........... wrote:
I buy your premise of using sports as a proxy for athleticism. But don't think football players in general are the top athletes.
I've previously posited NBA players as the top athletes. They are quick, ultra coordinated, more fit than football players, and play a physically demanding, though not brutal, sport.
But in your island survival scenario, wouldn't NHL players be more suited to winning? Fitter than the average NFL players, the only team sport athletes accustomed to routinely fighting, noted for pain tolerances that are off the charts, all with the speed, balance, and coordination demanded by any NFL or NBA player.
Shawn Thornton, who led the NHL in fighting majors, is 6'2 220. And punches people in the face, on skates, for a living. I think he'd give Ray Lewis a tough time.
This is a well thought out and calculated response, thanks for that. This is what we need more of here--intelligent rebuttals. I too originally believed that basketball players are the best athletes on earth, particularly Lebron James who sets the standard. Basketball has the added factor of endurance, which does help its case.
However, if you watch an NFL wide receiver go across the middle, jumping to catch a pass, while simultaneously being mauled by one or more defenders, you'll see what I consider to be the most athletic (and scary) display on earth--nothing compares, in my opinion. There's no doubt that football players, particularly receivers, running backs, defensive backs, and linebackers all combine your desired traits of speed, balance, and coordination wonderfully. They are machines, and they're the most athletic people on earth, quite frankly.
But football plays host the the world's greatest athletes because it has such a great range of athletes. Receivers and defensive backs are probably what most people would consider to be the purest athletes on the field, but think about the defensive ends who are in the upper 200 range but still have godly speed.
The Giants drafted Jason Pierre Paul after seeing a video of him doing something like 12 consecutive back-handsprings. He's 6-5, 278, and runs a 4.71 40 yard dash. He's also not even close to the best defensive end in football, so rest assured the guy who just sacked 20 QBs is a damn good athlete as well.
Offensive linemen: big, strong, fast, and incredibly intelligent--of course the laymen don't realize just how intelligent one must be to play offensive line in the NFL, particularly the centers.
I could go on, but this post is too long as it is. But feel free to respond, of course.