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The greatest athlete you ever saw in action ?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Shamrock92, Jul 10, 2022.

  1. Jul 10, 2022 at 11:20 AM
    #1
    Shamrock92

    Shamrock92 [OP] New Member

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    Who is the greatest athlete you ever had the chance to witness in their prime?

    For me - it’s a toss up - Bo Jackson or Barry Sanders probably.

    Bo simply was gifted. He could do almost anything it felt like in his prime - rare combo of speed/power/coordination. Barry on the other hand - there was just not a better running back at making people miss and slipping just out of their grasp. He wasn’t gone to bowl guys over like Earl Campbell and he didn’t need to - if they cant catch you - they cant stop you. Keep in mind he never played with a elite level QB or o line - never truly awful - but never great either - so the defense knew the Lions would be running more often than not - didn’t matter.

    Honorable mention to Shaquille ONeil - just a men amongst boys in the early 90s - everyone was trying to be like Mike in the NBA - he decided to be Wilt.

    Speaking of Jordan - not the greatest athlete - but the absolute most driven I have ever seen. He wasn’t super skilled but the drive he had was above anyone - coupled with good athleticism, sometimes that will take you farther than pure skill alone. A lot of the same can be said of Tiger Woods - I mean really prior to him how many golfers would have been called “athletes” - it was more a skill set than athletic sport.
     
  2. Jul 10, 2022 at 11:23 AM
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    shawn474

    shawn474 Lego connoisseur

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    I saw both - no Jackson was far and away the most impressive athlete I have ever seen live in action (on the football and the baseball field). Sanders was amazing and one of the only that walked away in his prime at the top of the game but Bo did it in two sports and excelled……legs as large as tree trunks and the power that he could generate running and hitting was impressive to say the least.

    mad much as I hate to admit Deion sanders was similar……just couldn’t really stomach his antics
     
  3. Jul 10, 2022 at 11:26 AM
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    Kung

    Kung Dead sexy

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    Depends on how one defines athlete.

    I have to be honest and say the one thing that I remember the most was Derek Redmond at the 400m semi-finals. He was the guy who had to pull up short due to a torn hamstring...but then REFUSED to leave the track until he'd completed the race.

    I remember standing on my feet cheering the guy on; couldn't even tell you who the heck won that race. Derek 'won' so far as I was concerned. One of the most inspiring things I'd ever had the pleasure of watching with my own eyes.

     
  4. Jul 10, 2022 at 12:50 PM
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    Shamrock92

    Shamrock92 [OP] New Member

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    Prime time to me wasn’t as much a great all around athlete - as much as he was one thing FAST.

    I mean there’s a reason they made him a DB and not a wide receiver - and a reason why he was a slightly below average hitter despite the fact all he really needed to do was bunt every time he made a plate appearance and he had a 50/50 chance of beating out the throw with his speed.

    I mean - was he really a better athlete than Ricky Henderson who was a better hitter and had speed but stuck to baseball exclusively? To me Prime Time was nothing more than Vince Coleman - a really fast baseball player.

    And to define athlete - talking all around sportsman - speed/power/instinct and quickness. I mean some athletes excel in one - I mean is we want to talk speed - it’s Usain Bolt - Michael Johnson for me. But I doubt either could hit a baseball out of the infield and don’t see either jumping back up and into the huddle after a Cortez Kennedy or Junior Seau hit meeting them as they broke for open field.

    I’ll put another Johnson on my list too - Magic. Dude could play all 5 positions in a time when center was still a position of height and muscle and every team had one on the court. Had a court vision like no other in his time and elevated everyone around him.
     
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  5. Jul 10, 2022 at 12:55 PM
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    Taco-Spike

    Taco-Spike Gateway from Tacoma World ~ ended up here

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  6. Jul 10, 2022 at 12:56 PM
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    AZBoatHauler

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    Calvin Johnson jumps to mind as someone that was just better than everyone else at the time. And one of the baddest nicknames of all time.
     
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  7. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:01 PM
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    TommyTundra

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  8. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:02 PM
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    PermaFrostTRD

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    There’s a story of Vince Wilfork (all 400+ lbs of him) dunking a basketball in cowboy boots. He was like 6-1/6-2.
    That kind of strength / athleticism is pretty tough to top.

    For me, either Bo Jackson or the one and only true GOAT - Michael Jordan. Bo is almost a fairy tale/ mythical figure in the “what could have been” light, but he put up some pretty impressive highlights when he was playing.

    Michael Jordan. Sheesh. It’s not even close. Whether you were his teammate, an opponent, or fan, he actually made us all believe he could fly. Nobody has done that before or since.
     
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  9. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:05 PM
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    Alex261

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    Tom Brady many times
     
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  10. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:13 PM
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    CNE0207

    CNE0207 New Member

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    You mean Mr. Gisele Bundchen?
     
  11. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:30 PM
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    cctxquicksand

    cctxquicksand IG - TRDistheWrd

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    Al Bundy once scored 4 touchdowns in one game
     
  12. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:36 PM
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    Jeff_1974

    Jeff_1974 Cookeville, TN

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    Lil Kyler stopping on a dime, juking, and slinging the Titans to oblivion last year in Nashvegas.
     
