Greatest Athlete in D.C. History (team sports)

[Sticksboi05]

44 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

As great as he is, I still can't bring myself to give a frenchman's **** about hockey.

 

You should go to a game, probably more than any other sport the experience is massively lifted by being in attendance.

[Warhead36]

Appreciate it folks. He is going to go down as the greatest goal scorer in hockey history. We'll never see another D.C. athlete this great in our lifetimes most likely(actually Juan Soto might be able to but there's a good chance the Nats don't resign him).

 

I can't believe people actually tried to argue Darrell Green was better LMFAO.

[Springfield]

13 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

Appreciate it folks. He is going to go down as the greatest goal scorer in hockey history. We'll never see another D.C. athlete this great in our lifetimes most likely(actually Juan Soto might be able to but there's a good chance the Nats don't resign him).

 

I can't believe people actually tried to argue Darrell Green was better LMFAO.

It’s like the difference between Darrell Green and Payton Manning or Aaron Rogers (pre Covid idiocy).

[Forehead]

Yeah, there's no question it is Ovechkin now.  Hockey is only 3rd on my list of interest in terms of the Big 4 sports, but Ovechkin is far and away DC's #1.

 

Walter Johnson still has to be up there despite none of us being alive.  Soto has a chance if he resigns with DC twice and turns into Hank Aaron, but otherwise, it is Ovechkin and there's no one even close to him.

[TradeTheBeal!]

1 hour ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

As great as he is, I still can't bring myself to give a frenchman's **** about hockey.

This poor soul is an Orioles fan…still.

[Warhead36]

23 minutes ago, Forehead said:

Yeah, there's no question it is Ovechkin now.  Hockey is only 3rd on my list of interest in terms of the Big 4 sports, but Ovechkin is far and away DC's #1.

 

 

Its been Ovi since like 2010

[Fan since a Fetus]

I don’t watch as much hockey as I used to because I don’t have cable and all. I do watch my friends YouTube account so I see a few games.  I can’t justify paying for the nhl package because I don’t have time to watch the 80+ games. But I still keep track. Hockey is my second sport after football. 
 

in my 40+ years, I have not seen a more dominant player in any DC area, Baltimore included (orioles) , than Ovechkin. It’s not even close. Even Gretzky said the other day that 8 is the greatest goal scorer to ever play the game. Noting that goalies pads are larger and goals are smaller than when he played. That is super high praise. 
 

the only thing that could make ovechkins legacy even larger would be to bring another ring or two here. I really hate that most of his career has been one and done in the playoffs. It really bother me for some reason. But, being a Washington fan, at least the caps get to the playoffs consistently. 
 

also, I think everyone here is forgetting Shar Pourdanesh. 

[Warhead36]

Yeah it really sucks he only has one Cup. We had some amazing teams that deserved to win. Truth is the Caps should have been a 2-3x Cup champion like the 80s Redskins were, but I think that's more an indictment on our FO and honestly just the sheer luck factor of hockey.

[tshile]

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

 

I can't believe people actually tried to argue Darrell Green was better LMFAO.

Well. He plays hockey which has the most niche talent pool next to golf, with no world wide traction or diversity, and for most of his career he was a great scorer that occasionally laid big hits but didn’t bother with defense etc. 

 

so. Yeah.
 

does it even take two hands to count the total number of black people in the NHL yet?

Edited November 9, 2021 by tshile

[skinsmarydu]

The receptionist at my vet's office is a Penguins fan, and of course I was wearing my Caps mask yesterday.  When I picked Vicki up, I said "She'll be fine in a while, there's a game tonight." 

But we had the Jagr-Ovi talk.  I'd like to see that happen this season. 

[Long n Left]

I’d certainly lean hard Ovi, but Sammy Baugh has to be in the discussion. Led the NFL in passing, interceptions, and punting…in the same season.

[Hersh]

23 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

honestly just the sheer luck factor of hockey.

 

In no sport is luck more involved than Hockey playoffs. The Caps were one shot off the post away from going down 3-0 in the first round the year they won it all. 

[Hersh]

1 hour ago, Warhead36 said:

I can't believe people actually tried to argue Darrell Green was better LMFAO.

