How many times have you heard this in the last couple of days: I'm not even a golf fan, and I couldn't stop watching the final round or playoff.
I heard it and said it. I hated it Sunday because it was so nice outside, but it was great theater.
But no way is Tiger Woods the greatest athlete of our generation. Yes, golf is a sport, and so is tennis, and Tiger and Roger Federer have been supremely dominant in those sports.
But when I consider the mythical "greatest athlete" tag, I take into account the toughness of the sport. I give special consideration to guys who play football and even basketball.
That's not to say Tiger's not tough. I know there is skepticism about his knee pain, but the guy had surgery and gutted it out.
But if I have to pick the greatest athlete of our generation, I'd have to go with Jordan. I know he played a team game and had one great player with him, but my argument is Scottie Pippen would never have risen even close to that level if he hadn't played with MJ.
It's such a subjective argument. Should a guy like Deion get the nod because he played multiple sports? Maybe.
Either way, Tiger's a great athlete and a great show. I didn't even mind wasting a beautiful afternoon watching him.
If the USGA implemented a two-stroke penalty for throwing your golf club, Tiger would have never won this (or most of his other) tournaments...what a poor example for our youth
A golfer is no more of an athlete than a pool player, dart thrower or a bowler. It does not take great athleticism to succeed in either of these 3 sports. They are skill & discipline sports. They do not require any great feat of endurance or split-second decision making. They do not require pulse-pounding play.
It takes a Moroniotti like mind to think otherwise. The greatest athlete in our generation is Michael Jordan. No one rose to the level of athleticism that he did as often as he did in any other sport.
I think Bo Jackson should be in the team photo.
He was cut down too early, but the man could do it all.
Running through 300 pound defensive linemen, and hitting 100 mph fastballs aren't two of the easiest things to do.
"I'm not even a golf fan"...Well, then you probably don't need to be commenting on where Tiger Woods stands in the big scheme of things. And to compare bowling to hitting a golf ball? You've probably never tried to hit a golf ball. Maybe you guys don't think Tiger is the greatest athlete, not of our generation, but all time, but he is the most clutch performer in the history of sports. And as for the "role model" comments...Deion throwing a cooler of water on McCarver, Jordan walking around smoking cigars 24/7, gambling his arse off and having affairs...Yeah, good ones. And if there was a two-stroke penalty for throwing a club, you can bet Tiger (and any other golfer who's done it) would be throwing their clubs around.
Bo Jackson....and it's not even close
vrob: "...what a poor example for our youth."
Poorer than doping in baseball or car-fighting in Nascar or not paying Lovie smith 6 mil a year?
"Poorer than doping in baseball or car-fighting in Nascar or not paying Lovie smith 6 mil a year?"
Uhhhh....WHAT? How do Smith's contract negotiations fit here?
If we're basing our selections on most difficult sports then we'd might as well choose the no-holds-barred pit fighting champion or the competitive-nuclear-bomb-disarming-while-juggling champion. Why not Carl Edwards? The great thing about Carl Edwards is that he's just as good a driver as Jeff Gordon- the bonus being, of course, that he isn't actually Jeff Gordon.
Deion couldn't hold Bo's jock as a 2 sport athlete. Bo was well on his way to being top 5 player in both sports before he got hurt.
He was MVP in the all star game. Would have been same in NFL but Al Davis insisted on playing Marcus Allen in front of Bo...never mind he averaged nearly 7 yds a carry in his partial first year.
To me, the complete athlete is a heptathlete or decathlete. Bruce Jenner, Jackie Joyner-Kersey. Now those were athletes. But yes, in hypothetical sense, Michael was the BEST. While no athlete, with the exception of Thorpe or Owens (for their eras), were as complete and dominant as Michael, the physical nature of his sport tends to promote the word 'athlete' a tad more than a golfer. Golfing, while also athletic in nature, would be repetition and practice dominated, whereas a sport like basketball would also feature "athleticism" to a much higher degree.
Don't get me wrong, though. I still consider the 'Other Tiger' great by all accounts. It takes unusual skill and nerve to win like this guy does in a sport that measures consistency like no other, and do it in a different element each and every day. Amazing!
Bo Jackson was a good mention, also, if longevity and accomplishments were not taken into account. Shoot, there may be a race car driver out there who's even a better athlete than Jordan, but his element cannot visually showcase it.
