Greatest Athlete of the past Decade
 

Daydreaming in my meeting earlier and thought..Why isn't this man on most ppl's list of greatest of the decade?

So I did a quick google:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...tes/index.html

He came in 17th, and i wonder why that is, and it comes to mind that boxing isn't what it use to be in its heyday.

I look back at it now, Manny Pacquiao should be top 5. He's a transcendent boxer. A boxer to move up 8 different weight classes (including this year, and still win them all, undefeated in 5 years.)

Using the list of CNNSI, I have no problem with any of thoe top5, it helps to be in North America. I'm sure people have different list in different parts of the world.

But think about it, Pacman is from the philippines, fought all over the world beat the best other then Money, and is behind LBJ? Mariano Rivera? Jimmie Johnson? <- ONLY relevant in N/A. no where else in the world.

2 Cents regarding how underapperciated Manny Pacquiao is, even if he was voted the greatest boxer in the 2000s.

If you ask me top 5 now, and using the CNNSI list as a standard.

My top5 would be

Roger Federer
Tiger Woods
Manny Pacquiao
Micheal Phelps
Usain Bolt

EDIT: Apparently someone had the same thought as me.

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/stor...reatest-period

no kevin bieksa?

lebron james and tim duncan?



i think not

id put Schumacher up higher than 10th

but woods at #1? nuh uh (sorry i just dont see golf as athletic... ur just aiming and swinging)

Oscar Pistorius, The Blade Runner
The fastest man with no legs. He has 4 Paralympic gold medals and almost got into the 2008 olympics.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/blade.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Pistorius

You wouldn't put Tiger at the top but you'd put Shumacher?

If I was making this list, I wouldn't put any racing drivers because it depends too much on the quality of the car... just look at what happened to Jacques Villeneuve.

i would put him higher up but i dunno about 1st (schumi) because of the car; although you cant say the car carried schumi either

^without the car, he'd have zero chance. that's the way f1 works.
if schumi drove a minardi all season he wouldnt have ever seen the podium

You can't deny that F1 drivers are elite athletes though. You can be a fat, middle aged guy and still win the Masters.

in his day he's turned shit cars into winning cars though but again because of the need of a car is why i wouldnt put him 1st but i would higher than 5

and woods i would have below the top 10 spots

kobe bryant

were talking about the last decade, where he was only with ferrari.

you clearly havent played golf before if you dont think its a physical game.
hit a couple buckets of balls at the driving range then see how sore you are the next day.

StylinRed, have you ever played golf before?

yea i did the golf thing during highschool (team)
and spent more than a couple days at the ranges with the boys or at a local course

its no sport imo (im sure it would get a lot of golf fans flustered... but c'mon....)

some people would argue that racing isnt a sport either.
i mean, you're sitting in a chair the entire time.

Golf: a sport that is easy to play but hard to master.

Lol not even 15 post in and you guys are off my point.

MANNY PACMAN PACQUIAO!

and if somebody argues that the same could be said about racing, in which you're just sitting there shifting gears, you'd get flustered too.

no i can totally see how it can be argued as not being a sport; i've felt that way myself for ages before i knew that the racers needed to be in top physical form

that's sort of the clincher for me; the need to be in tip top shape

but i get the argument for golf being a sport i just don't agree with it :/


(same as snooker/pool or darts etc i can see the enjoyment in watching it or playing it but to call it a sport? wtf)

just for the sake of arguing now...

golf wasn't really an athletes sport until recently.
you can still play well if you're out of shape provided you're extremely good.... but being athletic will give you that edge you need to be the best.

Poor little tink tink

they should have poker players in it :troll:

if u say golf and f1 racing is sport... might as well throw in poker

You obviously haven't raced on a track for money have you? Sure in drag races you can be some 500lbs. fat ass american but in f1 you need endurance and strength its not like your going 100km/h around a track. Golf requires patience, athleticism in golf doesn't seem like a requirement but skill does. I wouldn't put a race car driver in the top 10 athletes tho. I don't think it requires as much hard work as it does basketball, football, rugby etc etc.

nvm 2000s...

wtf no JOHN CENA?

Valentino Rossi should be at or near the top. 7 World Championships between 2001-2010.

Woods should be near the top as well sorry to say. Golf may not be the most "active" sport but the skill and finesse required to play it well is on a higher level than almost any other ball sport.