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[FRAFPDD]

Meh,


I just dont think someone whos participating in a sport only one country in the world watches, infacts, participates in, cant be the greatest ever athlete.

Same with baseball and american football players.


Infact i believe cricket is the worlds most popular sport. Any cricketers?

[Denthúl]

Meh,


I just dont think someone whos participating in a sport only one country in the world watches, infacts, participates in, cant be the greatest ever athlete.

Same with baseball and american football players.


Infact i believe cricket is the worlds most popular sport. Any cricketers?

My frist reply in the thread mentions one. His batting average was 99.94 in Test cricket and 95.14 in First Class cricket.

Don Bradman, anyone?

You could also consider Tendulkar. His batting averages are around half of Bradman's, but his run totals are far, far higher. In Test cricket, he has 14,692; 18,111 in ODIs, 23,585 in First Class and 21,663 in List A. He's also an absolute dream to watch play, particularly in his earlier days. Gotta love the Little Master.

[What's Burning?]

So we've established a few things...

We all have our bias in which athlete we choose.

Some can keep the achievements within the sporting world, others demand more such as, philanthropic or humanitarian work outside of the sport. It's understandable that we'd use different yardsticks.

We agree that it's impossible to do apples and oranges comparisons with different sports.

We agree that a total domination of their respective peers/contemporaries is a requirement.

We agree that some sports require a lot more physical conditioning than other, whether that be through genetics, or training and that they alone aren't enough, you also need tenacity and a willingness to win.

Anything else that I'm missing?

I've enjoyed reading some of the comments here, especially when people give personal reasons as to why they've chosen or suggested the person they did. I actually heard and wiki'd a few names I hadn't heard of.

[FRAFPDD]

So we've established a few things...

We all have our bias in which athlete we choose.

Some can keep the achievements within the sporting world, others demand more such as, philanthropic or humanitarian work outside of the sport. It's understandable that we'd use different yardsticks.

We agree that it's impossible to do apples and oranges comparisons with different sports.

We agree that a total domination of their respective peers/contemporaries is a requirement.

We agree that some sports require a lot more physical conditioning than other, whether that be through genetics, or training and that they alone aren't enough, you also need tenacity and a willingness to win.

Anything else that I'm missing?

I've enjoyed reading some of the comments here, especially when people give personal reasons as to why they've chosen or suggested the person they did. I actually heard and wiki'd a few names I hadn't heard of.

The main case is its hard for you yanks to have an idea in geneal on the history of football(soccer) and i know nothing on basketball/baseball/ a bit on football because they just arent mentioned over here. Superbowl is though.

But. I believe without peer that the UK(and being born and brought up in it) having invented most sports and competing in almost every sport there is, f1, cricket, tennis, football, rugby, all the olympics sports. And doing good/ being aboe average in like all of them, i believe my view encompasses a lot more objectivity and is without sounding arrogant a bit more well-versed then some on here.

Because lets be fair, olmypics sports, and the three big sports in the US are all domestic sports. Theres not a sport thats over here that isnt big at least somewhere else in the world.

As such i chose a boxer, cyclist and racing driver for my choices partially because they truly are the best in the WORLD.

[vaptin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bendirs/2011 ... admit.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

^This blog compares greatness, from the point of view of ranking Tendulkar. He settles on Muhammad Ali in the end, but also provides a grounding for how he ranks greatness.

first component part of greatness is cold hard statistics.]

next component parts of greatness - longevity and consistency of performance.

competition and rivalry are also significant factors in greatness.

A better gauge of the greatness of team players is how they perform on the biggest stage

The true greats - the really, really, really great - transcend their sport, become almost god-like, and gods don't go to the supermarket for their shopping. Tendulkar, a legend in his own career, is on the top table, up there with Tiger and Jordan and Pele. Not the greatest, though - I'm with Mandela, that simply has to be Ali, the greatest great there has ever been and probably ever will be.

Tendulkar certainly is a fantastic cricket player, I can't really compare with Bradman as I know very little about Bradman, but Tendulkar ticks pretty much all the boxes. He's a hero to his nation, his first international match was at 16 against Pakistan in 1989. A bouncer hit his face, he was up against Waqar Younis (a highly rated bowler) and he still looked calm. He's been pretty much at the top since then.

He has the highest number of runs and centuries, and is miles ahead of his nearest competitor.

He's probably the most famous person in India, when India won the cricket world cup his teamates dedicated the win to him. He didn't win the game for them, nor was it his last game for India, but they still singled him out, and carried him on a lap of honour around the stadium. As they say, "if cricket is religion, then Sachin is God".

[F1er]

Meh,


I just dont think someone whos participating in a sport only one country in the world watches,

For the 2005-06 season, the NBA featured 82 international players from 38 countries and territories, according to nba.com.

'' Television allows the NBA to reach over 750 million households in over 42 different languages in 212 countries around the world (Falcous, 61). There is clearly no denying how huge the sport has become from a global financial, consumption, and culture standpoint.

