Which sport and postion do you think requires the most talent, in terms of physical strength and ability and mental awareness? Please keep this to well known, professional sports.

My vote would have to go to football quarterbacks

What do you guys think?

The hardest thing to do in professional sports is hit a baseball. 'Nuff said.

Definantly baseball... Look at the halfwits that play football and basketball.. anyone can do that.. typically baseball players can at least spell their own names

Maybe a close second would be Rally drivers.. going through the woods at 100mph in a car that is a coke can on wheels takes a high degree of confidence and skill.

Sport that takes the least skill: Nascar, driving a 30 year old design in a left hand circle for hours at a time with your foot glued to the floor.

Forget Baseball...

..try Equestrian.


It takes the talent of two athletes in perfect unison to compete. Years of training, often for the purpose of 90second-or-less performances.

You guys are freaking kidding yourselves. Its ice hockey, by far and away. For the simple reason of skating. I mean, I can walk up to the plate with a bat and at least take a swing at a baseball. You can't exactly just skate up to the puck if you've never been on ice skates before. Not only that, but there is so much body coordination involved. Its the most phyisically demanding major sport in the world, as well. You must be in at least decent condition to play ice hockey. Another thing is that you cannot just rock up with 'roids and expect to do well, like some other sports. You need muscle control. There are no John Kruk's, Mark Maguire's, or Cece Sabathia's in the NHL. I'd like to see some of you actually take a pass in full stride and then try to shoot it on goal. If thats not difficult I don't know what is.

And if anyone says "soccer" on this thread, I will personally head over to your residence and administer some punishment.  

Perhaps I'm a little biased  , but I'm goign to say that playing hockey goaltender, especially at the NHL level is the hardest thing to do.

Martin Biron:



Matheiu Garon:



Manny Legace:



And none other than myself in a crummy little photo:

To get to the top in any sport requires extraordinary skill, and it can't be compared one to the other.

I'm intrigued about the baseball comment though. I mean, if you compare it to cricket the basic principle is the same, but in cricket the speed is about the same, the ball bounces (and hence seams) as well as swings, the bowler can - and does - aim at your head and body (it bloody hurts by the way), you have stumps to defend, and there are many more ways of being out. Now, I don't know much about baseball, and wouldn't really say that one is more difficult than the other for the simple reason that I'm not in a position to say so, but I would welcome a baseball fan telling me why it is more difficult? Genuinely, I mean, I'm curious.

Except the pitcher, batter, and catcher, no one does much of anything in baseball or cricket. Football/soccer with all the running up and down the field is exausting for any position. Skating up and down the ice in hockey wearing all those pads is exausting as well. There is a lot of running in basketball too, but that is mainly off court LOL

I think goalies in hockey and football/soccer are talented as they must defend the net and know what is going on anywhere on the playing surface at any given time.

GO CANUCKS!!

I agree with KROC's comment about hitting a baseball. And a strong case can be made for ice hockey, also.

But consider golf. I know it looks boring on T.V. But golf requires a mental stamina and level of concentration, in addition to athletic talent, that is not matched by other, obvious team sports.

Gymnastics.

No doubt about it.

Golf- to be the best you have to be amazing.
Gymnastics too, that is one tough ass sport.

I've actually started to appreciate baseball more and more as I continue to understand the game. While I'll admit its a slower sport, its a high precision sport, and you have to have very good mental focus to play. For example, pitching is an extremely tough position to play. The precision it takes to pitch certain pitches with different paths and speeds (curveball, screwball, breaking ball, etc.) requires amazing skill.

I agree with Mas A330. Gymnastics!! No doubt about it.

Closely followed i would say by Martial Arts (Shaolin) and Muay Thai aka Thai Boxing.

Md11lover

Please.

Clearly, figure skating. As Tonya Harding reminded us.

Can you imagine a football player doing a triple salchow jump wearing very very tight sequined clothing and landing on his feet to some song by Yanni even as that little chipmunk Scott Hamilton chirps on and on about how he's gonna lose a point?

That and baseball.

Either gymnastics or golf. Both have some of the toughest mental strain known to man and you have to be deadly accurate on a consistent basis.

What Sport Requires The Most Talent?


Chess...

