The Greatest U.S. Athletes of All Time
 

Per SBF's suggestion, let's debate the greatest U.S. athletes of all time. I narrowed it down to U.S. to make the list a bit easier. Therefore people like Pele, Gretzky and Martina are ineligible. We could make it worldwide if people prefer.

So what defines greatness? I suppose it's based on accomplishments. With that in mind, I'll throw out these names (in no particular order):

Michael Jordan
Muhammad Ali
Pete Sampras
Lance Armstrong
Carl Lewis

Mia Hamm
Jesse Owens
Tiger Woods

my list would be Lance Armstrong, Jim Thorpe, Jesse Owens, Bo Jackson, Roy Jones Jr., and Bruce Jenner.

the greatest american women athletes would be serena williams, marion jones, jackie joyner kersey, mary lou retton, and billy jean king.

what about bonnie blair?

I forgot about her, plus that swimmer who'se won a lot of medals the past few olympics. I can't remember her name though. something evans I think.

Sammy Baugh [Hall of Famer in 3 Positions QB, DB,Punter]
Ali [ If you saw him...he's on the list]
Jordan [He was the next level]
Jesse Owens [Spanked Hitler & a Horse]
Lance Armstrong [He's got "ballz"]

IMHO

peace
mike

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]the greatest american women athletes would be serena williams, marion jones, jackie joyner kersey, mary lou retton, and billy jean king.[/QUOTE]

You gotta stick Hamm on that list too. Mia Hamm is the best women's soccer player in the world, and the best women's soccer player ever, by most accounts. She's like Gretzky or MJ: she's just better than everyone else around her. And she's been doing it for a long time, but she'll still captain the US team in Athens and at the next women's world cup.

Serena may be slipping! I can't believe she got crushed like that at Wimbeldon.

Tiger? Arnie? Jack? Is golf a sport? j/k!

for every person who considers racing a sport, 2 consider golf and poker as sports... kinda odd.

i'd throw gretzky on the list, cause i don't care... he was that good.

[QUOTE=JWsleep]Tiger? Arnie? Jack? Is golf a sport? j/k![/QUOTE]

u might as well add a nascar driver on there,lol.

and thats a good point about mia hamm. is landan donovan an american born player?

[QUOTE=That Guy]i'd throw gretzky on the list, cause i don't care... he was that good.[/QUOTE]

For my money there was no one better than Gretzky. Not even Jordan did as much to change basketball as Gretzky did for hockey.

Here's a remarkable stat. Gretzky is all the time points leader in the NHL (goals and assists), but if you took away all his goals and went with just his assists he'd still be the points leader!

[QUOTE]Here's a remarkable stat. Gretzky is all the time points leader in the NHL (goals and assists), but if you took away all his goals and went with just his assists he'd still be the points leader![/QUOTE]
never knew that... that's insane.

gretzkey was a one of a kind player.

I'm still not convinced the Williams sisters are female =p

I never understand why people portray them as attractive. Maybe it's me, but a female with biceps 3x the size of mine and weighing in at a hearty 215lbs isn't my idea of sexy, but to each his own!

Jack Nicklaus was/is the greatest golfer...and yes golf is a sport.

Major Championships
Victories: 18
Second Place: 19
Third Place: 9
Top-Three Finishes: 46
Top-Five Finishes: 50
Top-10 Finishes: 68
Played in a record 154 consecutive major championships for which he was eligible from 1957 U.S. Open to the 1998 U.S. Open
(found this on his nicklaus.com)

jack's shadow is a bit smaller though since tiger is proving that jack may not be one of a kind anymore (no one's come close to gretsky or jordan yet, baseball and football are harder to judge cause of all the different roles involved... you can be the best WR or KR, but does that make you the best football player ever? I think not...).