 

It's cause Darrell Green tugs on the heart strings. How much fun were those days for all of us old enough to remember? That's all that is. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

55 minutes ago, TryTheBeal! said:

This poor soul is an Orioles fan…still.

 

Through thick and thin baby.  

[Spaceman Spiff]

1 hour ago, Sticksboi05 said:

 

You should go to a game, probably more than any other sport the experience is massively lifted by being in attendance.

 

I've been to several.  It's certainly better than how it presents on TV but overall still can't get into it.  

 

Soto has a chance but the Nats can't **** this up.  They need to give that guy a blank check and do it now.  

[Sticksboi05]

48 minutes ago, tshile said:

Well. He plays hockey which has the most niche talent pool next to golf, with no world wide traction or diversity, and for most of his career he was a great scorer that occasionally laid big hits but didn’t bother with defense etc. 

 

so. Yeah.
 

does it even take two hands to count the total number of black people in the NHL yet?

 

It's not like American football is cared about outside of America. It is more apt to say world's best hockey player than world's best football player. There is no such thing as an all-world quarterback, nobody gives a **** outside of the U.S. whereas you have the KHL and top leagues in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic.

[tshile]

Just now, Sticksboi05 said:

 

It's not like American football is cared about outside of America. It is more apt to say world's best hockey player than world's best football player. There is no such thing as an all-world quarterback, nobody gives a **** outside of the U.S. whereas you have the KHL and top leagues in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic.

Yeah but the talent pool gravitates towards the nfl. And the nba. And mlb. And soccer. 
 

not nhl. 
 

I love ovi and I’m not saying he’s not great. I think he is great. He certainly put together an incredible highlight reel. But to laugh off any comparison when someone is clinging to a person that came out of a talent pool that’s at best ranked #5 (and could honestly be way worse if we start thinking about Olympics…) is sort of silly. 
 

The sport doesn’t have any diversity outside of white players being from different mostly-white countries. How can you honestly compare that to sports that clearly pull the top of the world class athlete barrel?

I realize hockey is a lot like soccer in the endurance aspect and I have great respect for that. But to just deny potential comparisons … the capitals have had only 11 black players since 1974. That’s almost 40 years. 11. 
 

it’s just a niche talent pool/sport. 

[skinsmarydu]

2 hours ago, Hersh said:

 

It's cause Darrell Green tugs on the heart strings. How much fun were those days for all of us old enough to remember? That's all that is. 

I watched his first TD runback with my MeMaw.  One of my very, very favorite memories.  

But Ovi. 

[Springfield]

I think calling hockey a niche sport is a bit degrading to the talent. It’s a major sport. Corn hole or pickle ball are niche sports.

[Spaceman Spiff]

2 hours ago, tshile said:

Yeah but the talent pool gravitates towards the nfl. And the nba. And mlb. And soccer. 
 

not nhl. 
 

I love ovi and I’m not saying he’s not great. I think he is great. He certainly put together an incredible highlight reel. But to laugh off any comparison when someone is clinging to a person that came out of a talent pool that’s at best ranked #5 (and could honestly be way worse if we start thinking about Olympics…) is sort of silly. 
 

The sport doesn’t have any diversity outside of white players being from different mostly-white countries. How can you honestly compare that to sports that clearly pull the top of the world class athlete barrel?

I realize hockey is a lot like soccer in the endurance aspect and I have great respect for that. But to just deny potential comparisons … the capitals have had only 11 black players since 1974. That’s almost 40 years. 11. 
 

it’s just a niche talent pool/sport. 

 

Failing to see how diversity plays a part here.  I don't think Ovi can dunk a basketball but I'm also not expecting LeBron to know how to skate backwards on a power play.  As I said, I'm no hockey fan but the way those guys can skate is ****ing incredible and the hand-eye coordination is ridiculous.  To say that they're not at the top of the world class athlete barrel is rather absurd.  

 

Just because the sport is popular in certain parts of the globe doesn't really mean anything.  

[Renegade7]

3 hours ago, Long n Left said:

I’d certainly lean hard Ovi, but Sammy Baugh has to be in the discussion. Led the NFL in passing, interceptions, and punting…in the same season.

