Who is Today's Best "Pure Athlete"?
Over the weekend, Chuck-Diesel and I got into an intense debate relating to the best athletes in the world today.
How did the debate start in the first place? Well, we were discussing Mike Vick and his propensity for dog-fighting. The discussion later transformed into whom is the best "athlete" in sports today.
Diesel's primary argument was that Vick is the best athlete...any sport -- because he believes Vick could play QB, RB, WR, and/or CB at an elite level in the NFL. In turn, I couldn't disagree more. While I rank Vick as one of the 10 best athletes, he doesn't come close to that coveted top spot. Why? Because not only could he not play at an elite level at all of the aforementioned positions, but he can't even perform as expected at the one postition that he has been groomed to play for his entire career.
WR??? Pleeeeease -- Vick can't grasp any offense which is thrown at him, yet you think Vick could learn the art of route running? As a wideout, running crisp routes is more vital for success than any amount of speed. If speed was the end-all to be-all for a WR, then why isn't Bethel Johnson on his way to the Hall of Fame? Vick has limited athletic attributes -- speed and quickness. Nothing else.
So, this debate got me thinking about "my" list of today's best "athletes". What defines a "pure athlete"?
Speed. (Lateral) quickness. Jumping. Hand-eye coordination. Reaction time. Endurance. Strength. Power. Flexibility.
But, there are other secondary attributes which must be considered -- such as:
Leadership. Clutch factor. Mental capacity (IQ for one's particular sport).
Without further ado, here is my comprised list (no hockey or soccer players allowed), in order:
- Jose Reyes
- Lebron James
- Reggie Bush
- Kobe Bryant
- Calvin Johnson
- Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
- Mike Vick
- Amare Stoudemire
- Jeremy Bloom (SLEEPER)
- Allen Iverson
7 comments:
What about Baldelli? Anyone else you can think of that got full scholarship offers in 4 different sports?
I definitely considered Rocco, but decided against it. Mainly b/c I think he's the 3rd best athlete on his own team (behind Crawford and Upton). I also had to take Baldelli's injuries into consideration, as they have certainly hampered his abilities since his HS days.
what about hot sauce from and1...that cat has crazy handle yo!
jordan wouldve been at the top of that list 10 years ago. its tough putting a rookie no one has ever seen play in the nfl ahead of vick or iverson for that matter too. i think you overlooked brian scalabrini too. nothing but natural white talent there.
What about Alton from The Inferno (Real World/Road Rules Challenges)??
What about Jason Taylor or Julius Peppers?
the fact that you don't put soccer players on there shows that you are a small-minded chump. the biggest sport in the world and you make a top 10 list of the best athletes IN THE WORLD....and not one is from THE BIGGEST SPORT IN THE WORLD....think about that for a second. Check yoself sucka!
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