Everyone is a star in their own memory. All the NBA players claim they could've played in the NFL, and vice versa. Too many tell people how great they were. We need more Barry Sanders.
Everyone is a star in their own memory. All the NBA players claim they could've played in the NFL, and vice versa. Too many tell people how great they were. We need more Barry Sanders.
Ginn was a tremendous hurdle prospect who chose football over track. Otherwise, he would likely have been in multiple world and Olympic finals. He ran 13.40 against a headwind of 1.2 or 1.4 in that high school race, which is very impressive. He was also a terrific 300m hurdler. However, he was far from being ready to beat a Usain Bolt who ran low 20 at 15 and 19.91 as a teenager. But his relay team could well have beaten Bolt's in the 2003? Penn Relays of Knibb winning a small schools race, because, due to horrendous second and third passoffs, Knibb ran 1.2 seconds slower than Ginn's 2004 Penn Relays team. Bolt was absolutely electric in that relay but ran up and almost over his teammate in the 2nd pass and then his teammate did the same thing, maybe worse, to the anchor leg. Bolt was already a World Junior or Youth(?) champ at that time, so Ginn could never have beaten him in the flats.
Ted Ginn would of been an Olympic hurdler if he would of stayed with track instead of football. He may have been an Olympic gold winner. However it's pretty easy to say that ted ginn would never beat Bolt in anything other than he hurdles. Maybe in hs ginn could of beat him in the 100m but doubtful.
Yes. Unfortunately for him, while football was the best financial decision, he ended out being a supporting player in the NFL. He was a college star, was written off as an NFL bust before and has somewhat of a career renaissance as a 3rd WR/speed threat. Unfortunately viral track guys (Boling) are more famous and he feels the need to suggest he would beat them or be better than them.
These conversations kill me. Of course he couldn't beat Bolt - he was focused on a future career in FOOTBALL.
He knew he was going to play football, his dad (coach) knew he was going to play football. Free education, millions of dollars. Things he did in track happened based on pure talent - it was conditioning.
Being an ok athlete on the track means you've put in a ton of work for nothing. Being an ok athlete on the football field means a lot money with less risk. Wonder what I'd choose.....
So he may or may not have even run in the same meet as bolt. Ha ha, what a loser.
ha ha ha ha wrote:
So he may or may not have even run in the same meet as bolt. Ha ha, what a loser.
Yeah, professional athlete with successful career. What a loser.
Duh? wrote:
These conversations kill me. Of course he couldn't beat Bolt - he was focused on a future career in FOOTBALL.
He knew he was going to play football, his dad (coach) knew he was going to play football. Free education, millions of dollars. Things he did in track happened based on pure talent - it was conditioning.
Being an ok athlete on the track means you've put in a ton of work for nothing. Being an ok athlete on the football field means a lot money with less risk. Wonder what I'd choose.....
And yet I bet he was training a lot harder than Bolt for his old man and a powerhouse track team. He was getting a free education no matter what he did (for track if he'd competed, too). He couldn't beat Bolt because he wasn't as talented. The same reason he couldn't beat a dozen or so contemporary guys in the 40 or 100 who played at the same time as him. It has nothing to do with him not prioritizing track. That's just a lame excuse.
And to be clear he was really supremely talented in the hurdles, which showed. The 100, 200 or 400? Not on the same level. He was a good athlete for a 19-year-old. Since he got slower and had regressed to a 4.3x guy due to injuries and such by the end of his Ohio State career, it's hard to forecast if he ever would've improved his 100/200 speed.
I witnessed this victory, but it was in a low key summer track meet. Usain Bolt was wearing jeans and Doc Martens.
Well maybe she should have stuck to track and become an all time great instead of a pretty good football player
I beat Chris Solinsky a few times in high school races. His 5,000m pb is 12:55, mine is 14:52.
Ted Gunn is getting free publicity and should be ignored.
Lane story.
*lame
autocorrect!
He would have had to qualify for world youth or world juniors to claim even competing against Bolt. Being at the same track meet as Bolt and running in a different heat of a 4 x 100m and claiming it as “smoking bolt in high school” is just a flat out lie, total and utter BS. Does this guy have a learning disability or low IQ or mental development impairment?
Bolt is the most successful sprinter of all time. The fastest man to have ever walked the earth!
This football chump is a clown!
ha ha ha ha wrote:
He would have had to qualify for world youth or world juniors to claim even competing against Bolt. Being at the same track meet as Bolt and running in a different heat of a 4 x 100m and claiming it as “smoking bolt in high school” is just a flat out lie, total and utter BS. Does this guy have a learning disability or low IQ or mental development impairment?