According to FIBA’s website, the most recent numbers in 2003 show over 450 million people play organized basketball. This is up from 350 million in 1991 (“Presentation”). One can assume that the sport has continued to grow in the last six years to even greater numbers in organized global participation as the number of affiliated leagues and federations have grown.''
http://cnx.org/content/m22061/latest/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Get some of your facts straight

[acosmichippo]

Yep. Many of the top players are not American, and the national teams are really starting to challenge the USA. In 2004, they earned a bronze behind Argetina and Italy.

[F1er]

Yep. Many of the top players are not American, and the national teams are really starting to challenge the USA. In 2004, they earned a bronze behind Argetina and Italy.

Exactly. Basketball is the 2nd biggest sport after footabal,the NBA is the best League in the world which is open to all,so it a very unique situation,unlike football where great players play in different countries in different leagues.

But to say only Americans watch the NBA is utterly stupid. NBA is more popular worldwide then here in USA

[FRAFPDD]

Meh,


I just dont think someone whos participating in a sport only one country in the world watches,

For the 2005-06 season, the NBA featured 82 international players from 38 countries and territories, according to nba.com.

'' Television allows the NBA to reach over 750 million households in over 42 different languages in 212 countries around the world (Falcous, 61). There is clearly no denying how huge the sport has become from a global financial, consumption, and culture standpoint.

According to FIBA’s website, the most recent numbers in 2003 show over 450 million people play organized basketball. This is up from 350 million in 1991 (“Presentation”). One can assume that the sport has continued to grow in the last six years to even greater numbers in organized global participation as the number of affiliated leagues and federations have grown.''
http://cnx.org/content/m22061/latest/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Get some of your facts straight

I think i said im not replying to you when your being an idiot. so......

[acosmichippo]

So posting quantitative facts refuting your position is "being an idiot"?

[FRAFPDD]

So posting quantitative facts refuting your position is "being an idiot"?

Getting told to " get my facts straight" from a child that has just said " NBA is more popular outside america then it is in america.

Yeah, dont really need to say anymore do i?

The fact that our american brothers on the forum have unanimously voted Michael Jordan and proceeded to tell people they are wrong in a direct statement or patronising implication doesnt do much for your reputation as a self-obsessed ignorant country.

Thank god for Tex and WB who have saved you from the tarry brush.


Theres NOTHING Michael Jordan has done that someone else hasnt done AND more. The others doing it whilst hacing to fend off the rest of the worlds challenge, you know there boxing champions from over 20 countries in the world? not participants like a couple of serbians in the NBA, CHAMPIONS.

If i told you mr anonymous revolutuionized tiddlywinks and dominated the sport like no other, What would you say to that? Yeah but tiddlywinks isnt exactly a major sport, yeah guess what, in the grand scheme of things neither is basketball.

[F1er]

So posting quantitative facts refuting your position is "being an idiot"?

Getting told to " get my facts straight" from a child that has just said " NBA is more popular outside america then it is in america.

Yeah, dont really need to say anymore do i?

The fact that our american brothers on the forum have unanimously voted Michael Jordan and proceeded to tell people they are wrong in a direct statement or patronising implication doesnt do much for your reputation as a self-obsessed ignorant country.

But it is kiddo the NBA aint even the 4th most popular sport here,but it's overly popular worldwide.

Secondly I used to eat/live/breath football My father my uncle were footballers,the first thing I did when I started walking was kick something and been football my whole life. I grew up in Albania, so I hated Basketball, until I started watching the Best Professional Sport League the NBA,I started watching in 1992.

So again "get your facts straight".......................AGAIN

[F1er]

So posting quantitative facts refuting your position is "being an idiot"?

Getting told to " get my facts straight" from a child that has just said " NBA is more popular outside america then it is in america.

Yeah, dont really need to say anymore do i?

The fact that our american brothers on the forum have unanimously voted Michael Jordan and proceeded to tell people they are wrong in a direct statement or patronising implication doesnt do much for your reputation as a self-obsessed ignorant country.

But it is kiddo the NBA aint even the 4th most popular sport here,but it's overly popular worldwide.

Secondly I used to eat/live/breath football My father my uncle were footballers,the first thing I did when I started walking was kick something and been playing football my whole life. I grew up in Albania, so I hated Basketball, until I started watching the Best Professional Sport League in the World, the NBA,I started watching in 1992.

So again "get your facts straight".......................AGAIN

[acosmichippo]

The fact that our american brothers on the forum have unanimously voted Michael Jordan and proceeded to tell people they are wrong in a direct statement or patronising implication doesnt do much for your reputation as a self-obsessed ignorant country.

No one has done anything of the sort, and insults are my cue to leave.

[myownalias]

Let's keep it civil please; keep the nationalistic comments off of the forum, have your say and move on... no need to start tarring a nationality with stereotypes!