Computers have been playing chess quite effectively for some time.. Is it a talent or just something that someone or something can be programmed to do?

Lets see deep blue steal second base.

"There are only three sports: bullfighting, mountain climbing, and motor racing. Everything else is just a game."

-Ernest Hemingway

Unlimited class air racing.

That is all.

Except the pitcher, batter, and catcher, no one does much of anything in baseball or cricket. Football/soccer with all the running up and down the field is exausting for any position.

Sorry, but 'running up and down the field' does not require much skill. It requires one be in good shape yes...not skill.

I'm willing to bet that the Kenyon who won the NYC marathon can't hit a curve ball.

Being a hall of fame football player AND a double-murderer...

The Juice

Homer71 makes a great point. The skill O.J. had in loping off Ron and Nicole's domes was high due to the precision of the cuts.

Baseball..hands down "Anybody can walk up to a plate, and hit a baseball"???!!

!!!RIIIIIIIGHT!!!! Try taking a swing at a little white ball moving almost 100mph at you, and it might be traveling in a straight path. First, you are not seeing where the ball is..but where is was, and instinct tells you to get the f**ck outta the way!! That little hummer could easily kill you or make you very stupid for the rest of you life if it beaned you in the head...

Cheers,

Bob

There are some very demanding sports out there, but I would like to nominate Biathalon. There are incredible cross-country skiers, and there are incredible marksmen. In Biathalon, you have to be both.

Other nominations:
Ski Jumping (I guess I'm just feeling nordic today): It takes years of practice.
Golf
Hockey
Decathalon
Gymnastics
and the list goes on...

I love baseball, but I will refrain from nominating it. Sure, hitting a baseball is difficult, but in the game, it's acceptable to have a .200 or .300 average. And the remainder of the skills in the game are relatively easy to master. There are many other sports that require much greater skill and stamina.

-Normal

I love baseball, but I will refrain from nominating it. Sure, hitting a baseball is difficult, but in the game, it's acceptable to have a .200 or .300 average. And the remainder of the skills in the game are relatively easy to master.

The remaining skills are easy to master? Come on now. As a baseball fan how can you say that?

Sure, hitting a baseball is difficult, but in the game, it's acceptable to have a .200 or .300 average. And the remainder of the skills in the game are relatively easy to master.

I think that's the whole point about hitting a baseball though...it is so difficult, that the greatest hitters only succeed around 35% of the time.
And if you have a .200 average and aren't a pitcher, you'll be on your way down to Triple-A very soon. (Unless you play for the Dodgers  
But outside of pitching and hitting, the rest of baseball (fielding and baserunning and such) probably isn't as demanding of pure skill as some other sports.

I think skateboarding, by far is the hardest sport I do. Skateboarding takes immense mental preperation.

"The remaining skills are easy to master? Come on now. As a baseball fan how can you say that?"

I don't say that as a baseball fan. I say that as a baseball player.

-Normal

I played baseball too, and its not 'easy' to fplay the field, or run the bases etc.

I think skateboarding, by far is the hardest sport I do. Skateboarding takes immense mental preperation.

Yeah, burning blunts before your turn on the half pipe is a tough thing.  

What sport?
Marching Band.

What position?
Right end of any company front (straight line), or leading end of a follow-the-leader maneouvre.

What the h*ll is your reasoning?
Marching band includes:
--Learning the music (muscle movement and language decoding)
--Memorizing the music (cognitive/language decoding)
--Knowing how to march (muscle movement/strength training/endurance training)
--Knowing how to march and play at the same time (muscle movement/breath control/strength)
--Learning your marks (cognitive/spatial awareness)
--Learning how to adjust your mark to make the form appear correctly (spatial awareness)
--Being able to do the equivalent of running for at least seven minutes but no more than ten minutes, with three 15 second breaks, while singing your favorite song perfectly in tune and without dropping a note. Except that while you're singing and running, you have either a piece of wood between your teeth, or the barrell of a gun pressed to your lips.

Additional requirements for right end/leading end position:
--Ability to make your mark every time, since people in your line will guide to the right side (look to the right to keep the line in a company front)
--Ability to make your mark roughly one beat ahead of time without it being obvious (if you are the leader in a follow-the-leader move, you have to be slightly ahead so everyone else can make their mark)
--This means you must be more precise in calculating your marching moves than the average marching band member.

