I’m sure this thread got started because of the USA Today series on the 10 Hardest Things To Do In Sports. I just read it for the first time today and based on my knowledge of a few of the sports mentioned made me realize how futile these arguments are.
#3 on the USA Today list was the pole vault. I’m not a pole vaulter myself but I know a BUNCH of pole vaulters, including Jeff Hartwig, the American record holder at 19-9 (which I witnessed) and #1 vaulter in the world for the last several years. He is an incredible athlete and what he has done in the pole vault is incredible. He’s also a great guy. But I also know a lot of lower level pole vaulters that are decent but really not that great of athletes, really nothing special.
So this really convinces me that it’s not really the sport itself that is hard (again, anyone can hit a baseball which was #1 on the USA Today list), but the level at which you do your given sport that is difficult.
try judging it this way. is it harder for somebody thats done neither to go hit a golf ball a couple hundred yards, or to even swing remotely close to a fastball.
What about hitting a six in cricket??
Similar reasoning as with baseball except there is also spin/change of direction imparted by the bounce and of course the ridiculous speeds of fast bowlers.
[quote]roon12 wrote:
What about hitting a six in cricket??
Similar reasoning as with baseball except there is also spin/change of direction imparted by the bounce and of course the ridiculous speeds of fast bowlers.[/quote]
Jesus-tap-dancing-Christ. EIGHT YEARS OLD.
You think anyone gives a FUCK about your input 8 years after the fact?
This gets over-looked because these athletes make it look easy. Keep in mind, the average person would have difficulty ever even managing to do a handstand on the ground. That takes a little practice. Even less would manage to do it on a bar, and far less would ever hope to turn on the bar in mid-handstand.
I would say the hardest single thing you could possibly do is catching the second bar mid-twist after flying off the first and then managing to get yourself into a hand-stand with that momentum. Many people have permanently injured themselves just trying to learn it because it’s difficult to swing the right distance.
I’ve heard that being a jockey is the hardest thing in sports. you’re trying to keep control of over a 1000lbs of attitude that’s in a running fight with 8 or so others all trying to win. you’ve got to be able to know when to hold and when to let em run, try to not get thrown off while you’re getting your legs crushed by the other horses, make sure you don’t stumble, all while you look like you’re floating above the horses back and it’s no big deal.
Some of you are equating RISK with the task being “the hardest thing in sports.” That’s not fair.
What Tony G said and how he framed it is correct:
You can miss a hit 7/10 times and still be considered GREAT.
However, if talking about a GAME stat–and since I love bball above all else–I’d say that getting a quadruple-double in a game is the hardest thing in sports. There is almost NO way your team could lose if you had that stat–barring strawman arguments like your team being down a guard or something–and it means that you were literally all over the fucking court, playing probably two positions.
For those who don’t know what that means, a quadruple-double is 4 different stats where you got double digits:
e.g.
10 pts
10 rebounds
10 assists
10 stls
Of course, some stats are more likely to be a part of this aggregate (e.g. points). If we’re talking the most unlikely combination of stats for the quadruple-double, that’s even more improbable.
I don’t think it’s ever been done in pro ball. I’m almost positive. Side note: Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double for an entire season. That is unreal.
How about pitching a perfect game ? Of course you’re depending on others , but that applies to triple doubles also .
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Some of you are equating RISK with the task being “the hardest thing in sports.” That’s not fair.
What Tony G said and how he framed it is correct:
You can miss a hit 7/10 times and still be considered GREAT.
However, if talking about a GAME stat–and since I love bball above all else–I’d say that getting a quadruple-double in a game is the hardest thing in sports. There is almost NO way your team could lose if you had that stat–barring strawman arguments like your team being down a guard or something–and it means that you were literally all over the fucking court, playing probably two positions.
For those who don’t know what that means, a quadruple-double is 4 different stats where you got double digits:
e.g.
10 pts
10 rebounds
10 assists
10 stls
Of course, some stats are more likely to be a part of this aggregate (e.g. points). If we’re talking the most unlikely combination of stats for the quadruple-double, that’s even more improbable.
I don’t think it’s ever been done in pro ball. I’m almost positive. Side note: Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double for an entire season. That is unreal.[/quote]
@Ponce, google and my roommate inform me that there have been 4 quadruple doubles in basketball since steals and blocks counted as official stats from the 1973-1974 season on.
One of them (David Robinson from the Spurs in 1994) was 34pts, 10 assists, 10 rbs, 2 stls, and 10blks. Did his team just sit back and let him play the entire game for himself?
Thats damn near impossible. Purely percentage wise, that is one of the most difficult sporting events ever accomplished. I am told, however, that a quintuple double has never been pulled off. What a show that would be (10blks, 10 steals, 10pts, 10 rebs, 10 assists).
On a side note, I thought McGee’s final round first dunk (tucked under the forearm and windmilled around from past the net) was the best one of the night. Griffin’s dunk over the car was nothing really special; he does that all the time without a car there, and he didn’t clear a spectacular distance or height on it.
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Some of you are equating RISK with the task being “the hardest thing in sports.” That’s not fair.
What Tony G said and how he framed it is correct:
You can miss a hit 7/10 times and still be considered GREAT.
However, if talking about a GAME stat–and since I love bball above all else–I’d say that getting a quadruple-double in a game is the hardest thing in sports. There is almost NO way your team could lose if you had that stat–barring strawman arguments like your team being down a guard or something–and it means that you were literally all over the fucking court, playing probably two positions.
For those who don’t know what that means, a quadruple-double is 4 different stats where you got double digits:
e.g.
10 pts
10 rebounds
10 assists
10 stls
Of course, some stats are more likely to be a part of this aggregate (e.g. points). If we’re talking the most unlikely combination of stats for the quadruple-double, that’s even more improbable.
I don’t think it’s ever been done in pro ball. I’m almost positive. Side note: Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double for an entire season. That is unreal.[/quote]
Intramural Bball, triple double for eight games in a row 12 games total, the rest double-doubles. Have never come close to a quad-double.
[quote]spartanpower wrote:
Returning a tennis serve isn’t harder than hitting a baseball for three reasons:
Your racket is big.
You know you have to hit it.
You can return effectively by barely even swinging.
You hit a baseball with a 33" long 2.625" diameter stick that only has about 2.5" of good wood on it. You have to judge whether the ball is in the strike zone or not, and you almost always have to make a full swing to be effective.[/quote]
They are allowed to bowl at YOUR HEAD OR YOUR BODY (there is no plate - they can bowl anywhere around your body)
The ball can bounce 10 feet away and deviate 5-15 inches
If it does bounce and deviate, your reaction time is just not there. You simply cannot legislate.
Sure, you can hit the ball with a square bat, and you’ll connect more often than in baseball, but when the bowler knows that he can pitch the ball 5 meters from your face AND make it pop up to hit your face, well then there’s so much more to worry about than hitting the ball.
To make things worse, they don’t have to send it to your head, they can aim for your toes. Trust me, this will absolutely decimate your foot if it connects:
Quoted for emphasis.[/quote]
the highest I ever acheived was 5.10 as a gorilla climber. seeing where you’re from you understand what I mean. I’ve seen what I was told was a 5.15. it looked like a gecko would fall off.
