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View Full Version : TOP 25 athletes of the past 25 years!



Collier11
7/9/2007, 03:15 PM
1982-2007
I got this idea from another board, but this gives us one more list to b*tch about til kickoff in just short of two months!

1: Michael Jordan- 6Nba titles, 6 finals mvp's, 5 regular season mvp's, etc...
2: Joe Montana- 3 super bowl Mvp's, 2 Mvp's, 4 Nfl titles, never through an INT in a SB, never lost a SB
3: Barry Bonds- I hate to say it but he may be the best baseball player in history! We can debate it all day and he may have cheated, I dont like the guy but I can appreciate how good he is now and was before the supposed roid period!
4: Gretzky-40 NHL records, 15 playoff records, 9 Mvp's, 4 titles
5: Tiger- 79 tour wins, 12 majors, revolutionized golf
6: Carl lewis- 9 olympic golds, 8 world titles
7: Shaq-unstoppable when healthy, has 4 titles, 1 Mvp, 3 Finals Mvp's, been to the finals 6 times
8: Tom Brady- 21 straight wins, 10 straight playoff wins, 3 super bowl championships, 2 super bowl mvp's
9: Tim Duncan-2 Mvp's, 3 finals Mvp's, 4 nba titles
10: A-Rod- only 31 and he already has 494 HR's, 2168 hits, 2 MVP's
11: Magic Johnson- Helped save the NBA, won 3 nba mvp's, 5 nba titles, 3 finals mvp's
12: Jack Nicklaus- 118 pro wins, 18 majors, he was tiger before tiger
13: Lance Armstrong-Won every tour de france from 99-05 after beating cancer
14: Rhonaldino-like soccer or not, he is the best player in the most popular sport in the world,
15: Barry Sanders- Greatest running back of all-time, retired early or he would be the nfl record holder for rushing yds
16: Jerry Rice-Greatest receiver of all-time, 4 titles, 1 super bowl Mvp
17: Ken Griffey Jr- May have went down as greatest ever without injuries, missed over 400 games the last 3 years and still has almost 600 hr's.
18: Kobe Bryant- I cant stand the guy but he is really really good! 3 titles, 9 time all-nba, 7 time all-D, 2 scoring titles
19: Sugar Ray Leonard- 5 gold medals, several boxing titles, no one better in their prime
20: Kareem Abdul Jabbar- 6 time mvp, 6 time champion, 2 time finals mvp
21: walter payton- 3 mvp's, 1 super bowl title, former record holder for rushing yds
22: Albert Pujols- His 1st 7 years are un-paralleled, stay healthy and he will be top 5 all-time in baseball IMO. 1 MVP, 1 world title already
23: michael johnson-At his best, this guy was dominant and a world record holder
24: roy jones jr- Unfortunately, when he was in his prime his division was not strong. Had unparalleled strength and speed, along with showmanship
25: marion jones- 3 gold medals, 5 world championships. Dominant in prime


There you have it, dice it up and throw it right back at me you bastages!!!

OSUAggie
7/9/2007, 04:26 PM
Too high = Tom Brady, Shaq, Timmah, Joe Montana

Too soon = A-Rod, Rhonaldino, Kobe, Pujols

Name change? = 'Majic'

Not high enough = Barry Sanders

Collier11
7/9/2007, 04:30 PM
Too high = Tom Brady, Shaq, Timmah, Joe Montana

Too soon = A-Rod, Rhonaldino, Kobe, Pujols

Name change? = 'Majic'

Not high enough = Barry Sanders


magic, my bad!
Too soon for ARod and Kobe? They have both been playing professionally for over 10 years? Rhonaldino and Pujols perhaps!
Barry probably

I could understand thinking brady and duncan might be too high, but montana and shaq?

Thats what it is for though, give us something to disagree on

XingTheRubicon
7/9/2007, 08:06 PM
Sugar Ray Leonard and Nicklaus won a good share of their titles pre 1982.

Very good list, otherwise.

OSUAggie
7/10/2007, 10:15 AM
magic, my bad!
Too soon for ARod and Kobe? They have both been playing professionally for over 10 years? Rhonaldino and Pujols perhaps!
Barry probably

I could understand thinking brady and duncan might be too high, but montana and shaq?

Thats what it is for though, give us something to disagree on

Too soon to justify a # on ARod and Kobe since both of them are currently "in their prime", who knows what the hell they'll do in the next 10 years. What if A-Rod dies in a plane crash tomorrow, is he still the #10 athlete of the past quarter-century?

It also seems like you hold football players to a much different standard than other sports.

*That being said, it's a pretty solid list. I could never do a greatest athlete list because my blind hatred for all things Jordan would force him out of the top 100 and make my list void.

Collier11
7/10/2007, 10:44 AM
I hate jordan myself so that wasnt fun for me, I based the younger guys on if their careers ended as is, thats why I only have Arod #10, etc...

Newbomb Turk
7/10/2007, 11:40 AM
Interesting list.

