Here I am talking about the guy who most dominated his sport, not necessarily the best athlete. My top 5 are... 1) Wayne Gretzky...No one is all that close. Did to his sport what Shakespeare did to english drama...re-wrote it single handed. 2) Muhammed Ali...As he said, The Greatest. In his prime, it wasn't even close. 3) Wilt Chamberlain...The numbers don't lie... 4) Pele...The Michael Jordan of his sport...except his sport is played by 5 times as many people. 5) Jerry Rice...The Wayne Gretzky of football...re-wrote the record books. Hon. Mention...Edwin Moses, Ben Johnson, that pole-vault guy, Martina Navratalova (?), Mark Spitz...
If Pele is the Michael Jordan of his sport, and this earns him a number 4 spot; then why isn't MJ up there? I mean, you're right that way more people play soccer than basketball, so it's more impressive to dominate that particular sport...but you ranked Wilt ahead of Pele, so that can't be your determining factor. Plus, you're ranking the most dominating player of his respective sport, regardless of popularity. So why no Mike? Don't get me wrong here, I totally despise Jordan - but, by that logic, shouldn't he at least make the list...or Honorable mention, for that matter?
Michael Jordan HAS to be on the list. He's dominated the sport of basketball for the past twelve years or so, and he's dominated it, not only on the court, but off the court too- in terms of marketing and making the league what it is today.
It was more of a style/popularity comparison. Wilt and Pele dominated their respective sports, but it would be innapropriate to call Pele the "Wilt CHamberlain" of football (eur.) stylistically. The ranking was based on dominance, the comment was my impression.
Pete Sampras...it's a shame he's overlooked because of Tennis' relatively meager popularity, but make no mistake...he's probably the most dominant athlete of our time...or at least the most dominant athlete of my time to you geezers.
While I am a huge fan, and consider him the greatest qb of all time, he's not as dominant as Rice, and possibly not even as dominant as LT. Montana is generally regarded as the best qb ever, but there is a lot of debate, and his numbers are not eye-popping on their own. There are many reasons he is the best ever, but it's not as clear cut as Rice. No one questions his status as the best WR ever, and the numbers are mind-boggling. Never mind that he has obliterated the receiving records, he has destroyed the overall TD record, and when he broke it there wasn't another receiver in the top 10! All rb's, who get most of the in-close dives. Montana to Rice was just unfair....
I would suggest that, for their times, Bjorn Borg was much more dominant...what was it? 6 or 7 straight Wimbledons? But they both take a back seat to Martina in terms of sheer dominance.
I didn't know we were counting women. ...just joking. I seriously wasn't even thinking about woman though. Shame on me. But you're right. What she did was even more amazing than Pete. As for Borg, that's more tough. But I had enough of arguing who was better in that Hakeem/Russell thread...I can't do it anymore. Do you think Serena could overtake Navratilova?
there are some good names here... counting only athletes i saw with my own eyes (not counting old videotapes of before my time)... Jerry Rice Bo Jackson Shaquille O'Neal Randy Johnson Pete Sampras Mike Tyson Lawrence Taylor Hakeem Olajuwon Barry Sanders and sadly, John Elway edit: how could I forget Nolan Ryan!!!
In terms of physical talent? Quite possibly. In terms of mental discipline? Doubtfull. In terms of dominance? Almost impossible.
Tony Hawk/ Rodney Mullen have both dominated skateboarding since they started. Kelly Slater wins world surfing championships whenever he puts his mind to it and Lance Armstrong -- what sporting event is more difficult than the Tour de France? And of course Chris "the General" Simms...
