Football players are the best athletes on earth--you're an idiot if you think otherwise.

These people are not what I think of when I think of hard hitting athletic NFL monsters. All too tiny generally. Someone like JJ Watt is ridiculous.

While I agree that SOME of the football players are the 'best' athletes on earth, it is a subset of the entire NFL. The 'athletes' that I speak of as being the 'best' are the ones that we commonly refer to as 'kickers' and 'punters'. Those guys are truly 'ballers'. Your a true 'athlete' when you can kick an oblong, misshapen ball a great distance. These 'great' 'athletes' whom I am referring to can do 'this' and do it well. So put that in your 'pipe' and smoke it!!!

False, wrestlers are the best athletes. Cardio, strength, speed, flexibility, balance. Not to mention how well you actually need to know the sport (the different moves and different countermoves) and know your opponent. Wrestling is the most "sporty" sport on earth and cardio and flexibility are absolutely a part of athleticism so im giving the nod to folkstyle or RG wrestlers.

NBA players are the most elite athlete group in the world.

The reasoning is quite simple, if an athlete could be elite in any sport they wanted, they would chose the NBA for the sponsorships, money, fun of the sport, women, shoes, and fame. Tom Brady would prefer to be Lebron James if he could be. A marginal barely make the roster player would chose to be on the Lakers over Manchester United if they could.

Nobody in their right mind would choose fame in the NFL where you could risk serious injury, have a shorter career, make a lot less money, etc etc etc.

An oft-times overlooked sport when searching for the best 'athlete' is the grueling sport of Curling. Curling, as understood by most 'athletic' experts, brings together the Worlds' 'finest' athletes. Curling requires excellence in all 'phases' of and athletic competition: speed, endurance, mental acuity, nutritional fortitude, strategy, team colors, mascot interplay, etc. While Canada has traditionally ruled the Curling world other city-states are beginning to become 'competitive'. The United States of the Americas is even beginning to awake the lumbering Curling Bear that live within its' borders!! There is also talk of adding Curling to the decathlon requiring the removal of the marathon.

Good luck and God Bless!!

Peace. Out.

Catch Them Before They Catch you!

Love to my Homey's.

Your Welcome.

Football is king in the US. In high school and college, I was your typical 5'9" 145 distance runner. I was the top runner at my high school and qualified for states a few times. However, nobody knew who I was. I think my dad forgot my name sometimes. My parents probably came to 2 or 3 track meets in HS, none in college. I ended up on a partial ride to a Division 1-AA school. Pretty anonymous running career for an anonymous guy.

Fast forward 20+ years later. When my son was little, I hoped and encouraged him to become a runner like me. He was very slightly built and as fast as a jackrabbit. He did run track (sprints), but he liked football more. I thought I could make him into a top 400/800 guy. But man, he could sling a regulation football over 50 yards while he was in 8th grade.

My son grew to be bigger, stronger, faster than I was, and became a standout high-school quarterback. People I've never met in my life have stopped me in the grocery store or while walking my dog to ask about my son. While he won't be playing for Alabama or Ohio State next year, he will be going to college on a full-ride.

Most humble and polite kid you've ever met, too.

Definitive Answer wrote:

NBA players are the most elite athlete group in the world.

The reasoning is quite simple, if an athlete could be elite in any sport they wanted, they would chose the NBA for the sponsorships, money, fun of the sport, women, shoes, and fame. Tom Brady would prefer to be Lebron James if he could be. A marginal barely make the roster player would chose to be on the Lakers over Manchester United if they could.

Nobody in their right mind would choose fame in the NFL where you could risk serious injury, have a shorter career, make a lot less money, etc etc etc.

Exactly why soccer players are the most elite athlete group in the world...for the money, women, and fame. 90% of basketball players have no agility and stamina. How are they even considered??

