Football.
If you were given a chance to draft a team of 11 to play any sport, only you don’t know what the sport will be ahead of time, who do you pick as your 11? Your best bet for success will be football, no contest.
[quote]iclardy wrote:
Football.
If you were given a chance to draft a team of 11 to play any sport, only you don’t know what the sport will be ahead of time, who do you pick as your 11? Your best bet for success will be football, no contest.[/quote]
I agree, BUT it depends on how long I have to prep them. If I had like, years to train (and inject) them first, I would actually draft from the NBA.
[quote]csulli wrote:
[quote]iclardy wrote:
Football.
If you were given a chance to draft a team of 11 to play any sport, only you don’t know what the sport will be ahead of time, who do you pick as your 11? Your best bet for success will be football, no contest.[/quote]
I agree, BUT it depends on how long I have to prep them. If I had like, years to train (and inject) them first, I would actually draft from the NBA.[/quote]
You’d be fucked for the Kentucky Derby.
Here’s why NFL players are NOT on top: they lack endurance. They’re better than baseball players when it comes to endurance, but name any other sport out there and NFL players would be unable to compete when it comes to endurance.
Power, speed, agility - YES, but endurance, not really.
When has an NFL play lasted more than 30 seconds?
Also - it would be VERY interesting to see what someone like Jim Wendler has to say about this thread, given that he was a football player back in the day.
“A” level athletes, as in comparatively “elite” results in the typical tests of transferable physical traits, prowess: speed(40yd), strength 185/225 AMRAP Bench Press, power vertical jump, etc. Aside from the obvious answer of football, the other big 3, basketball, baseball, hockey. Then you’d get some decent results from soccer, lacrosse, gymnasts, skiers, etc. The odd outlier from sports like tennis, speedskating, track and field etc.
Here’s my point Boxing, MMA, Powerlifting, Strongman, etc An individual can excel at all of these sports, perhaps even be what would be considered as “world class” or “elite” at any of these sports and perform poorly in the traditional NFL combine type tests. I find it laughable when forums “blow up” and call fighters or other niche sport participants as “World Class athletes”. Sure, they are world class fighters, MMA practitioners, golfers, bowlers., etc. “World class” in terms of the commonly measured physical traits… 1-2% at most. I would suggest the % wouldn’t be much higher than a random sample of everyday people.
As for crossfit… A new, albeit ridiculous title… “world class exerciser”. The types of folks who seem to be most drawn to crossfit in this area (and this is only a slight generalization) typically seem to be EXTREMELY low in terms of traditional sports accomplishments and athleticism in general. Part of the team culture/locker room appeal for a lot of these folks is probably the fact they didn’t play sports in their youth or couldn’t make varsity teams in high school. The whole hyper-competitive/militant atmosphere of the WOD’s I’ve witnessed in my hometown… Scream of instructors who NEVER played sports for fun/socially and got picked last for teams in phys. Ed.
I didn’t read every post, and I’m sure I’m gonna get lit up for posting this, but would not an Olympic decathalon athlete technically be considered “most well rounded athlete”?
The MOST important and least trainable quality for any ELITE OR “A” level athlete… Let’s say a FREAK like Vernon Davis or Brock Lesnar, etc. that needs to be posessed in order to be a combat athlete… Whether it be Boxing or MMA.
It may sound stupid… But regardless of their physical gifts, I’d suggest that upwards of 95% of these FREAK athletes will never learn how to absorb head blows. Now, some of the earlier posts in this discussion have suggested that “what if”… These “super athletes/freaks” were all funneled into BOXING/MMA… Well, then your “super athletes” would end up looking like the former USSR/communist system. Perhaps you’ve heard of Wladmir and Vitali Klitschko, Alexander Karelin, Teofilo Stevenson?
[quote]puglet wrote:
“A” level athletes, as in comparatively “elite” results in the typical tests of transferable physical traits, prowess: speed(40yd), strength 185/225 AMRAP Bench Press, power vertical jump, etc. Aside from the obvious answer of football, the other big 3, basketball, baseball, hockey. Then you’d get some decent results from soccer, lacrosse, gymnasts, skiers, etc. The odd outlier from sports like tennis, speedskating, track and field etc.