Bolt is the most successful sprinter of all time. The fastest man to have ever walked the earth!
This football chump is a clown!
As I noted above, it seems that the last year Bolt ran for his High School (William Knibb) at the Penn Relays was 2003 -- even though an online video incorrectly says it was the next year. Ginn's Penn Relay race was in 2004 . If Bolt ran in the Penn Relays in 2004, the year of his first Olympics, it may have been in the USA vs. the World 4 X 100.
BigTimeRetiredCoach wrote:
dadsfadsfdasfdsafdas wrote:
The difference between one of the best guys in a class and the best guy in like 2 decades is pretty big.
The difference between Uncle Rico whose life peaked on the opening kickoff of the 2007 BCS title game and the best sprinter of all time is even greater.
LOL
Annnd the dude is still in the NFL 13 yrs later. Saying his life peaked in 2007 is a little short sighted.
Well, I did beat Donovan Bailey.
I think it was in grade 6 or 7?
Both individually and on anchor! He was way taller than me, I thought he was age cheating?
Of course he was training a lot harder than Bolt... for football. Free education AND millions of dollars after without having to put his body on the line play after play as a starter. I should have said that in my original post. Oh wait, I did.
The reason people are overreacting to his comments here is because no one is happy that football gets infinitely more attention and money lol. Meanwhile, professional track stars get the same amount of attention they did when they were in high school; if you're not elite, no one will ever know you, and if you are, you'll be a Letsrun legend.
Duh? wrote:
Of course he was training a lot harder than Bolt... for football. Free education AND millions of dollars after without having to put his body on the line play after play as a starter. I should have said that in my original post. Oh wait, I did.
The reason people are overreacting to his comments here is because no one is happy that football gets infinitely more attention and money lol. Meanwhile, professional track stars get the same amount of attention they did when they were in high school; if you're not elite, no one will ever know you, and if you are, you'll be a Letsrun legend.
You’re just wrong man.
First, have you heard of a track scholarship? They exist and Ginn was getting a free education no matter which sport he chose. Football was the more lucrative/glamorous call and don’t give me some BS about him not putting his career on the line. He wanted to be the best receiver in the NFL, he was just a better athlete than route-runner, which was even evident at Ohio State.
I’m sure Ginn’s big passion was football. Bolt’s big passion was being a clown. Ginn at least was serious about his team winning national and state track titles. Read up about young Bolt, he thought everything was a joke. Even with his half-assed approach at age 15 he would’ve smoked Ginn.
Nobody at all is overreacting. Ginn was a great hurdling prospect which everyone acknowledges. Right now as a journeyman receiver he’s trying to get himself out there by pretending he was ever in the class of Usain Bolt or could contend at his age with Matthew Boling. Those are two guys who get more attention than Ginn ever has, and he’s jealous.
Yes, I understand what athletic scholarships are.
Here, let me help you put this together. I know that all the info was contained within one sentence, which is confusing, but there were actually TWO points to understand, not just one. I know, crazy. When you calm down and collect your thoughts, we can continue.
Good? Good. Here we go:
He could and would have received a scholarship for track, yes. But even if he had become incredible at the 400m hurdles and developed his talent into the professional sphere, he would have made a fraction of the money, and his career certainly wouldn't have lasted 12+ years. That's even assuming he would have become elite - definitely not a given.
However, he knew he had the speed and talent to become a decent enough football player. He knew this in high school, absolutely. He was recruited by Ohio State after all. Again (the part you keep conveniently ignoring and not responding to), football is more popular. Football pays more because it's more popular. In the eyes of the vast majority: Football>Running.
I know, heart breaking. Now the real heart breaking part: if you're faced with the decision to choose between track and football in the future, especially if you're not coming from a positive socioeconomic background, you're going to choose football. You don't have to be one of the best in your position (or event) to make a lot of money. That has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not you want to be the best - completely moot point.
For example: you had to drop arguably the most popular name in track right now just to try and prove your point. Meanwhile, Ginn is an average WR at best. So, you just compared an incredible track talent to an avg NFL player who happens to be getting a ton of publicity for saying a single statement about his athleticism, true or false, for publicity or not. Congratulations, thanks for proving my point.
Also, Ginn wasn't coming up in the age of TikTok so it's pretty hard to compare his popularity to Boling's.
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