The argument that American Heavies are "in other sports"

a Heavy Swing by Tiger Woods would certainly do some damage to the Klitschkos.​

 

What i've never understood about this BS concept is why it doesn't apply to the lower divisions. For example, you never hear europeans, south americans, africans, asians bitching about how all their best athletes are playing football (soccer). Purely on numbers alone, it is far more likely that potential world champ welters, middles, light heavies are playing the worlds most popular sport, as apposed to the reletively small number of potential american HW champs playing american sports.

 

Based on what?

They're two entirely different sports. There isn't a single NFL player for enough to play 80 minutes, with 10 minutes break. They aren't for enough because they're trained for short bursts, not endurance. Rugby players aren't usually as strong or quick over 50m, but they are built for an endurance sport. How long is the average play in the NFL? 10 seconds and then a rest? Rugby players could run for 10 or 15 minutes without a significant break. There's not a single NFL player with the stamina to do that.

It's a balance. If you're going to play a game which lasts three hours, which includes two hours of literally nothing, you don't need high stamina. If you're going to play a game which requires tremendous stamina, you can't be built for a sprint.

What you're saying is equivalent to saying Usain Bolt is a better athlete than Kenenisa Bekele. It's just not true.

 

Most NFL players were basketball or track stars. So they can do endurance. And thats really the only thing a rugby player would have an advantage over a football player.

He is a better athlete. I knew long distance runners in high school they were usually terrible at other sports. Skinny ****ers that could run far so what.

 

They were those things. When in NFL their conditioning is to that sport. And secondly it takes a ****ing elite athlete to run those type of miles.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hSNtyYZlFU[/ame]

That guy is certainly an athlete and he happens to be an endurance runner.

 

Not really. Depending on the different positions in rugby, you'll see very good 100m times or exceptional strength combined with stamina. How many NFL players beat these stats and could perform for 80 minutes, with a 10 minute break?

Pierre Spies.

- 2 meters tall or 6'6"
- Weight 110kgs/242lbs and 6% body fat
- He can Bench Press 365lbs/165KG
- Deadlifts 530lbs/220kg
- Can do a standing jump onto a platform 1.4 meters high (4.6 Feet)
- Does Chin ups with 50kg/110lbs on his waist
- The most impressive stat is that he can sprint 835m before slowing

Being a top athlete is nothing to do with being good at other sports. If that's there sport, they there aren't better or worse, they're as good.


Going by your idea that versatility means better athletes, then how can you say NFL players, who are limited to one role, meaning either speed or strength, are better than rugby players who are required to have strength, speed and stamina? That's not even talking about the differences in technical requirements either.

 

Jesus you aint getting away from that dude.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3muAkT0K9Y[/ame]

Another non-nfl beast.

 

umm..... eddie chambers would still be around......

 

Of course the scenario applies to other sports like soccer too but for some reason americans like to cry about it and cry about it and cry about it :|

Rarely if ever do you hear euros putting forward the argument that soccer takes the majority of athletes from MW to LHW, let alone the same thing resurfacing again and again, broken record syndrome

 

LOL. you gotta be kidding me! If these rugby players were anywhere near good enough to make the practice roster for an NFL team, theyd be on that bench wiping randy moss' ass. Kinda like CFL NFL comparisons. Best players in NFL simply for the money, regardless of which sport they prefer. How many professional boxers make $98,000,000 in a career, and how many Pro American athletes do? Hell, MLB players, like designated hitters, can make 10 mil a season for maybe an hour of actual work (aside from practice). How many punches in the head would a boxer have to take to make that money? The best and smartest athletes go where the money is, and lucky for them, it's also easier and safer money. Maybe we could say that these Euro Heavies and stupid for boxing are not going into other sports, but I simply think it's they are not good enough, and the American athletes are.

 

Isnt it interesting that the Euro athletes are better at running around forever, like running away and going nowhere in particular, while the American athletes are good at precise, acute demolition?

 

Dude is a beast.

 

American football is a tiny sport at world level. what is it 32 teams x 50 players?
That is 1.600+ players with a population of more then 310 million.
How sad it must be to use that as an excuse.

How many pro football players in England alone? Let alone the rest of Europe? Tens of thousands!

 

It's absolutely true that it's difficult to go across different sports and determine which sport produces the better athlete(in fact I think it's impossible). Each sport has different demands and stresses and they can be completely different. I think soccer players are great athletes. A lot of basketball players have difficulty giving soccer a try because the coordination is different(and vice versa I've seen numerous soccer players struggle when giving basketball a try). However, I think if you're saying NFL players are limited to a role of "either speed or strength"...I think that's a little bit of a misnomer. First, a lot of the incredibly fast guys in the NFL are also very strong. However, when you get to players like defensive ends and linebackers...those guys are very fast and very strong. I can't do a list by list with Pierre Spies, but I'll just throw out an NFL player that fit's the mold I'm talking about. Some of these stats are from his college days but he's only a 2nd year player in the NFL.

Brian Orakpo

6'3 263lbs
-8% body fat
-31 reps on bench press of 225lbs
-1 rep max of 515lbs
-1 rep squat 600+lbs
-power clean 380 lbs
-vertical leap 39.5
-broad jump 10ft 10 inches
- 40 yard dash- 4.63seconds

I don't know the details of his workouts, I know he does dips with significant weight added on(only thing I can think of to go with Spies chinups with weight).
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT6ki80xR9w[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AglSpWWkGbE&feature=related[/ame]

I'm not saying he's a better or worse athlete than Spies, because to put a higher or lesser value on certain athletic qualities would be completely arbitrary. However, I just wanted to show that the NFL does have some great athletes that are "versatile" as you say.

EDIT: Also, the NFL does require a certain kind of endurance from it's giants, though not in the conventional sense of being able to run for long periods of time. I haven't done it, but I would imagine it gets exhausting to be pushing against a guy who is 300+lbs who also happens to be leaning and pushing back.