Originally posted by Aussie49er:
Originally posted by mug0mug:
Originally posted by Aussie49er:
Originally posted by mug0mug:
Alright, well, then take'em out of their respective sports.
How many NFL players have been olympians, successful in other sports, and even held world records compared to Rugby players? (I'd love it if someone would do the research on this, but I can think of several off the top of my head.)
I'm pretty sure it isn't even close.
Why? Because the NFL takes the strongest, fastest, most explosive, and most "elite" athletes at specific abilities and puts'em on a team together.
Rugby players may need more "overall athleticism" than many NFL players, but really, being good at everything usually means you're not great at anything.
Running a marathon isn't going to help a world-class weight lifter, sumo wrestler, or an NFL lineman. A great 40 time won't usually help a pitcher, a javelin thrower, or an NFL quarterback. Michael Phelps would probably suck at Rugby, but he sure as hell is an elite athlete.
That's what's so great about football. You field a team of elite, world-class athletes who cover the whole spectrum of athletic abilities and then work together to put all those varying, but elite, abilities into a cohesive unit.
That play 5mins a game
Who cares?
By that logic you could argue that Rugby players aren't elite athletes because they don't go as long as a marathon runner or the tour'de'france cyclists. Endurance is just one measurable of athleticism, not the only one. Is the person who holds the world-record for longest hoola-hooping session more of an elite athlete than all rugby, football, soccer, or basketball players?
The vast majority, in fact almost all, of the people who are commonly discussed as elite athletes do not got for a full hour in their respective fields. Running, jumping, swimming, skiing, skating, fighting...none of these things go for as long as a rugby match or soccer game. In fact, almost none of them go as long for as a football player in a football game does. How does that translate to them not being elite athletes?
By the way, you claim it takes the strongest, fastest, etc etc etc. That is a crock, pure drivel. These guys aren't world class weightlifters, these guys aren't world class sprinters, high jumpers, long jumpers. Again trying to over hype these players as elite athletes.
To rephrase your statement, an NFL team is a collect of great specialised athletes forming together as a team
Off the top of my head I know that Bob Hayes and Floyd Little set world-records sprinting. Michael Bennet ran a 4.13 40 and was a competitive sprinter (dunno about records). The 40 isn't an internationally recognized #, but unofficially Darrell Greene, another football player, holds the record with a 4.08 I think. Bo Jackson was a competitive sprinter and pro-baseball player in addition to football. I'm sure there are many, many other nfl players who have been world-class competitive sprinters.
I don't feel like doing all the research for you, so I'm not going to look up weight-lifting history etc, but I know players that play(ed) in the NFL have competed in world's strongest man competitions, and I know of at least 3 recent/current players that can squat over 800 lbs. NFL lineman regularly bench 225 lbs over 30 times and some even break 40. Those are all elite athletic abilities.
How much can the strongest rugby player bench or squat? How many rugby players have set world records?
The NFL has more elite athletic ability than any organized sports league in the world and the facts prove it.
[ Edited by mug0mug on Feb 7, 2010 at 6:42 PM ]