Soccer Players Are the Best Athletes In Sports vol. No Contest

[dland24]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Originally Posted by dland24

most conditioned =/= best athlete

But stamina goes into your overall athletic grade and should be factored into the equation.

Stamina goes into athleticism?  I disagree.  You could take the most uncoordinated/unathletic computer nerd in the world, and have him train 8 hours a day for a year to develop ridiculous stamina.....and that wont make the dude athletic.

 

[bostonthreeparty]

Olympic Gymnasts. Easy

 

[pokeyneil30]

i'd have to say basketball(of the big 3) has some of the best athletes, you see people with little to no skill do well just based off pure athleticism, probably moreso than any other sport. whereas soccer (and baseball) are probably the most skilled sports

 

[brownin187]

Originally Posted by pokeyneil30

i'd have to say basketball(of the big 3) has some of the best athletes, you see people with little to no skill do well just based off pure athleticism, probably moreso than any other sport. whereas soccer (and baseball) are probably the most skilled sports

Hockey is probably the most skilled sport lets be real.

 

[nooera]

Originally Posted by Rocky437

Originally Posted by BrOwNiN187

Boxers may be the most conditioned but Football is filled with the most genetic and physical freaks.



Soccer and Basketball players are well conditioned as well but not as explosive and powerful as a Football player.

I also think NFL players have the combination of speed, power and strength. Boxers too. In the NBA theres little physical contact and soccer players only got speed or conditioning.  
NFL and Boxing I would say

Theres plenty of physical contact in the NBA .

It's the NFL if we're talking major sports. Fastest biggest and strongest. Soccer? Not even close. Those dudes are athletes but soccer is closer to ballet than anything.

 

[DPancakes]

Golfers.

 

[goldenchild9]

Originally Posted by dland24

most conditioned =/= best athlete

Exactly.
This voids most of  this whole discussion.

Soccer players may be the best conditioned but no way in hell are they better all around athletes than NFL/NBA players.

LeBron James and Dwayne Wade will outperform 5'7" Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez in almost any sports metric there is.

 

[mez 0ne]

^ That's fine in those instances (with LBJ/Wade) but you don't have to be in TOP shape to be in the NBA, there have been some overweight players in the past and some top players don't even put 100% on the court.....plus its not even a contact sport like the NFL or Boxing or Hockey (yes there are some positions where being fat in the NFL is a good thing but even they are in good shape for what their position demands).

Soccer is not a contact sport either but you better be in top world class shape if you're playing within the global competition otherwise you won't even sniff the field.

I can't consider NBA or MLB players "top" athletes (moreso MLB).

 

[dacomeup]

Originally Posted by dland24

most conditioned =/= best athlete

Mez, saying you can't consider NBA athletes top athletes is laughable. LeBron is arguably one of the best athletes in the world. His athletic ability is unmatched, especially for what he can do at that height/weight, etc. I'd say NFL and NBA have the top athletes in the world. The Quickness, Speed, Jumping ability, change of directions that some of these guys have at their weights and heights are just ridiculous.

 

[goldenchild9]

Just because there are out of shape players in the NBA doesn't mean that soccer players are more athletic, just because its not a "hard contact" sport doesn't mean that they are not athletic. Tennis has no contact and the players are extremely athletic. As a matter of fact tennis and soccer players are almost equal in comparison athletically.

The way you compare athleticism is by comparing athletic metrics. Just based off of the size, speed and strength of NFL/NBA players alone, they will outperform soccer players.

An easy way to compare is take 2 of the top NBA players and 2 of the top UEFA league players and compare them in sports independent athletic tests and see who ranks higher. Like I said Xavi/Messi vs Wade/LBJ.

Elite UEFA league players are comparable to Monta Ellis in terms of size and athletic ability.

It is far easier for an average 6'1" NBA player to train extensively and eventually contribute something in UEFA than it would be for elite 6'1" Kaka to do the same and attempt to sniff playing time in the NBA.

Soccer players are very skilled and conditioned but in terms of raw athleticism they are definitely not the best in the world.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Skills are more important in soccer than athleticism. But soccer players definitely posses the most all-round athleticism combined with skills that are required to play their sport.

 

[superbowlhomeboy217]

When I think of someone who is "athletic," I think of someone with natural God given abilities e.g. fast twitch muscle fibers, quick reflexes, explosive movements, and a good feel for their center of gravity. When speaking of the "best athletes" I don't think conditioning should be weighed heavily in the discussion. The word "conditioning" itself means something that is a learned process, not an inherent skill.

In my opinion, the best athletes are guards and forwards in basketball, and wide receivers and running backs in football. These players are often the ones with the most God given talent, something that hard work can usually not make up for. These are "athletes." They are the type of people that, if trained properly, could likely be successful at almost any sport.

This is not to say that all of these position players are good athletes, just that the best athletes typically seem to fall into these positions in the United States.

 

[goldenchild9]

Originally Posted by superbowlhomeboy217

When I think of someone who is "athletic," I think of someone with natural God given abilities e.g. fast twitch muscle fibers, quick reflexes, explosive movements, and a good feel for their center of gravity. When speaking of the "best athletes" I don't think conditioning should be weighed heavily in the discussion. The word "conditioning" itself means something that is a learned process, not an inherent skill.

In my opinion, the best athletes are guards and forwards in basketball, and wide receivers and running backs in football. These players are often the ones with the most God given talent, something that hard work can usually not make up for. These are "athletes." They are the type of people that, if trained properly, could likely be successful at almost any sport.

This is not to say that all of these position players are good athletes, just that the best athletes typically seem to fall into these positions in the United States.

