RickJay and eric - My point is that how are you defining athlete? Are we using old Olympian measures - how high can you jump, how fast can you run, and how much weight can you lift? Then absolutely Vick is way ahead of everyone you mention.
If we are including accomplishments/championships, or some other undefined measurements (“Golf-Hand-Eye-Coordination”), then sure, absolutely there are plenty of people more qualified than a Vick.
Um, can you please point me to the years Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez won the World Series? I seem to have missed that news item.
Michael Vick could jump higher than the Olympic high jump champion? I doubt it. Run faster? He probably isn’t the fastest runner in the NFC West. I mean, no offense, but it’s kind of a strange pick.
My current choice for the OP if we mean 2000-2003 would probably be Lance Armstrong. Maybe Marion Jones.
For the last real century, I’d have to go with Babe Ruth, I guess.
I guess to me, athletic ability has to do with the raw measurables more than anything else; strong, good stamina, good reflexes, coordination, flexibility, and so forth. This needn’t translate into someone who winds up being the best at what he does, because there are other issues aside from raw physical gifts, such as focus, work ethic, and so on.
That said, I have no idea who the best athlete at present is. For the last century, I’m thinking Jim Thorpe.
I wrote up a whole post about Jim Thorpe, and erased it when I realized it was a 21st Century thing. Just so I’m not hopping on the bandwagon.
Vick is one of the better athletes in the NFL, but I don’t know about in the world. He’s got time. I don’t really think Shaq should be on there, either. He’s a great basketball player and an impressive physical specimen, but he’s not a great athlete. He’s strong, but not fast, doesn’t really need to jump…
Really - maybe this should be a thread of its own - can a race car driver be a great athlete? I have to say no.
Jones may have the most talent, but it’s hard to tell since he never fights anybody. I’d take Barrera or Bernard Hopkins over Jones based on their accomplishments this century.
As long as you leave out nonsense like ice dance and synchronised swimming, my definition of sport would be very wide. Jimmy White, the snooker player, would be one of my sporting heroes - he’s hardly a great athlete but he’s a great sportsman. Since Jimmy’s best days are behind him, I’ll include fellow slob and the world’s greatest Darts player, Phil Taylor.
I should have included Michael Schumacher and the only reason I didn’t include stars of baseball, hockey, american football and basketball is that I’m seriously out of touch with them since they are no longer shown on terrestrial TV over here.
Dumbguy, you’ve got a point about Jones, particularly in the last couple of years. Overall though, he’s beaten Hopkins in the past, been at the top for ten years and beat a decent heavyweight a couple of months ago for the WBA title (some feat for a natural middleweight). His only defeat was a disqualification. He’s also one of the most stylish boxers I’ve seen and I still reckon he’s the best fighter in the world, pound for pound. I suppose if you take 21st century in isolation you would have a good argument against him but his defeat of Ruiz (when Jones weighed in at 185 lbs - ridiculous for a modern day heavyweight fight) has made a little piece of boxing history.
Yes, but he could run faster than every single person mentioned so far. He can probably lift more weights than every one mentioned. Throw something further. Etc.
Look - I’m not saying Vick is a great QB - if you asked me to list the top 10 current QBs in the NFL, Vick wouldn’t sniff that list.
I read athlete as mostly physical, is all. And so called into question why a Tiger Woods would be on the list without someone like a Vick.
It’s obvious from this list that my definition is in the minority - clearly, from this thread, unless you’ve reached the pinnacle of your sport, you’re not a great athlete, regardless of your physical skills.
Steve Redgrave, ok so his best years were 20thC but he retired this millenium so he just about makes it.
Gold medals in rowing Five gold medals in five consecutive Olympic games plus world plus nine gold medals in the World Championships across 25 years plus gold medals across the same period of time in the World rowing championships.Add to that several world records too.
It’s an incredible string of world class performance against the very best there is, at a time when the competition was regarded as being at its most formidable ever.
Not many athletes can claim anything like such dominance over such a period of time, in what is usually regarded as a sport where you are finished before you are 30.
Paul Broadman-Chang, best unenhanced baseball-player of the 2052 season? The player who led the Mexico City Eagles to the World Series?
Martina Pavlicevich? Star Olympian of the 2024 biathlon?
Gregory Ellian? The wrestler who went from WWE to Olympics and made them both better?
Edna Dawson? Goalie for the 2050-2062 Maple Leafs, who brought both them and the Stanley Cup back to Toronto?
Not to mention !Kang of UEFA fame, Xie Xie Luan of F1, Barry Goldwater-Gibb (the main reason more Americans followed Aussie Rules rather than NFL in 2032), and Ingrid Lofkrantz of Nordic fame? Sergei Williamson, Polly Olivier, Uwe Lindstrom, Balwinder Jones?
I mean, how can you talk about 21st-century sport without mentioning them?
Here I go again, answerig a question with a question…
Look at a guy like Danny Ainge. He was good enough to play major league baseball and good enough to play in the NBA. He’s also a superb golfer. So, you’d have to conclude that he’s a phenomenal athlete.
Fact remains:
I can think of a hundred third basemen I’d rather have on my baseball team.
While he was a valuable role player for the Celtics, he was never among the NBA’s elite.
He’s nowhere near good enough a golfer to play on the PGA tour, let alone to win a major.
So, while Ainge was obviously a great “athlete,” a MUCH greater pure athlete than Mike Schmidt, Magic Johnson or Jack Nicklaus, he would NOT deserve a spot on any list of the 20th century’s greatest American athletes. Schmidt, Johnson and Nicklaus would.
Currently, Michael Vick is a phenomenal athlete, and OCCASIONALLY a brilliant quarterback. He’s made some plays I never thought were possible. He’s also missed a lot of wide-open receivers and taken some dumb sacks because he was too confident in his own ability to run away from trouble.
If Vick ever gets his act together, he MAY yet be the greatest quarterback who ever lived. But he isn’t there yet.