Oh, I almost forgot this:
--No matter how bad the football team is doing, you must be able to feign enthusiasm and attend every game no matter how hot/cold/rainy/snowy it is, no matter how tired/sick/sore you are (unless you're literally on your death bed) and without defiling your uniform (that means if you get a hot dog you had better not drip any ketchup.)

Check out my marching band page:
http://www.geocities.com/bandimal/music/bandimal.html


Cheers,
redngold
aka the Bandimal

[Edited 2003-11-13 23:54:59]

redngold

while I do appreciate the knowledge needed to be in marching band, I don't think that counts as a sport. There isn't much physical aspect of it either. Its not a professionally played game like hockey, football, baseball. etc.

Band? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Signed, Everyone

Seriously though. Marching is tough. Mix in playing an intrament, and its harder, but Marching Band is not a sport.

Ummm....

It is professional, if you're in a drum & bugle corps.

It is EXTREMELY physical... Just ask someone in marching band about how much stretching and muscle buildup is necessary. You have to stretch before and after every show or you'll get cramps, just like any other athlete.
--People in marching band usually end up with "soccer legs" -- well-defined calf muscles.
--We also have to have good back and arm muscles for holding up not only our own bodies, but our instruments.
--The upper back and shoulder muscles are particularly important to most marchers. The lower back and lower arm muscles are particularly important to percussionists.
--Not to mention our strong abdominal and rib muscles, used to provide breath support for all of that simultaneous playing and running.

Yes, I will argue this until I get blue in the face... Trust me, with the muscles and breath control I have, it will be a long time!

  redngold

Australian Rules football.
you need to have 3 things
-Extreme Fitness.. most players run 15-20kms plus in a 120 minute game
-Excellent hand eye coordination, because its an oval ball it takes an extremeley experienced player to know where it will bounce.
Extreme stupidity- Running full pelt into 95 kg masses of human knowing most likely you will be clean bowled over and the only effect of it will be that the opponent might be slowed down or put off balance for a second or two. ( you can also use your elbow and Knock him out) (but you get suspended)
cheers
high_flyr69

I can't believe nobody has mentioned CURLING. It's bad enough being the person who has to slide that thing with the handle on it (I think it's called a rock) down the ice (I think it's called a rink) towards that bullseye (I don't know what its called) at just the right speed. But where the talent really comes in is when you are down at the other end and have to use those brooms to make the rock either speed up, slow down, turn left, turn right, etc, while being careful not to step on or kick a rock that has already been put in play. And you have to do this while wearing a regular pair of shoes that don't have any blades on them.

I'm really just kidding here. But seriously, I have been watching curling for a number of years (here in SE Michigan we get CBC from Windsor, Ontario) and I still have no idea how a team scores a point.

"I played baseball too, and its not 'easy' to fplay the field, or run the bases etc."

Meh. I stand by my opinion. Don't get me wrong, some of those moments playing baseball were some of the finest in my life, but the sport itself wasn't exactly what I'd call "difficult" or "demanding."

But then again, I've never really struggled at picking up sports. I didn't think skiing was that difficult either, but some of you definitely would.

As far as the band thing goes: Yeah, it's hard. Yeah, it requires skill. Yeah, y'all get big calf muscles by marching around. No one is disputing that. But it' not a sport.

-Normal

Now now... come on... everyone's seen the full-contact marching band clip where the football player crashes into the band on the sidelines...  

OK, I know I'm getting annoying. I'll bow out while I'm ahead...  

redngold

I agree with Ralgha,...





Unlimited Air Racing..... Takes an EXTREME amount of talent.

I would also add the extreme sport of aerobatics!


Saaaaawweeeet!!

GulfstreamGuy

And this one time, at band camp, redngold had this post that sucked

I was going to ask where band is at the Olympics. Its not there but neither is auto racing.. Even the shitty nascar variety. But even BAD auto racing in a major series draws millions of TV viewers and thousands at the event. I have never seen a band competition with anyone other than family of the participants and people that they drug with them. Maybe in college some of their friends go to.. Hell even a big chess match has people watching it.. So in conclusion BAND IS NOT A SPORT.