[QUOTE=Daseal]I'm still not convinced the Williams sisters are female =p

I never understand why people portray them as attractive. Maybe it's me, but a female with biceps 3x the size of mine and weighing in at a hearty 215lbs isn't my idea of sexy, but to each his own![/QUOTE]

I agree to an extent cuz Venus, ain't even close to pretty. Serena's not all that bad especially in the curves department and that's why so many men(and some women) find her attractive. plus their rich and quite a few people are attracted to money,lol.

golf, like nascar, bowling, pool, curling, and the spelling bee(j/k), r skills not sports.

Who do you think is a better athlete? Golfer's or race car driver's? :D

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]golf, like nascar, bowling, pool, curling, and the spelling bee(j/k), r skills not sports.[/QUOTE]

I've always wondered about this. By definition a sport is a "physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively" so that would put things like nascar, bowling etc. as sports right?

I used to think that things like diving or figure skating aren't sports because they're determined by judges, but in many cases boxing matches are decided by judges but that's definitely a sport isn't it?

[QUOTE=skinsfanthru&thru]golf, like nascar, bowling, pool, curling, and the spelling bee(j/k), r skills not sports.[/QUOTE]

if swinging a golf club is a skill then so is swinging a baseball bat...so that must mean that baseball is a skill not a sport. i don't think so

[QUOTE=NY_Skinsfan]if swinging a golf club is a skill then so is swinging a baseball bat...so that must mean that baseball is a skill not a sport. i don't think so[/QUOTE]

thats kind of a crappy comparison cuz baseball involves quite a bit of running at full speed both on defense and offense. I'm sorry but when the two main physical activities in a "sport" r swinging a club and walking a lot, that doesn't constitute a sport in my book.

there is a lot more to golf than swinging a club and walking...you should try it

smoot, it only goes to the judges if the boxers can't do their job ;)
whats odd is that twice as many people consider poker as a sport than nascar.

[QUOTE=NY_Skinsfan]there is a lot more to golf than swinging a club and walking...you should try it[/QUOTE]


no thankx, too expensive for me. I just like hitting it at the driving range.

plus what else is there athletically to golf? the only thing I can think of is carrying the clubs but professionals, and quite a few recreational players, don't carry their own clubs.

[QUOTE=That Guy]smoot, it only goes to the judges if the boxers can't do their job ;)
whats odd is that twice as many people consider poker as a sport than nascar.[/QUOTE]


there is no way to express how pathetic that is, lol. is anybody else hoping and praying for all this poker crap to die off? poker is only fun when playing with friends or a table of women, lol.

skinsfanthru&thru, I give up...I guess we don't agree. But I think if you give golf a fair shot and actually try it you might change your mind. As smootsmack said, by definition a sport is a "physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively," in which golf is....Walking, the last time I checked was actually classified as a physical activity (albeit very easy) and golf is governed by a set of rules. So by definition, golf qualifies as a sport. I used to think that golf was not a sport but I have changed my decision after having played the game for more than 15 years now...Funny thing is I'm not much better than I was when I started.

[QUOTE=NY_Skinsfan]skinsfanthru&thru, I give up...I guess we don't agree. But I think if you give golf a fair shot and actually try it you might change your mind. As smootsmack said, by definition a sport is a "physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively," in which golf is....Walking, the last time I checked was actually classified as a physical activity (albeit very easy) and golf is governed by a set of rules. So by definition, golf qualifies as a sport. I used to think that golf was not a sport but I have changed my decision after having played the game for more than 15 years now...Funny thing is I'm not much better than I was when I started.[/QUOTE]

hey thats kewl if u see it as a sport. I believe the labeling of an activity as a sport varies in definition from person to person. I used to have friends I bowled in leagues with tell me that bowling is a sport and I still to this day, no matter how much I enjoy it, still see it as a skill and not a sport. It's hard for me to put into words what I consider a sport, but like I said its all a matter of personal interpritation. I may change my mind one day about some things others consider sports that at this time I don't. u just never know, lol. but at this time we can agree to disagree, lol ;)