  13. Jul 10, 2022 at 1:40 PM
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    0.S.T.

    0.S.T. New Member

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    EAST COAST
    2007 BLACK TUNDRA 4X4 CREWMAX LIMITED 5.7 LITER
    Kelly Slater
    Age: 50
    World Championships: 11
    CT Contest Wins: 55
    1st World Champion Won: age 20

    A TRUE "GOAT" surfing against guys half his age. Tell me one professional 50 years old who still is at the top
    of his profession. Surfing is not as simple as it looks. Not to mention Kelly is still surfing competitive and took 1st place at Pipeline this winter.

    Every single wave is different, even at the same spot. Add coral reefs, sandbars and sharks to the mountain size waves.

    The second-place guy behind Kelly Slater with 4 World Titles is Mark Richards.




    O.S.T.




    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2022
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  14. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:13 PM
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    Wallygator

    Wallygator Well Zippedy Da Do!

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    Ricky Carmichael, MJ, and Eli Tomac.....none better:smokertransformer:
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2022
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  15. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:17 PM
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    Lovetrucks

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    Wayne Gretzky back in 1985 .
     
  16. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:23 PM
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    shawn474

    shawn474 Lego connoisseur

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    you have some valid points and as I said I was never really a fan, BUT the guy was a six time first team all pro, was a part of two super bowl winning teams and a baseball team that played in the World Series and is in the pro football hall of fame. He is as fast as any of the others mentioned - Olympic level speed. He was an elite athlete in every sense of the word and excelled (even if some consider him “average” at baseball he was still amongst the best in the world).
     
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  17. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:25 PM
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    TampaRD Pro

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    Lots.
    Joey Chestnut.
     
  18. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:50 PM
    #18
    Shamrock92

    Shamrock92 [OP] New Member

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    Tomlinson or Taylor

    I’d agree on Taylor - I was actually thinking how damn good Doc Gooden/Strawberry were - then thought - nah, that was just the coke.

    Then you said LT and I remembered the greatest coke fueled athlete of all time. Dude was scary good.

    Still think Joe Greene was the better all around defensive player - but his was a different kind of coke he is famous for.

    I will have to say / overall Soccer is the most demanding sport athletically - I mean basketball you play both ways too - but half as long. Football - you only play half the plays.

    Gretzky - he was naturally gifted for sure - again hate Pittsburgh but growing up right as Mario came into his own. I saw more of him than I did “prime” Gretzky. Both were great - both had all star cast surrounding them at their best and Gretzky is undisputed the best scorer - but how many fights did he have to fight himself ? Always had a tough as nails goon to help him especially early on would be my biggest knock on him.

    Don’t remember seeing him in his prime - but I’d bet Muhammad Ali would have been damn talented in any sport he tried his hand at. The quickeness/strength/toughness were legendary.
     
  19. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:52 PM
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    Shamrock92

    Shamrock92 [OP] New Member

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    Aside from using his mouth - what’s so special about him?

    I can think of people a lot more famous for shoving things in their mouth.
     
  20. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:53 PM
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    TampaRD Pro

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    Lots.
    Linda Lovelace?
     
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  21. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:55 PM
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    Jeff_1974

    Jeff_1974 Cookeville, TN

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    He Choke holded the vegan protester.
     
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  22. Jul 10, 2022 at 2:59 PM
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    Shamrock92

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    One that never quite got the credit he deserved

    Troy “Escalade” Jackson - for a big man he had moves. Remember him briefly from Louisville playing days.

    Honestly had to google to remember the name and didn’t know his brother was Mark Jackson of NBA fame from the 90s.
     
  23. Jul 10, 2022 at 3:26 PM
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    dittothat

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    I have been to many professional sporting events, but one of the greatest athletic (if you can call it that) performances I ever witnessed was at my local CF gym years ago by this little guy named Greg Kuchan. It was, I believe, open workout 15.2 of just overhead squats and pull-ups. He made it to the 22nd round and finished 4th in the world for that workout. I’ve never seen a motor on someone like that before and it still remains one of the most impressive things I’ve ever witnessed.
     
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  24. Jul 10, 2022 at 3:31 PM
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    biebs96

    biebs96 my other truck is a big brown truck

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    I was at Wayne Gretzky’s very last game of his career. He was with the Rangers. Waited two hours after the game for him to sign a life size cardboard cutout of himself.

    Still have it!

    2740CA23-2AA6-43AC-A985-6EEF974053CA.jpg
     
  25. Jul 10, 2022 at 3:39 PM
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    AZBoatHauler

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  26. Jul 10, 2022 at 3:40 PM
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    joonbug

    joonbug °°°°°°°°°°

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    The world’s greatest all around athlete is a decathalete.

    soooooo……

    D68DA400-82DB-4E3D-BFC7-A63F03018653.jpg
     
  27. Jul 10, 2022 at 3:54 PM
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    Tchase

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    Bo Jackson’s hit on the Boz, I was there.
     
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  28. Jul 10, 2022 at 3:54 PM
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    dittothat

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    Got a TB12 signed Patriots jersey. Was going to gift it to @jewsNbrews if I got him for SS this year, but didn’t. Guess I’ll have to hold onto it for another year :notsure:
     
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  29. Jul 10, 2022 at 4:21 PM
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    jewsNbrews

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  30. Jul 10, 2022 at 4:30 PM
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    AZBoatHauler

    AZBoatHauler SSEM#140/ASCM#3/2ndGenNaysayer/BAF140

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    Are you a fan of the TB12 signature or an older autograph?
    7287FD08-DC33-40E3-8A2A-E76E1CA2E772.jpg
     
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