All taken into account, there was a particular Christmas Day basketball game, Bulls vs. Knicks, when Pitino coached New Yorks pressing b-ballers, and Jordan went through five guys at least ten times during the game, and I remember turning to my Dad, who was a 'BIG' Oscar Robertson fan, and said, 'this guy is the most BLESSED athlete I've ever seen'.
Nothings changed.
Im not so sure about athlete either, maybe like that commercial said, he is the most "Mentally Tough" athlete of all time, but not best pure atlete...
Roy Jones JR
MJ
Neon Deon "Primetime" Sanders?
( I havent seen Tiger dunk it yet?)
Tiger is dominating his sport but I have never been a big fan of golf. What I have watched of Golf, does it have a time limit between shots because Tiger uses up a great deal of time. If there is a rule then golf does not enforce it.
What about Boxers? Ali used to take a beating, worse than Bo, Mike, or Deion. And their training regimen, thank goodness it's only for some weeks.
Tiger, hell no. Not even the most clutch performer, how many majors has he won compared to games MJ won, bouts the best boxers of all time won, it's not even close. He is the best golfer of all time, though.
What I have watched of Golf, does it have a time limit between shots because Tiger uses up a great deal of time. If there is a rule then golf does not enforce it.
_____________________________
There is a time rule in golf, but I'm not sure about the specifics. I do know that Woods, and Mediate were warned to speed things up a bit on Sunday.
This is done because there are other players behind each pairing, except for the last two on the course. I also noticed that in the playoff, Mediate was allowed to step into the bunker to gauge the lie of his putt. Normally, a player would not be allowed to disturb the carefully raked sand in a bunker unless his ball was actually in it.
Keylan...its weird to me that you choose to defend Tigers Club Throwing and Cussin Tantrums.
I made that point this weekend to my wife and my good buddy back in Chicago. I watched the open since Wednesday, and that Saturday/Sunday swing in Tigers personality was one of the greatest examples of Sports Bi-Polarity I have ever seen.
I had a roomate in College who would literally beat himself and us and be in the worst mood for HRS...when he played bad, and when he would have a good game or practice, he was the giddiest, craziest, funniest clown prince, nicest guy on earth.
IT WAS INSANE LIVING WITH THIS..
But I see this in Tiger...too.
Its weird how...the most focused golfer in the history of the game, is a loose cannon, and has emotional containment issues when he is not doing well.
My good friend made this point though...
He said...
"Would Tiger still be Tiger, without his tantrums?"
I wonder if he could?
I hope he matures, cause there is no question that his Club Throwing, Cuss Fits, and his Breezing by fans and shining on of child autograph seekers is as bad or worse for our youth than any stupid Janet Jackson nip slip or NBA player ref rage....
If we abhor one, shouldnt we be consistant (and not consistantly erratic) with Tigers 2 POUTING????
and...yes..i was watching the practice rounds on wednesday....on Golf Channel
I'd say Tiger is one of the top 2000 skilled performers of our generation.
First of all, I think we have to accept a certain "apples and oranges" argument to sport. I don't think we can necessarily make such comparisons.
Having said this, I will add some of my thoughts:
Don't sell short the athleticism of someone like Tiger Woods. PLEASE don't put what he does in the same category of darts, billiards and even bowling. Us weekend golfers don't come close to punishing our bodies with the extreme torque-heavy swings that guys like Tiger nad Nicklaus have put on theirs. Their lower backs, hips and knees receive a tremendous amount of stored and released energy that most of us "weekenders" haven't come close to experiencing. Look at the injuries that pro golfers have endured over the years as testament, especially the long hitters.
Baseball often gets a jab from basketball and football enthusiasts as namby pamby in comparison, but I believe Ted Williams was correct when he stated that nothing's tougher in sport than hitting a 95 mph moving fastball with a round bat from about 60 ft. True, they don't jump and leap nearly as much, and even incur way more hamstring injuries, but the athletic difficulty is still applied. Similarly, I think, golfers--especially top ones versus top courses, pin placements and competition--have to be very respected for their athletic ability.
Perhaps it's best to keep the sports separate and respect them each for what they are, but I don't think it's fair to state that golfers (and, yes, baseball players) don't have a great amount of athletic ability.
First of all, I think we have to accept a certain "apples and oranges" argument to sport. I don't think we can necessarily make such comparisons.
