# The 3 greatest and your 3 favorite athletes of your lifetime.



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm asking who you think are the three greatest athletes of your lifetime and also who are your three favorite athletes of your lifetime.

By "lifetime," I mean athletes who were in their prime when you were old enough to be aware of them. 

I realize "greatest" is subjective, so use whatever criteria you wish. 

I use the following criteria: Who separated themselves from their competitors by the greatest margin and were recognized as the best in their field for an extended period of time. 

My greatest (this will be U.S.-centric, so sorry to all the Euro and South American football fans.)

1. Michael Jordan: I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone be better at anything than Jordan was at playing basketball. A freakish athlete who became the greatest winner of his generation. Won 6 NBA championships, and most likely would have at least 7 if he hadn't pursued his weird attempt at playing pro baseball.* There is virtually no debate in the U.S about Jordan's place in basketball history.

*That little baseball hiatus is the subject of one of my favorite conspiracy theories. The theory goes that he was actually serving a secret suspension for gambling. I don't believe that, but it is as amusing as most conspiracy theories.

2. Tiger Woods. (Here's where the "lifetime" criteria comes in: while Nicklaus was still playing while I was alive, his prime pre-dates my sports awareness, so he is ineligible. Anyway, back to Tiger.) He gets this spot based on the "separated himself from his competitors by the widest margin." His peak was higher than any golfer before him, and at his peak, his gap between best player and second best player was greater that at any other time. His run from 1999 through 2002 will almost certainly never be duplicated. Whether he ever wins again is irrelevant, he's already done more than enough.

3. This was a tough spot to choose, but I'm going with Michael Phelps. He did something unprecedented, then came back 4 years later and almost did it again. No one in his field is even remotely close to him.

Honorable mention: Wayne Gretzsky, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Mariano Rivera, Jerry Rice, Bo Jackson, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Carl Lewis, and Mia Hamm.


I have to think about my favorites some more, so I'll update those in a bit.


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Now for my three favorites:

1. Edgar Martinez. My all time favorite Mariner. His swing was a thing of beauty, he was a class act, and he gave me my most thrilling moment ever as a sports fan:






2. Ken Griffey Jr. My second favorite Mariner, and also a major player in the above clip.

3. The entire 1997 Washington State University football team. They beat both L.A. schools that year, beat the Huskies, and went to the Rose Bowl for the first time in over 60 years, where they lost a thriller to national champion Michigan.


----------



## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Greatest:

Eric Heiden
American speed skater who won all five distances in his sport during the 1980 winter olympics - from 500 m to 10000 m.

Steffi Graf
German tennis player who dominated her sport for years, and the only one to manage a golden slam (all four majors and olympic gold in one year, 1988).

Eddy Merckx
The Belgian cyclist who was unstoppable for years, and is so far the only one to have won the overall Tour de France and the awards for best sprinter and best mountain rider in the same Tour.

Personal favourites:
Yvonne van Gennip
Dutch speed skater. She won three golds in the 1988 winter olympics, against German opponents who were by far the favourites.

more later...


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Heiden was a good call. I always forget about him because the only thing I remember from those Olympics is the U.S beating the USSR in hockey.


----------



## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

3 greatest:

*LeBron James* - his combination of skill and athleticism is not matched in NBA history, he can do anything on the court on both ends of the floor and is only a few titles away from making a compelling case for perhaps the greatest of all-time.

*Lionel Messi* - he is the central point of Barcelona's wonderful tiki-taka football, is the most utterly sublime finisher I have ever seen and has destroyed countless goalscoring records already at the age of 26.

*Shane Warne* - redefined the (somewhat forgotten) art of leg spin bowling, making some truly great batsmen look ridiculous on his way to seeting all time record for test wickets

3 favourite:

*LeBron James
Rafael Nadal
Zlatan Ibrahimovic*

3 greatest athletes of all-time, imo:

*Don Bradman
Jerry Rice
Pele*

Descriptions later


----------



## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Sampras - the greatest tennis player I've seen.

Phelps - the phenomenon.

Ali - the king of the ring...