I'll buy the argument that Barry would have been the all time rushing leader had he played longer. However, I think the guy that DOES own the record belongs on the list somewhere.

I would have put Gretzky ahead of Montana.

OSUAggie
7/10/2007, 12:41 PM
I refuse to give Emmitt (or is it 1 t? eh, who cares) the credit he probably deserves. Well, **** probably, he does deserve it.

I also think that people put too much of a premium on professional sports championships... unless you win like 10 or something unfathomable.

Like, Tom Brady... Let's say Adam misses those Super Bowl kicks and the Pats are like 0-3 in Super Bowls or whatever the arbitrary # may be. Brady still has the same stats. He still put his team in a position to win. But he's viewed much, much differently in the world of sports if those kicks don't go through. (I realize those weren't necessarily game-deciding kicks, but they were game-winners.)

And I'm a big Tom Brady fan, but I just can't justify him being ranked in the top-25 for greatest athletes of the past quarter-century. The reality of the situation is that Tom Brady is in the top-5 or so as far as QB's are concerned that currently play in the NFL. He's not clearly the best at his position in the league at this time, yet he's the only current QB on the list.

Collier11
7/10/2007, 12:44 PM
A particular athletes greatness is defined by Championships, like it or not! Joe Montana never had eye-popping stats but he had really good stats with 4 championships and he is widely considered the best or at least top 3 qb of all-time...

OSUAggie
7/10/2007, 12:49 PM
Ok, but you make no point as to why they're held in such defining regard... Just that they are, which is a fact of which I am clearly aware.

Big Red Ron
7/10/2007, 01:58 PM
A particular athletes greatness is defined by Championships, like it or not! Joe Montana never had eye-popping stats but he had really good stats with 4 championships and he is widely considered the best or at least top 3 qb of all-time...Joe Montana had extremely good stats and is the best QB to ever play in the NFL. He was the "Comeback kid" before the term was even invented. Even at ND he led them to a victory by scoring 4 TD's in less than 10 minutes in the game.

He was simply the most accurate, smart and successfull QB to ever play the game.

Jerry Rice is the best football player to ever play the game. He should be ranked ahead of Joe.

I would rank my top ten...

1. MJ
2. Jerry Rice
3. Joe Montana
4. Lawrence Taylor
5. Tigar Woods
6. Carl Lewis
7. Mike Tyson
8. Lance Armstrong
9. Gretzky
10. Shaun White

XingTheRubicon
7/10/2007, 02:17 PM
Joe Montana had extremely good stats and is the best QB to ever play in the NFL. He was the "Comeback kid" before the term was even invented. Even at ND he led them to a victory by scoring 4 TD's in less than 10 minutes in the game.

He was simply the most accurate, smart and successfull QB to ever play the game.

Jerry Rice is the best football player to ever play the game. He should be ranked ahead of Joe.

I would rank my top ten...

1. MJ
2. Jerry Rice
3. Joe Montana
4. Lawrence Taylor
5. Tigar Woods
6. Carl Lewis
7. Mike Tyson
8. Lance Armstrong
9. Gretzky
10. Shaun White


How could anyone tell that you're 49er fan?

;)

Big Red Ron
7/10/2007, 02:23 PM
How could anyone tell that you're 49er fan?

;)Hey, I'm trying to objective but some of Jerry Rice's receiving records will never be broken and Joe is the man!

I put LT on there and I hate the Giants, but dang that guy scared everyone.




:D

Big Red Ron
7/10/2007, 02:25 PM
And as much as I hate to admit it because I think he's an all time ****** rocket, Deon Sanders has to be in the top 25.

Newbomb Turk
7/10/2007, 03:41 PM
BRR - you're as nuts as Mike Tyson to rank Gretzy below Tyson.


;)

Big Red Ron
7/10/2007, 04:05 PM
BRR - you're as nuts as Mike Tyson to rank Gretzy below Tyson.


;)I dunno, he was what 19 when he won the unified HW Championship. And up till he was put in prison his fights lasted an average of two rounds. Wayne was a stud though.

Scott D
7/10/2007, 07:33 PM
what exactly is the criteria being used here...because championships isn't always the greatest indicator.

critical_phil
7/10/2007, 07:59 PM
what exactly is the criteria being used here...



well for a list titled TOP 25 athletes, it's not athleticism.


and it's not being the best in the world at your particular sport.


so my answer is..... i don't know.

Collier11
7/10/2007, 08:05 PM
lets nit pick a little, the list is made to suggest my opinion of the most accomplished professional athletes of the past 25 years

Petro-Sooner
7/11/2007, 08:21 AM
Justin Fuente.

Big Red Ron
7/11/2007, 09:58 AM
Justin Fuente.Ha Ha








































:D

JohnnyMack
7/11/2007, 11:30 AM
1. Michael Jordan
2. Wayne Gretzky

No Hick From French Lick?

No Super Mario?

Lose Ronaldinho and Pujols for those two.

Ronaldinho is amazing when it doesn't count.

Pujols hasn't done enough.