (TBH, I'm out of it with the American sports category already) Edited September 7, 2022 by Which Tyler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 BTW, I'm well informed on who Don Bradman is and no he is not the greatest athlete of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 2 minutes ago, DMC said: BTW, I'm well informed on who Don Bradman is and no he is not the greatest athlete of all time. Athlete or Sportsperson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DireWolfSpirit Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 High Altitude Mountaineering and those Sherpas that can race to the moon and back regularly in a way that would kill us mere mortals. Thems the GOATS imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 Just now, Which Tyler said: Athlete or Sportsperson? Athlete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 1 hour ago, DMC said: If jacking off counts as a sport there's heavy competition among fellow posters but I'm happy to take on all comers. It's spelt cumers. Tywin et al. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 (edited) There was a thread I started years ago similar to this 'preeminent sportsperson' or similar. Anyway Bradman is the one who is so far beyond the competition that I don't think any conversation can avoid going there immediately. I'd also throw Marit Bjoergen in there. Any sport where there is small talent pool automatically loses points because its easier to stand out in a small crowd. Edited September 7, 2022 by BigFatCoward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baxus Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 As crazy it is to compare athletes across sports, if we're already doing it Sir Steve Redgrave must be mentioned. He's won gold in rowing at 5 Olympics and I doubt even he knows how many times he's been world champion. The best description of how successful he was is that he's won an Olympic bronze and no one even mentions it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 If we want to make this thread different, maybe not make this another circle jerk thread about Bradman and recognize he's obviously not the greatest athlete ever, even if he's the greatest "sportsman?" Whatever the fuck that even means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 1 minute ago, DMC said: If we want to make this thread different, maybe not make this another circle jerk thread about Bradman and recognize he's obviously not the greatest athlete ever, even if he's the greatest "sportsman?" Whatever the fuck that even means. What does greatest 'athlete' even mean? Lets be honest most great players in team sports aren't really that athletic in comparison to purely athletic endeavors even if they are compared to the average person. It's skill that mostly matters. I mean Lionel Messi is probably the best footballer ever in a sport billions of people have really, really tried to be good at over the years and people care a lot more about that than who's the most athletic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 4 minutes ago, ljkeane said: What does greatest 'athlete' even mean? Lets be honest most great players in team sports aren't really that athletic in comparison to purely athletic endeavors even if they are compared to the average person Er...huh? You think athletes in team sports aren't as athletic as those in individual sports? Why? And, again, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 9 minutes ago, DMC said: Er...huh? You think athletes in team sports aren't as athletic as those in individual sports? Why? And, again, huh? You think Lionel Messi would be winning any Olympic individual events? I doubt it. I also think pretty much every athlete competing in the Olympics from Europe, South America, Africa and large parts of the rest of the world would be a professional footballer instead if they were good enough at it to be, say, a Champions League level professional. The reason they aren't isn't athleticism, it's skill. Gronzag 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 12 minutes ago, ljkeane said: You think Lionel Messi would be winning any Olympic individual events? No, but why in the world is that the standard for GOAT when it comes to athletes? You seem to be under the impression that only Olympic athletes - and for that matter only Olympic athletes that compete in individual sports - are worthy of being considered as the greatest athlete. That is...incredibly and laughably absurd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljkeane Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 2 minutes ago, DMC said: No, but why in the world is that the standard for GOAT when it comes to athletes? You seem to be under the impression that only Olympic athletes - and for that matter only Olympic athletes that compete in individual sports - are worthy of being considered as the greatest athlete. That is...incredibly and laughably absurd. I think individual Olympic events are a good measure of athleticism. You seem to be using athlete to mean anyone taking part in a sport. Which is fine I suppose but then I have to wonder what exactly is your objection to using the word 'sportsman' or 'sportsperson' which means exactly the same thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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