I am so tired of the Tiger Woods golf talk. Every time he has a big weekend, playing the game of golf (key word is game), sports talk radio goes on and on about Tiger.
To make things worse, you have the idiot, Gene Wojciechowski, at ESPN saying that Tiger is the best athlete ever. Gene is a moron. Tiger isn’t even the best golfer ever; he has 7 majors to win to pass Jack Nicklaus. I want to see Tiger quit golf, and try baseball, football, basketball, hockey, track, or tennis and succeed at one of those sports before you even call him an athlete. I don’t care if he does it at his local YMCA, I just want to see him do something other then golf.
Golf is a game, not a sport. Don’t go and disrespect all athletes by saying Tiger is the best, when he’s never even competed at a sport.
Is Michael Jordan not one of the best athletes of all time because he didn’t succeed at baseball? If there were a pitcher in MLB who had thrown 2 or 3 no-hitters in the past 5 years, wouldn’t we get as excited when they are at their best? Sport or not, Tiger is proving that he is one of the best competitors of all time. He’ll blow away Nicklaus in the long run, and probably change the game of golf in the process. Who cares if a few people don’t consider it a true sport?
Howdy Chad,
I was hoping my comment I left on your blog would get you over here. 🙂
Michael is one of the best athletes of all time because of his status as the BEST player in the history of the NBA (a sport).
Tiger is proving that he is badass at the GAME of golf. He is at the top of the list of gamers, not athletes. Gamers include, race car drivers, horse jockeys, video game players, chess players, card players, etc.
So when can we discuss Aggies vs Gators football?
Erik
Ok Erik you have completely lost it, F1 drivers are not athletes??? Dealing with 3 to 4 G turns, accelaration and deccelaration that would hurt any normal person all while maintaining heart rates in the lows 100s. To warm up for a race Rubens B (Honda team) went for a 10mile run the day before a race. Michael Shumacher has played full length charity soccer matches following a race and Mark Webber has completed numerous triathlons. He’s even hosting his own multi-day adventure race when the season ends. Check out the current World Champion’s build (especially his neck) and tell me he’s not completely fit.
As for Jordan, go check the numbers when he first retired against Bird and Magic. Other then scoring points, which was less then a 10pt difference, Bird out rebounded, stole, assisted, blocked etc etc by a good margin over MJ. Magic played every position during the playoffs. MJ may be one of the most prolific scorers, but when it comes to all around players, he’s behind Bird and Magic everytime.
As for Tiger, I think Golf is kinda lame as well, but when you look at the likes of Statler or Mickleson, Tiger is a specimen compared to them. His workout regime must be second to none.
As for baseball, and I know you’re going to hate me for this but, when you look at the actual time the athletes are actually doing something, baseball is a joke. Cecil Fielder (sp?) was in shape? Hardly. Babe Ruth ate and drank everything in sight yet he is the pinnacle of the sport? Heck SI said that the Babe was the greatest athlete ever. Better then Paula Newby Fraser?
(http://www.multisports.com/paula.html)
And before you say it, no I don’t think some linemen are athletes.
Also by your thinking Lance Armstrong hasn’t proven anything yet because he hasn’t played baseball or football? If you want to talk athlete’s let’s talk soccer players. For two 45 minutes halves they run 7-10 miles with no sitting down. By comparison when David Ortis has to run from 1st to home he can barely make it because he is out of breath. And he’s not the only baseball player I see doing that and gasping. Heck some have problems just getting to third.
To help clarify here are my personal rules:
1. If you can drink or smoke while doing “it” it’s not a sport but rather a recreation.
2. If your job is to stand around doing nothing for long periods of time then your not playing a sport but participating in a game.
3. If someone’s opinion counts more towards the score then the result of what you did, it’s not a sport, you’re in an opinion competition.
4. If a blister takes you out of the game/event, you’re definately not playing a sport.
😉
Mark,
You just wrote the best comment I’ve seen here in ages. And, that’s an amazing feat considering you weren’t praising my Aggies or Cubs! 🙂
So here comes me disagreeing with you. 🙂
No car driver (nascar, indy, f1) is an athlete. There a mix between gamers (golf, bowlers, etc) and pilots/astronauts. They do hard things that might be physically taxing, and are definitely hard on the mind.
I will NOT argue about Jordan. He’s the best ever. PERIOD!
Baseball is absolutely a sport and it’s players are athletes. They don’t have it as hard as football, hockey, etc, but they are athletes. And, yes, they do some drinking the night before games, but that is present in ALL sports. Even worse, back in the day, they would smoke cigs while sitting on the bench, during the game. That is crazy, but they’re still athletes!
I did not mean to slight cycling. Big time athletes. Lance is a marvel. Nuts. The guy is amazing. He gets lumped in with the marathoners, decathletes, etc. Real impressive athletes.
I like your personal rules. I don’t agree with them all, but I like them. The “opinion” one is so true. I hate the gymnastics stuff where the judging is such a joke. They are athletes, but their sport needs to be revamped.
Thanks for the great comment.
Tiger is a better athlete than anybody that Texas A&M is going to have on their defense this year. A&M could use Tiger at strong safety….might be good on special teams too.
Doctor Mancock,
Please, don’t bring the Fightin’ Texas Aggies into every discusion we have. Tiger sucks. Yeah, he’s at the top of the list, of golfers. But, most of those dudes are fat, and smoke a couple packs of cigs a day. Answer this one question…. In a one-on-one drill with Brian Urlacher who wins? Tiger or Urlacher? I got $1000 on Urlacher.
Curious, you admit that baseball players smoke and drink and I suggest that they are not in the best shape when compared to other sports. you then said:
“No car driver (nascar, indy, f1) is an athlete. There a mix between gamers (golf, bowlers, etc) and pilots/astronauts. They do hard things that might be physically taxing, and are definitely hard on the mind.”
Ok so golf and driving are a skill but a pitcher is just like a bowler. It’s a skill. So how does a fat pitcher (who in one league doesn’t even bat) get the title athlete while the F1 driver who’s in 100% better shape not get the title?
Maybe if you could explain your rules for calling someone an athlete I could better understand your position? Do all persons in certain sports get the title regardless how fit they are?
BTW, I forgot this one thing from before, if I were Tiger, I wouldn’t even think about another sport until my time was up. Like you would turn down the chance to win $6,351,563 in prize money by only playing in 12 events. Simply put, if my son wants to play golf and make millions doing it, all the power to him. Heck for that money I would give up triathlons for year to be set for life. 😉
It is my job to be a thorn in the side of the texas A&M aggies all year long. It is all good natured ribbing.
As for the tiger woods versus brian urlacher one on one drill, i think you are wrong. My money would be on Ditka.