Here’s my point Boxing, MMA, Powerlifting, Strongman, etc An individual can excel at all of these sports, perhaps even be what would be considered as “world class” or “elite” at any of these sports and perform poorly in the traditional NFL combine type tests. I find it laughable when forums “blow up” and call fighters or other niche sport participants as “World Class athletes”. Sure, they are world class fighters, MMA practitioners, golfers, bowlers., etc. “World class” in terms of the commonly measured physical traits… 1-2% at most. I would suggest the % wouldn’t be much higher than a random sample of everyday people.
As for crossfit… A new, albeit ridiculous title… “world class exerciser”. The types of folks who seem to be most drawn to crossfit in this area (and this is only a slight generalization) typically seem to be EXTREMELY low in terms of traditional sports accomplishments and athleticism in general. Part of the team culture/locker room appeal for a lot of these folks is probably the fact they didn’t play sports in their youth or couldn’t make varsity teams in high school. The whole hyper-competitive/militant atmosphere of the WOD’s I’ve witnessed in my hometown… Scream of instructors who NEVER played sports for fun/socially and got picked last for teams in phys. Ed.[/quote]
This is spot on…
it’s a numbers game. answer these two questions: which sports draw from the largest talent pools? which sports make the most money? answers: american football, basketball, soccer, baseball. From there it’s splitting hairs. Football players are more powerful than the other 3. Soccer players better endurance. Baseball better coordination. Basketball might then be best composite… Fun fact–greatest average vertical leap in sports: NFL defensive back NOT basketball nor high jump (gasp you should!)
Wow, this conversation started in 2009…
There’s a massive amount of cultural-bias on the thread, it’s great. At the beginning people are mostly talking football vs basketball, then a Canadian comes along and makes some good arguments for rugby. Then there was some soccer, and a couple of Europeans got in on the act and so on.
People talking about it being all about money and fame are right, in the US, maybe Canada too. But outside of North-America it’s not so cut and dry. Rugby players, for example, often come from the same region of a country or come from a certain social background because in many countries it’s a University game.
Soccer has a bigger pool to choose from, as it’s the everyman game that anyone can play on the street with a ball, but for the same reason you don’t neccesarily have to be a top-flight well-rounded athlete if you’re skilled. Zidane being on example.
I don’t think there really is a single, definitive answer, but I would agree that collision sports like American Football and Rugby have to be up there for the mix of strength, power, skill, endurace etc that you have to develop.
I’d go with rugby because it’s one of the sports I know best, being Irish, that’s my cultural bias showing. As others have said, I don’t know football well enough. I’ll try to back up my argument with an Irish forward, Cian Healy.
Healy is a first row, he’s not the heaviest or tallest player on the field, but he’s a solid 110 - 115kg, 240-250lb ish, he’s a cube of a man with incredible upper body strength from rucking and scrumming, great lower body and core strength and power for the scrum. He’s also known as an explosive open-field player with good footwork and acceleration for piercing through defensive lines.
He has been shown to be a more complete athlete by joining the backs and scoring tries as part of a running combination. Then there’s hand-eye coordination, lucidity, mobility, toughness, durability and of course endurance because he does it for 80minutes a match.
Here’s a highlight video that gives a fairly solid example of a well-rounded athlete IMO.
DROC
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
[quote]silverblood wrote:
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
[quote]mbdix wrote:
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
[quote]mbdix wrote:
[quote]legendaryblaze wrote:
When we say most impressive, well rounded athletes, we need to ensure that there is no external training method.
These athletes can only do their sport. No gym, no cross training, etc.
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Yes, but that’s not how I understand the question.
Obviously the best go where the money is, the sport is irrelevant.
How I understood it was: “If person X were to compete in a sport, and only train in that sport, which sport would make him the most well rounded, impressive athlete?”.
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‘only train in that sport’. Most professional athletes train basic barbell movements in the gym. Would you not be allowed to do this under your conditions?[/quote]
A wrestler would do nothing but wrestle.
A soccer player would do nothing but play soccer.
An american football player would do nothing but play AF.