 

Yea, he dominated in multiple phases of the game and has more then one championship.  There may be another Ovi, but there will never be another Sammy Baugh, I am shocked Ovi is blowing him out, and this is a Washington Football board? Huh?

[Warhead36]

3 hours ago, tshile said:

Yeah but the talent pool gravitates towards the nfl. And the nba. And mlb. And soccer. 
 

not nhl. 
 

I love ovi and I’m not saying he’s not great. I think he is great. He certainly put together an incredible highlight reel. But to laugh off any comparison when someone is clinging to a person that came out of a talent pool that’s at best ranked #5 (and could honestly be way worse if we start thinking about Olympics…) is sort of silly. 
 

The sport doesn’t have any diversity outside of white players being from different mostly-white countries. How can you honestly compare that to sports that clearly pull the top of the world class athlete barrel?

I realize hockey is a lot like soccer in the endurance aspect and I have great respect for that. But to just deny potential comparisons … the capitals have had only 11 black players since 1974. That’s almost 40 years. 11. 
 

it’s just a niche talent pool/sport. 

Your entire argument is bogus AF.

 

First off, hockey is incredibly difficult to play. I'd argue its the hardest sport in the world to play. The best hockey players more than favorably  compare to the best in other sports in terms of athletic ability. Ovi is essentially Lebron on skates.

 

Second off, regarding diversity, that's a little silly considering we're literally the only country in the world that plays this brand of football. Hockey is hugely popular in many European countries and obviously Canada.

 

I laugh off comparisons because there is literally nobody in D.C. who is even remotely close. Nobody. The best argument is like Sammy Baugh and that guy played like 100 freaking years ago. Darrell Green isn't close. Neither is John Riggins. Neither is Sonny Jurgenson. Or Art Monk. Or any Wizard/Bullet. Or any baseball player. Any comparison is laughable. The only one who had the same level of dominance was Max Scherzer but he simply wasn't here as long and you can't compare a Pitcher who only plays 1 out of every 5 games. Hell I don't even think any Redskin compares to Nicklas Backstrom.

 

People just don't grasp Ovi's greatness. It makes sense because we just haven't had great individual athletes here and other then the Gibbs I Redskins haven't had sustained success by any of our teams until the Ovi era Caps(and I suppose the 2012-2019 Nationals).

[tshile]

38 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Failing to see how diversity plays a part here.  I don't think Ovi can dunk a basketball but I'm also not expecting LeBron to know how to skate backwards on a power play.  As I said, I'm no hockey fan but the way those guys can skate is ****ing incredible and the hand-eye coordination is ridiculous.  To say that they're not at the top of the world class athlete barrel is rather absurd.  

 

Just because the sport is popular in certain parts of the globe doesn't really mean anything.  

well the question is greatest athlete 

 

so yeah the sport they plays and what it means matters. I think he’s all time great hockey scorer, I don’t care if Gretzky has more total goals, he didn’t score them the way ovie did (I don’t think.)

 

and he’s got plenty to say he’s a great athlete. 
 

but the greatest in a context that includes all the major sports? Where every other sport has a bigger pull on the athletic talent pool? 
 

it’s not impossible to say he’s the greatest athlete but it’s kind of a hard/big claim when all the other sports draw the greatest athletes as a general statement. 

[Forehead]

11 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

Or any baseball player. Any comparison is laughable. The only one who had the same level of dominance was Max Scherzer but he simply wasn't here as long and you can't compare a Pitcher who only plays 1 out of every 5 games.

 

Well actually, the correct answer there is Walter Johnson, but he's even more before our time than Baugh.  However, he also played when pitchers started every other game, or sometimes every game, so you can't make the 1 in 5 argument.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Johnson#Playing_career

 

Prior to Ovi, Johnson would have been my argument for #1 in DC history over any Redskin, Bullet, etc.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Forehead

[tshile]

Which athletic tasks would you pick ovi for if he lined up next to Sean Taylor?

 

of those which ones don’t require wearing ice skates?

 

I’m struggling to think which athletic task I’d put money on ovie being better than Sean Taylor at. And that’s just one dude with a super short career. 
 

edit: I guess ones that specifically rely on hand eye coordination.  

Edited November 9, 2021 by tshile