Its no coincidence that the spell checker mistakes nascar for mascara..

Lets see the fatass drum majors hit a 95mph fastball then run their ass to second base

Hey GulfstreamGuy,

If I'm not mistaken, that top picture is a modified P-51 Mustang entitled Dago Red. It used to be based at the airport that I got my Private, Instrument, Commercial, and CFI at. You haven't lived until you've seen a low pass. And I think that it still has that Merlin engine. Ah.. what a sound.

Yeah, I'd throw aerobatics in there as a sport that requires a large amount of talent.

-Normal

[Edited 2003-11-14 02:12:58]

Definatly baseball, It is written that the hardest thing to do out of all the sports is hitting a baseball.

get off redngold's back, it's ok.. although drum corps (pro marching band, kind of) isn't considered a sport by most people, it's still frickin hard, and you need to be in amazing physical/mental shape.. no need to make fun (i would too if i hadn't ever seen a drum and bugle corps show)

Us Americans are also forgetting about cricket.. but it's debatable as to which one requires more skill. The cricket ball does bend a lot more, and even if you tip the ball in a direction you don't mean to (like a foul ball), you might be screwed since there is no foul territory and there are outfielders all around.

Then again, a baseball bat is a lot thinner. Ice hockey might have a chance too.

Band:

Requires great skill? Yes.
Is a sport? NO!

-Normal

When you look at it, ice hockey (and roller hockey to a point) is a very tough sport to learn. You can't just lace up a pair of skates and expect to be speeding down the ice like Ilya Kovalchuk and slapping in goals from the left slot. Hockey is a very intense sport, as hockey players typically play shifts of 1-2 minutes at a time, with the team's best players logging 20 minutes or more of ice time a game; the only player who spends the most time on the ice is goalie, which is the position I have the most respect for. I mean you are a sitting duck in net, with someone bearing down on you with a 98 mph slapper that could do some serious damage if it hits you in the wrong place. I mean many of us could probably manage a 30-40 mph slapper (my record on a simulator is 55 mph), but probably would miss the net completely. Throw in the physicality of the game (getting checked into the boards by some players makes a Warren Sapp sack look like a love tap), and you have a very physically demanding sport. That's why back-to-back games in hockey are not as common as they are in basketball and baseball.

you dont have to predict what way and height the ball will bounce when you are batting in baseball either.
I played baseball for my state in Australia 4 years ago and switched to cricket 3 years ago due to baseball not having a high profile in Australia hence lacking vital organisation to encourage youths to take up the sport. I went to cricket and Overall the skills of cricket are much more difficult especially when facing bowling over 85 miles.. approx 135 kms. on a turf wicket that isnt playing true you have no idea where the thing is going of the bounce. Also the cricket bowling action takes alot more to master than pitching and is alot more strenuous on the body.
Baseball is a great sport without the profile down here it deserves but i stick with cricket, better organised, better competition.
cheers
high_flyr69

I do have a thing about football... I used to watch it all the time (obviously) It's great to watch a bunch of guys running around wearing 30 lbs. of weight on their head and shoulders, in tight pants, trying to KILL each other over a stupid ball.

But I admit, it takes skill to throw a spiral, or catch the darn thing when you got 400 lbs. coming at you from each direction about to crush you between them.

redngold

Startvavle - and many others - I would like to see you MARCH 15 yards in 12 steps with 65 pound drums on while playing 32nd notes at 160 Beats per minute in a hot suit....

I agree - Marching band is NOT a sport... But it's hard as hell, and I love every minute of it.

BTW - I'm trying out for The Blue Knights Drum Corps Next Winter (had to check it out first)

BTW - You don't chose percussion ("drums") because it's easy, you chose it because it's the hardest instrumentS to play...

Why would i want to?

Seriously though consider how hard skateboarding is. The balance, if its not had naturaly, must be developed over many years, and while you get this skill there is that constant chance of slaming. The tricks also take hours of practice to get right, then years of practice, to land them first try. It is an amazingly hard sport.

Sex.  
Oh? We're not discussing THAT sport. My bad.....

[Edited 2003-11-14 05:00:23]