This has got to be one of the stupidest threads ever posed on LRC. Some sports are obviously likelier to attract a higher volume of elite athletes due to the specific athletic demands of the sport, its regional or global popularity, and financial incentives. Football/soccer, basketball, American football, etc. But any sport, including T&F, including curling for that matter could just as easily attract the greatest athlete or group of athletes if certain conditions prevail. For example, prime Usain Bolt was born in a country where sprinting is king, with a 90%+ West African-descended population with particular propensity for elite speed. The best sprinter to emerge from the Caribbean at any one point is very likely to be an extraordinarily gifted, unique athlete. While T&F is not particularly lucrative in general, being the fastest man in the world certainly is. In fact, vanishingly few athletes would prefer Tom Brady's lot, given the limits of American football's popularity, the hard salary cap on contracts, and the massive physical punishment of the sport, over Bolt's. To my eye, prime Bolt is not only otherworldly fast, he has very loose hips, jumps very well and catches well w/ good depth perception. Born in America, he would have been a greater Randy Moss, a better Calvin Johnson, likely the best tall speed WR to ever play the game. Given his height and potential to add muscle to his frame, it isn't hard to imagine a 6'5" 220 pound Bolt capable of 10-flat speed absolutely destroying NFL defenses.

Josh Hamilton's Addiction wrote:

Ok so obviously no football player is gonna beat Usain Bolt in a footrace--duh. But one of the worst parts of track and field is the indignant fans who think the sport actually hosts the best athletes on earth. Ashton Eaton would be destroyed on the gridiron, as would any other Olympian. There's just no contest. Football is the biggest, fastest, strongest form of competition on earth. NFL players are absolute freaks of nature. Track stars are b list athletes, most of whom just couldn't make it in real sports where the athletes are paid real well.

All that being said, I cannot stand football. I'm not a fan and I avoid watching it whenever possible. But I do recognize the fact that football players are obviously the best athletes on earth. Being angry about that isn't gonna help the sport of track and field.

Since you say athletes, I assume you mean athleticism. In terms of pure athleticism, I would say decathletes, basketball players, boxers and wrestlers are the most athletic. Since being a kicker, linemen or receiver for example, all require quite different skills, you can't just say football. Football is mostly power, speed and coordination...not much endurance.

MurderDub wrote:

For example, prime Usain Bolt was born in a country where sprinting is king, with a 90%+ West African-descended population with particular propensity for elite speed.

Correction. He was born in a country where doping is king. He does not dip under 10.00 without the dope.

INCORRECT!!!!

Mr. Bolt hails from a country that long ago recognized the importance of the Dill Pickle. Bolt and his Jamaican comrades have practiced strict adherence to the principles espoused in the Dill Pickles for Champions training bible. The Pickle presented them with the ability and their perseverance allowed them to reap the rewards!!!

If only Trump could get this country on the right track.

ooooo wrote:

Okay first lets look at football... You have plays that last for 4 seconds then you huddle back up for 2 minutes and play for 4 more seconds. By the end of the day you've put 3 hours of hupla into maybe 10 minutes of actual physical effort.. To say these are the best athletes? Maybe certain individuals but I would say that their sport is possibly the stupidest in terms of fitting their athletic abilitt

You clearly got beat up in gym class by a football player, or he stole your 11th grade gf. To discredit the "physical effort of a football game" is ignorance in the highest regard. Hockey and Rugby (relatively speaking) are the only other sports where the amount of physical contact remotely compares to the intensity of a football game. Sure, an average play may only last some seconds, but, if you're a skilled player, that's explosive running, with physical contact almost guaranteed on every play. Do that for 4 quarters. Different stamina, different mindset than say a basketball player where it's a continuous effort. Basketball is a more aerobic sport, but the athletes are explosive and very strong too, with freakish size. I've long believed that shooting guards and point guards, have many characteristics of an all around elite athlete. I won't discredit soccer players and their insane foot speed combined with endurance. Only argument I'll attest with soccer players vs football and basketball, I bet a lot of pro soccer players, grew up playing soccer year round. It's a very specialized sport, where kids start training and playing in different leagues from Elementary School on. Same with Hockey. That's where pro football players IMO have an edge over other athletes. Most if not all NFL players, were 2-4 sport athletes growing up, and were dominant in whatever season they were participating in.