Exactly.

 

[mez 0ne]

Originally Posted by DaComeUP

Originally Posted by dland24

most conditioned =/= best athlete

Mez, saying you can't consider NBA athletes top athletes is laughable. LeBron is arguably one of the best athletes in the world. His athletic ability is unmatched, especially for what he can do at that height/weight, etc. I'd say NFL and NBA have the top athletes in the world. The Quickness, Speed, Jumping ability, change of directions that some of these guys have at their weights and heights are just ridiculous.

I'm not talking about Lebron James only though, I am speaking in general because you don't need all of those things to be an effective NBA player. There have been some fat **+@% in the league before. You can be a skinny tall kid like Reggie Miller and be one of the top players in the game cause you can shoot and run off screens well (and its not a knock on Reggie, he is a very skillful player but not known for all of those things you mentioned).  Just trying to make you understand what I mean when I say that.
Since I play a lot of football I don't consider non contact sports REAL sports

Theres plenty of physical contact in the NBA .

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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]College ball I would agree, NBA? Nah man.

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[goldenchild9]

Being Skinny and Tall, makes you a non athlete?

Again have you see Kaka or Xavi's frame and build?

5'7" 145 pounds.

6'1" 160 pounds.

I'm not buying it for a second.

 

[dacomeup]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

Originally Posted by DaComeUP

Originally Posted by dland24

most conditioned =/= best athlete

Mez, saying you can't consider NBA athletes top athletes is laughable. LeBron is arguably one of the best athletes in the world. His athletic ability is unmatched, especially for what he can do at that height/weight, etc. I'd say NFL and NBA have the top athletes in the world. The Quickness, Speed, Jumping ability, change of directions that some of these guys have at their weights and heights are just ridiculous.

I'm not talking about Lebron James only though, I am speaking in general because you don't need all of those things to be an effective NBA player. There have been some fat **+@% in the league before. You can be a skinny tall kid like Reggie Miller and be one of the top players in the game cause you can shoot and run off screens well (and its not a knock on Reggie, he is a very skillful player but not known for all of those things you mentioned).  Just trying to make you understand what I mean when I say that.
Since I play a lot of football I don't consider non contact sports REAL sports

Theres plenty of physical contact in the NBA .

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[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]College ball I would agree, NBA? Nah man.

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But you can be successful in soccer by just being savvy as well. Reggie was in GREAT CONDITION, like the soccer players that you mentioned. How do you think he was able to run off of screens for his entire career? You're going against your own point now.

And if you don't think the NBA is physical then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[mez 0ne]

Originally Posted by goldenchild9


Being Skinny and Tall, makes you a non athlete?

Again have you see Kaka or Xavi's frame and build?

5'7" 145 pounds.

6'1" 160 pounds.

I'm not buying it for a second.

My argument wasn't for his height/weight it was moreso of being a good shooter can make you an effective NBA player without being a gifted athlete jumping through the roof....not difficult to understand.
Not trying to go back and forth, you obviously have your set opinion so I'm not trying to change it. the league has some athletic freaks but I just can't call them best in the WORLD.

 

[therealmccoy12]

hockey > soccer

 

[DeadsetAce]

soccer is more physical than the nba

 

[goldenchild9]

Originally Posted by Mez 0ne

goldenchild9 wrote:

My argument wasn't for his height/weight it was moreso of being a good shooter can make you an effective NBA player without being a gifted athlete jumping through the roof....not difficult to understand.
Not trying to go back and forth, you obviously have your set opinion so I'm not trying to change it. the league has some athletic freaks but I just can't call them best in the WORLD.

You can also be an effective, even elite futbol player with out possessing those abilities either. Skill through practice, heart, toughness and intangibles carry over in every sport, see Wayne Rooney.

 

[nooera]

Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

soccer is more physical than the nba

Not sure if srs.

 

[goldenchild9]

Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

soccer is more physical than the nba

Soccer is a sport, NBA is a league.
I play street ball and pick up small goal soccer with Hondurans...I leave both games equal bruised up. Both games (soccer and basketball) have the same capacity for physicality.

90's NBA > 00's UEFA in terms of physicality by league.

Smaller playing field, bigger/stronger men.
 

 

[supahoopa]

what definition are you using for athlete ?

Because me and my friends were talking about this the other day 

We only started talking about his because they were saying the women's soccer team were athletes, the national softball champs, and kate middleton was an athlete (we might just be hating on the kate part)

We said an athlete is a person who can strive at multiple sports and be good at them.. not just mediocre..

like prime time.. bo jackson.. charlie ward.. 

(we still need to sort out some kinks in the definition) 

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by goldenchild9

Originally Posted by DeadsetAce

soccer is more physical than the nba

Soccer is a sport, NBA is a league.
I play street ball and pick up small goal soccer with Hondurans...I leave both games equal bruised up. Both games (soccer and basketball) have the same capacity for physicality.

90's NBA > 00's UEFA in terms of physicality by league.

Smaller playing field, bigger/stronger men.

thanks for clearing that up for me, i had no idea. i figured mentioning soccer would suffice instead of listing the professional soccer leagues around the world

street ball may be more physical, but the best bball players play in the nba which is charmin soft.

and nooera...dead serious

 

[nooera]

Lol I agree the NBA is type soft but it's still more physical than a damn soccer game

Men 6'8 and up 300+ lbs throwing elbows and bodies in the paint isnt a physical activity? Oh okay. Andrew Bynum dropping J.J. Barea in the playoffs this year was more physical than anything I've ever seen in a soccer game.