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Favourites:

Arthur Antunes Coimbra - known to his mom as Zico. Possibly the greatest footballer I've ever seen and the mainspring of the last Brazil team to play a swashbuckling style of game largely devoid of the more dubious European elements (1982 World Cup). For both club and country he scored on average nearly 0.75 goals per game, a remarkable scoring rate for a midfield player and unlike the only other candidate for my accolade (Diego Maradona) a credit to his sport.






Aussie spinner Shane Warne. Would have been a matchwinner even if he hadn't played for the strongest national cricket team in living memory, and, as Skilmarilion says, took the largely-neglected art of leg spin to new heights with his bewildering repertoire. After I got over him making monkeys out of England with almost monotonous regularity I found it was best just to kick back with a few cold ones and just marvel at this man's genius. Could even bat a bit, too.






Martin Johnson. A true colossus. Even for rugby union standards Johnno was not what you could call the nicest of men on the pitch but in order to help drag the English rugby team past the underachieving 'bridesmaid' level he couldn't afford to be. Hated as much as respected but he didn't give a flying one and neither did anyone else if they followed Leicester Tigers, England and the British/Irish Lions. He even seemed to become a better player when given the responsibility of captaincy.






I can't name three greatest, though - far too many candidates from far too many sports!


----------



## cwarchc (Apr 28, 2012)

Jesse Owens
Tommie Smith
Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards?


----------



## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Greatest?

*Babe Ruth* dominated baseball more than Jordan/Woods dominated their sports, I think.

*Pele*. I actually saw him play in person once when he was old and I was young. In truth, I can't say whether he was better than all the rest, let alone Messi. But I like to give the old-timers the benefit of the doubt.

*Jim Thorpe*. Won 8 of 15 pentathlon/decathlon events. His 1500m time in the decathlon remained the best time for 60 years.


----------



## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

what about people like Sergey Bubka or Usain Bolt.


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

norman bates said:


> what about people like Sergey Bubka or Usain Bolt.


I like Sergey Bubka. If I remember correctly, he had a contract with Nike that paid him a bonus every time he broke the world record, so he would always make sure to break it by the bare minimum so that he could break it again the next meet.

As far as Usain Bolt goes, let's just say that Jamaica hasn't always had the cleanest program, so I have to admit to being a bit skeptical of his achievements. But, it is fun to watch him run.


----------



## Ryan (Dec 29, 2012)

In no particular order:

1) Orenthal James Simpson

2) Tim Henman

3) Oscar Pistorius


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

Ryan said:


> In no particular order:
> 
> 1) Orenthal James Simpson
> 
> ...


Did Tim Henman kill someone and I just missed it?

Or is this one of those "one of these things is not like the others" games?


----------



## Air (Jul 19, 2008)

Skilmarilion said:


> *LeBron James* - his combination of skill and athleticism is not matched in NBA history, he can do anything on the court on both ends of the floor and is only a few titles away from making a compelling case for perhaps the greatest of all-time.


Oh, no you didn't!

Even if LeBron wins five more titles to pass Jordan, he will never be the GOAT to me. Jordan never lost a Finals, let alone two. Jordan never had to team up with a top 5 player and a top 30 player in order to win his first championship. Jordan would never have been bottled up by a sophomore for three straight games in the Finals during one of his most dominant seasons.

And if the Miami Heat win that many more championships, I will be pretty depressed.


----------



## Ryan (Dec 29, 2012)

Tim Henman is one of the all time gretest tennis stars, not only in the UK but on an international level. He also as a raw talent for acting, which is evident in his persil adverts. There is currently no reason to believe he kills women.

OJ Simpson is an all time great in the American Football world. He is also a talented yet underrated actor. There is currently no reason to believe he kills women as he has never been convicted of murder.

Oscar Pistorius Is a good sportsman, he's not exceptional by any means, but he does ok in sport. His acting performances are that of the highest level, he is an all time giant in the acting arena. He is a giant amongst men, a Marlon Brando of his time. Regrettably he does kill woman, and even though this is only speculation there is probably a small chance he sexually assaults people who work/or have worked in shoe shops, just speculation.