To most people involved with physical training "athleticism" suggests speed, explosiveness, coordination, power, agility, hand eye coordination, kinesthetic awareness- endurance or work capacity can be gained to some extent. Defensive backs in football have the most of these qualities and typically have more than most other athletes in the US. Some basketball players are gifted as well but given that height and arm length are predictors of bball success and qualities valued in the bball combines the nba is fgilled with athletes that wouldnt measure up compared to soccer players, rugby players aussie rules and american football players. While wrestling, gymnastics, diving, skiing and other sports require athleticism the lack of money, incentive, and opportunity by most people in the world leads lesser athletes to go out for these sports.

throwing coach wrote:

When it comes to power athletes a 70 foot shotputter produces 7 plus horsepower. The closest after that is an olympic lifter snatching over 200k creates 4.5 horsepower. Sprinting speed is down the list some.

ahhh, no mon wrote:

MurderDub wrote:

For example, prime Usain Bolt was born in a country where sprinting is king, with a 90%+ West African-descended population with particular propensity for elite speed.

Correction. He was born in a country where doping is king. He does not dip under 10.00 without the dope.

Yep. You've solved it. The only reason places like Jamaica, Trinidad, South Central and the American South produce virtually all the elite speed talent in the world is doping. Glad you cleared that up for me, Occam.

MurderDub wrote:

ahhh, no mon wrote:

Correction. He was born in a country where doping is king. He does not dip under 10.00 without the dope.

Yep. You've solved it. The only reason places like Jamaica, Trinidad, South Central and the American South produce virtually all the elite speed talent in the world is doping. Glad you cleared that up for me, Occam.

Even based upon the estimated gains of noted roid docs like V. Conte, Bolt would still be sub-9.8 naturally (if we assume he doped to set his records). Also, PEDs are hardly frowned upon in the NFL. So, yeah, if he's born in TX instead of Trelawny, you're looking at 6'5 220, sub 10 flat speed reconfiguring every NFL defense for a decade.

MurderDub wrote:

ahhh, no mon wrote:

Correction. He was born in a country where doping is king. He does not dip under 10.00 without the dope.

Yep. You've solved it. The only reason places like Jamaica, Trinidad, South Central and the American South produce virtually all the elite speed talent in the world is doping. Glad you cleared that up for me, Occam.

Ohhh, no mon. De reason dey have speed talent not only cuz dey dope but also cus dey live in the heat and all dey know is to run short sprints all day. Same like the Scandinaveens, dey da best XC skiers cuz dey live in the cold and snow mon and dey love dat XC skiing.

MurderDub wrote:

To my eye, prime Bolt is not only otherworldly fast, he has very loose hips, jumps very well and catches well w/ good depth perception. Born in America, he would have been a greater Randy Moss, a better Calvin Johnson, likely the best tall speed WR to ever play the game. Given his height and potential to add muscle to his frame, it isn't hard to imagine a 6'5" 220 pound Bolt capable of 10-flat speed absolutely destroying NFL defenses.

I agree the Bolt in his prime was a great athlete. As fans of Am. football, most often quarterbacks are admired for their ability to throw 60 to 70 yard passes well; fans admire receivers for their ability to outrun defenders on deep throws. The toughest throws for quarterbacks often are five yard slants amongst numerous defenders. How well receivers run five yard slant routes and how well receivers catch footballs in tight crowded spaces is important. Elite quarterbacks are capable of throwing a football nearly 50 miles per hour. Based on what evidence do you have a belief that Bolt could have ever caught a football thrown at over 45 miles an hour?

None.

There are speed WRs and possession WRs, flankers and slots, 1s and 2s. This isn't to contradict what you're saying, but I think it's generally seen as much easier to find great possession WRs than dominant big play WRs, especially tall ones that can run past or elevate above DBs. There are just more of the former than the latter. This is why Jerry Rice, who was considered a big WR in his era, Moss and Megatron are generally considered the best receivers ever, as opposed to Largent, Cris Carter (big but not fast) or Art Monk.

Bolt would obviously be in the Moss/Megatron mold.

Even normal height ultra big play WRs like Bob Hayes and Lance Alworth changed the entire way that defense was conceptualized, necessitating the cover-2. Bolt would have f***** up the league.