A swimmer would do nothing but swim.
Get the idea? No cross training, no running, no barbell, etc…only train in that sport by doing that sport.
Crossfit isn’t a sport, imo, but let’s leave that for another thread.
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if it’s only their sport gotta consider rock climbers. hiking in miles with a pack and gear. they are extremely strong, have high endurance, high pain threshold, and are mentally focused.[/quote]
I rock climb, hang out at a rock climbing gym, weekly, and I can tell you for a fact that rock climbers aren’t even on the list of most impressive well rounded athletes.[/quote]
I was going with training only in their sport and no outside training. I used to climb but was only a 5.9+ climber depending on who rated the route. I’ve met some serious climbers and they are damn good atheletes but I agree that the majority are not the “most impressive well rounded athletes”.
how would most nfl or nba players do on a 5.12+ crack climb with overhangs? probably not to good.
if you’re talking about the average go out on the weekeand and play some BB or throw the football around those aren’t the most impressive well rounded athletes either.
[quote]ziah wrote:
Here’s why NFL players are NOT on top: they lack endurance. They’re better than baseball players when it comes to endurance, but name any other sport out there and NFL players would be unable to compete when it comes to endurance.
Power, speed, agility - YES, but endurance, not really.
When has an NFL play lasted more than 30 seconds? [/quote]
You can’t make assumptions on endurance based on average play time alone. The players train endurance beyond what is typically required in a game. That’s the point. They don’t want to be completely gassed in the 4th quarter or overtime.
http://www.49ers.com/video/videos/NFLN-Jerry-Rices-Hill-Workout/41f9cc1b-7800-44c7-937c-026b55c94ebc
What’s impressive about endurance. If that were the case people would be watching marathons more then the NFL.
My apologies if this has already been discussed, but I think “persistence hunting” is both a sport and for those who do it successfully (Cameron Hanes, Steven Rinella) are pretty top athletes. High endurance on oft lowered 02 because of altitude and developed/trained bodies for packing out game. Plus you have to calm down and be accurate enough to take an animal with a weapon.
[quote]super saiyan wrote:
[quote]ziah wrote:
Here’s why NFL players are NOT on top: they lack endurance. They’re better than baseball players when it comes to endurance, but name any other sport out there and NFL players would be unable to compete when it comes to endurance.
Power, speed, agility - YES, but endurance, not really.
When has an NFL play lasted more than 30 seconds? [/quote]
You can’t make assumptions on endurance based on average play time alone. The players train endurance beyond what is typically required in a game. That’s the point. They don’t want to be completely gassed in the 4th quarter or overtime.
Exactly. The average NFL play taps the ATP-CP energy system. And they do that 60-75 (quick estimate) times a game. Soccer is more in-line with an aerobic activity. Even a soccer player would not be able to maintain the intensity (of lets say a post route) for 90 straight minutes.
In football coaches used to make players who fuck up, to “go run until I get tired.” Meaning run until the coach gets tired. Which usually is a very long time. A mile or 2. You put a NFL skill position player on a soccer field and that athlete will hold his own on running for the game.
Soccer needs to be dropped from this discussion. It isn’t the winner. It’s a fact people. It’s science and shit
1 Like
[quote]ziah wrote:
Here’s why NFL players are NOT on top: they lack endurance. They’re better than baseball players when it comes to endurance, but name any other sport out there and NFL players would be unable to compete when it comes to endurance.
Power, speed, agility - YES, but endurance, not really.
When has an NFL play lasted more than 30 seconds? [/quote]
So you name 3 traits that the NFL is the best in, then name 1 in which they aren’t, and that is the argument for why they aren’t the best athletes?
Solid.
Has anyone mentioned Herschel Walker? Just clone him…
Hard to argue against a football player. See, for example, Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers at UNC in early 2000s. Both dominant on the football field and big time contributors on the basketball floor.
Hard to argue against a football player. See, for example, Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers at UNC in early 2000s. Both dominant on the football field and big time contributors on the basketball floor.
I’ve been totally wrong about all athletes in these sports discussed so far.
power-check
speed-check
agility-check
endurance-check
must be Parkour!