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I literally laughed out loud at Ryan's last post.


----------



## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

No love for Nicklas Lidstrom? Too bad!! One of the greatest defenders to ever play the game of hockey. I list him both as one of the greatest, and a favorite. I don't spend enough time in sports to really list off the true TOP three, but I'll certainly give a nod to Michael Phelps as previously discussed. And Roger Federer.

As far as my other two favorites, they'd also be hockey players: Pavel Datsyuk and Steve Yzerman. And if I were to go outside of my team, the Detroit Red Wings, then I really liked Joe Sakic too.


----------



## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

The three beloved: The Steel Courtain; three of the great four: Joe Green, Eric Holmes & Dwight White.

Three greatest: John McEnroe (also beloved, too), Franz Beckenbauer, Nadia Comaneci.


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Ondine said:


> The three beloved: The Steel Courtain; three of the great four: Joe Green, Eric Holmes & Dwight White


Oof - the 70s Steelers. I felt the pain just by reading your post. No LC, though?


----------



## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

elgars ghost said:


> Oof - the 70s Steelers. I felt the pain just by reading your post. No LC, though?


What means 'LC'?

Why pain?


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Ondine said:


> What means 'LC'?
> 
> Why pain?


Because the Steel Curtain was one of the most intimidating and destructive defensive units ever to play the sport. LC is for the one of the four you missed out - LC Greenwood.


----------



## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

elgars ghost said:


> Because the Steel Curtain was one of the most intimidating and destructive defensive units ever to play the sport. LC is for the one of the four you missed out - LC Greenwood.


Oh yes, of course, elgars!


----------



## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

(sorry, never mind)


----------



## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Kimi Räikkönen aka THE ICE MAN
Watch even a part of this video and you understand why he is called the ice man. xDD!
He is a famous F1 formula driver.




Teemu Selänne, He was the first Ice hockey player who i knew when i was a kid, He also plays in NHL.








Lightning Mcqueen


----------



## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

MLB - *Mickey Mantle*, NBA - *Bob Cousy*, NHL - *Bobby Hull*, NFL - *Joe Namath *


----------



## Pyotr (Feb 26, 2013)

Favorite: Roberto Clemente, Secretariat, Pete Rose.


----------



## Andreas (Apr 27, 2012)

Michael Jordan and Zinedine Zidane.


----------



## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

EricABQ said:


> I literally laughed out loud at Ryan's last post.


It's that or cry,I hope he isn't serious.


----------



## EricABQ (Jul 10, 2012)

I'll expand my thoughts a little bit:

MLB: Best hitter I've ever seen was the steroid era Barry Bonds. Best fielder was Omar Vizquel or Ozzie Smith. Best combo fielder and hitter was Ken Griffey, Jr.

NFL: Best players I ever saw (non-qb) were Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor. Best qb Tom Brady or Joe Montana.

NBA: Jordan with Magic Johnson next. I can't say that I've really seen much of Lebron James because I am currently boycotting the NBA.


----------



## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

NBA Jordan 
NFL Joe Montana
ATP: Fedal.


----------



## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

jani said:


> Kimi Räikkönen aka THE ICE MAN
> Watch even a part of this video and you understand why he is called the ice man. xDD!
> He is a famous F1 formula driver.


HAHAHHAHA! That's great! Typical Finn! :lol:


----------



## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> HAHAHHAHA! That's great! Typical Finn! :lol:


Fair play to him - however much he earns it must still be annoying to be asked such banal questions all the time.


----------



## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> HAHAHHAHA! That's great! Typical Finn! :lol:


When he is asked to say few words about the race in FInnish he just wishes happy mothersday for his mom.


----------



## georgedelorean (Aug 18, 2017)

Three favorite: John Stockton, Karl Malone, Walter Payton.
Three greatest: Wayne Gretzky, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps.


----------



## Brahmsian Colors (Sep 16, 2016)

No necessary order...

Three greatest>>>Jesse Owens (track and field), Ted Williams (baseball) and Jim Brown (football)

Three favorite>>>Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. All played for the Brooklyn Dodgers.


----------