Having said this, I will add some of my thoughts:
Don't sell short the athleticism of someone like Tiger Woods. PLEASE don't put what he does in the same category of darts, billiards and even bowling. Us weekend golfers don't come close to punishing our bodies with the extreme torque-heavy swings that guys like Tiger nad Nicklaus have put on theirs. Their lower backs, hips and knees receive a tremendous amount of stored and released energy that most of us "weekenders" haven't come close to experiencing. Look at the injuries that pro golfers have endured over the years as testament, especially the long hitters.
Baseball often gets a jab from basketball and football enthusiasts as namby pamby in comparison, but I believe Ted Williams was correct when he stated that nothing's tougher in sport than hitting a 95 mph moving fastball with a round bat from about 60 ft. True, they don't jump and leap nearly as much, and even incur way more hamstring injuries, but the athletic difficulty is still applied. Similarly, I think, golfers--especially top ones versus top courses, pin placements and competition--have to be very respected for their athletic ability.
Perhaps it's best to keep the sports separate and respect them each for what they are, but I don't think it's fair to state that golfers (and, yes, baseball players) don't have a great amount of athletic ability.
MJ, Tiger, Mike Tyson (before marriage), Sampras?
When you consider the number of yrs MJ played and the # of clutch performances he's simply the best. Longevity is part of the eqn & Bo Jackson didn't have it.
The greatest athlete of any generation has to elevate the play of his teammates as well. MJ did that. Tiger? He's yet to even put in a clutch performance in the Ryder Cup.
Another sign of a great athlete is when he so impacts a game the league considers rule changes. That was the case with MJ & Devin Hester put it on the table in the NFL. If Hester proves to be a reliable receiver he'll get my vote for best athlete of this generation.
I've hit plenty of golf balls & bowled enough games to feel the comparison's a good one. The key to success in either sport is to develop discipline in your form. You even have a pull back & follow thru to deliver of a shot.
Vincent Edward Jackson without a doubt#1. Sweetness#2. Mike Tyson#3, MJ #4, and Lance Armstrong #5
No way is Samprass better than Agassi!!!!
Roman responds: Neither is as good as Federer.
Bo Jackson...and it's not even close
was I the only one watching MJ play baseball?.. it wasn't worth the price of admission
Bo Jackson...and it's not even close
there is no debate...
Bo Knows...
What exactly does "our generation" mean?
90's: MJ - best ever NBA player. power/speed AA MLB.
80's: Bo Jackson - all-star in MLB & NFL. Heismann in college.
70's: Dave Winfield - MLB HOF, drafted by NBA & NFL.
60's: Wilt Chamberlain - NBA HOF, excelled in track & field.
50's: Jim Brown - best ever NFL player. 5th in decathalon.
For my generation, it's got to be MJ.
Bo Jackson was the man, and was MJ. Any MJ for that matter. Hey guys if you have a kids in little leagues, or summer camps check out this cool site. www.Sportzonthego.com. All my kids teammates love their Sport goodies. They have some really nice things. Don't for get the "Z" in Sportz. Have fun.. Bo Knows
if you go international...
you have to throw in Fed, Ranaldo, and what about...
Sachin Tendulkar
GOOGLE THIS HOMEBOY....IT WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachin_Tendulkar
Id put this guy up against Tiger....
"if you go international...
you have to throw in Fed, Ranaldo, and what about...
Sachin Tendulkar"
Good catch.
That got me to thinking about Pele. He was a real athlete.
If I were president, somewhere between important social infrastructure and meaningless cosmetic, image boosting governing (maybe in my second term.),
I would classify Golf and American League baseball as leisure activities, forbidding participants to be classified as 'athletes'.
1.) Any public event in which the pecentage of obese or drunk participants exceeds the numeral 51, shall not be granted athletic licenses. Instead these events would be acknowledged by the people of the United States of America as 'leisurely'. It shall be unlawful for these participants to be known to the public as athletes. Punishment for otherwise unruly individuals may include:
1.) the loss of favorite Dairy Cow
2.) allowed to only drink low carb'headache' beer for one year
3.) no more Ranch dressing at the dinner table.
4.) must submit in writing, 3 creative ways to stall/lose future stimulus checks for American citizens who file tax returns(option void in Hawaii and Alaska).
5.) must complete 3 months of internship with Sam Zell in which your main function will be to figure out how to remain profitable without winning a World series for another one hundred years.
6.) Death( multiple violations). Must complete one month enforcing 'slow down' speed limits at all 'open road tolling' junctures in Illinois or New Jersey.